The River We Call Home: Art Inspired by 75 Years in the Connecticut River Watershed

A curated group exhibition celebrating the Connecticut River Conservancy’s 75th anniversary and exploring the Connecticut River watershed as a place of wonder, belonging, and relationship. Artists working in any artistic medium may submit original work interpreting the river as home, including its communities, history, ecology, and stewardship. Two related exhibitions are planned for 2027 at the Connecticut River Museum in Essex, Connecticut, and the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center in Brattleboro, Vermont. Artists may indicate a preferred museum, which curators will consider when possible.

The Connecticut River watershed as home: beauty, belonging, identity, watershed inhabitants, relationships between people and nature, change over time, stewardship, and daily life along the river.

Applicants must live, work, or have a meaningful connection to the Connecticut River watershed in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, or Connecticut, and must be able to deliver/ship and pick up their artwork at the appropriate times. Artists at all career stages are encouraged to apply; collaborative and interdisciplinary works are welcome. Any artistic medium is eligible, including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, digital media, sculpture, installation, fiber, textile, mixed media, assemblage, and found-object work. Interpretations may be literal or abstract, historical or modern, celebratory or contemplative. Submit 1–3 original works; only one entry per artist. Include contact information (name, email, address, phone); an artist statement of no more than 250 words describing the artist's watershed connection and the work's relationship to the theme; a bio of no more than 100 words; each work's title, medium, dimensions, and year completed; and images or media files. The platform lists JPG and PNG as accepted file types, with a maximum of 50MB per image. A curatorial panel will review submissions. Selected works must arrive ready to hang/display. Artists are responsible for delivery and retrieval unless otherwise noted. Museum preferences will be considered when possible. Sales information, honoraria, or insurance details, if applicable, will be provided upon acceptance. Entry is free. The supplied entry form opens October 1 at 9am; artist notification is by December 4. The narrative gives exhibition dates of February 13–May 30, 2027 at the Connecticut River Museum in Essex, CT, and July 10–October 31, 2027 at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center in Brattleboro, VT, with receptions March 25 and July 10, respectively, from 5–7pm. The platform's Important Dates instead lists July 1–November 1, 2027 for the exhibition. The stated submission deadline is November 1, 2026; the calendar widget displays November 2, 2026 at 7:59 AM, with calendar links encoding that time in UTC.