2026 Annual Juried Exhibition Opens Sept. 1 at Artists Collective | Spartanburg
Artists Collective | Spartanburg will open its eighth annual Juried Exhibition on Tuesday, Sept. 1, bringing together 70 works of art by 66 artists from seven states for one of the Collective’s most anticipated exhibitions of the year.
On view through Oct. 24 in the Solomon Gallery, the 2026 Annual Juried Exhibition celebrates the breadth of artistic talent found throughout the region, with works selected from 500 entries submitted by 207 artists from South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Florida and Alabama.
All seven states represented among the submissions are also represented in the final exhibition.
“The exhibition will feature amazing artwork in many media by many regional artists,” says Beth Regula, chair of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg managing board. “We are so thrilled to have so many artists submit their extraordinary works for the Juried Exhibition, and we are delighted to welcome distinguished painter, educator and mentor Ryan Roth as this year’s juror. He brings with him a dynamic combination of artistic excellence, academic leadership and professional experience.”
Visitors will encounter work spanning painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, printmaking, mixed media and other forms. The selected works also can be explored through the 2026 Annual Juried Exhibition online gallery, where visitors can take a closer look at the individual artworks and discover more about the artists and their work.
Many of the artworks in the exhibition will be available for purchase, offering visitors an opportunity not only to experience outstanding regional art but also to support the artists who created it.
A Competitive Selection
This year’s exhibition was juried by Ryan Roth, a distinguished painter, educator and mentor whose career encompasses studio practice, higher education, arts leadership and professional experience with some of the nation’s leading cultural institutions.
For Roth, selecting 70 works from the 500 submitted proved no simple task.
“It was an honor to serve as juror for the Artists Collective | Spartanburg Annual Juried Exhibition,” Roth says. “Reviewing the submissions was both a privilege and a genuine challenge. The quality, range and thoughtfulness on display made the selection process far more difficult than I anticipated.”
Rather than favoring any particular style, Roth says he looked for three qualities that allowed individual works to distinguish themselves: voice, craft and concept.
“The range of styles represented was remarkable, from bold abstraction to careful realism and everything in between, and it quickly became clear that style itself wasn’t the deciding factor,” he says. “What mattered was how fully and confidently each artist worked within their own chosen approach.”
Roth says the strongest works were those in which technical skill, personal voice and a compelling idea came together — works that went beyond simply being visually successful to communicate something individual and meaningful.
“Congratulations to everyone selected,” Roth says, “and my sincere thanks to every artist who submitted work. This exhibition is a testament to the depth of talent in this community, and I’m grateful to have spent time with all of it.”
Meet the Artists During September ArtWalk
The public is invited to an artists’ reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, during Spartanburg ArtWalk.
The reception offers an opportunity to experience the exhibition, meet participating artists and spend an evening surrounded by some of the exceptional work selected for this year’s show.
The reception and exhibition viewing are free and open to the public.
Awards Reception Sept. 26
The celebration continues with the Annual Juried Exhibition Awards Reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at Artists Collective | Spartanburg.
Award winners will be announced at 7 p.m., including:
- First Place – $2,500
- Second Place – $1,000
- Third Place – $500
- Merit Awards – more than $1,000 total
- Special Watercolor Award – $500
- Special Ceramics Award – $250
- Additional specialty awards
The awards reception also is free and open to the public.
About Juror Ryan Roth
Roth’s artistic practice is rooted in drawing and painting, combining technical precision with observation and interpretation. He earned an MFA in drawing and painting from the University of Georgia and a BFA from Valdosta State University, graduating cum laude from both institutions.
Since 2012, he has served on the faculty of the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, where he is currently head of the Visual Arts Department. His previous teaching appointments include the Ohio State University, Denison University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the University of Georgia.
His career also has included residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and Ox-Bow School of Art, support from the Metropolitan Arts Council and Joan Mitchell Foundation, and professional experience in New York City with Eli Wilner & Co., where his museum-quality framing work involved institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institution, White House and Yale University.
Roth’s own artwork has been exhibited in New York, throughout the Southeast and internationally in Europe and China.
See the Exhibition
The 2026 Annual Juried Exhibition will be on view Sept. 1 through Oct. 24 in the Solomon Gallery at:
Artists Collective | Spartanburg
578 West Main Street
Spartanburg, SC 29301
Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission is free.
Explore the selected artworks and learn more about the 2026 Annual Juried Exhibition at exhibitions.artistscollectivespartanburg.org.