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GALLERY HOURS (during exhibitions)
Monday - Saturday, 11am – 4pm
Open Thursdays until 7pm
February 6 - March 14, 2026
Young Contemporaries 2026
41st Annual Juried Student Exhibition
February 6 - March 14, 2026
Young Contemporaries 2026
41st Annual Juried Student Exhibition
Now in its 41st year, the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art and the College of Charleston Studio Art Department are proud to present Young Contemporaries 2026. The annual exhibition is a celebration of talented artists at the College of Charleston. With works selected by a nationally renowned juror, the exhibition reflects the strength and diversity of practice in the School of the Arts’ rigorous programs. Featuring a wide range of media, the exhibition showcases the efforts of the student body at the College.
Will Hutnick will serve as the juror and awards judge for Young Contemporaries 2026.
Concurrent with Young Contemporaries is the Salon des Refusés, showing in the Hill Exhibition Gallery of the Cato Center for the Arts. The works in the Salon are chosen by Studio Art faculty. The origin of a Salon des Refusés dates to Paris in 1863, when artists who had been rejected from the official Salon caused such a protest that Emperor Napoleon III ordered another exhibition held for them. Among the painters in the original Salon des Refusés were Camille Pissaro, Henri Fantin-Latour, James M. Whistler, and Edouard Manet.
All College of Charleston degree-seeking students enrolled in the Fall 2025/Spring 2026 academic year, including December 2025 graduates, are eligible to submit their work. All majors and levels are encouraged to submit. You do not need to be currently enrolled in a Studio Art course to submit.
Original (and dry!) artworks completed in 2025 and up to the submission date are eligible for entry. Students may submit up to three artworks per medium (prints, sculptures, etc.).
All students submitting artworks must include an Artwork Label attached to the back of each artwork submitted AND turn in a Conditions of Submissioncontract with your entries on Submission Day. You are encouraged to complete these forms PRIOR to dropping off your artwork at the Halsey Institute.
Printed forms will be available at the Halsey Institute or you can download and print them yourself here:
All artworks must be dry to the touch, adhesives must be cured, and charcoal drawings must be sprayed with fixative at the time of submission. This is to protect all student artworks as the jurying process requires a lot of movement behind the scenes. Though your artwork will be handled with care, ignoring this rule puts all submitted works at risk of being damaged.
If submitting digital works (video, AR, etc), please email your submission to lasskr@cofc.edu with the subject line “YC Digital Submission – Artist Name” and include clear instructions for viewer experience and presentation. You may also submit digital works on a flash drive in person on Submission Day. Attach artwork label information to your flash drive or include artwork label information in the body of your emailed submission. Digital artworks intended to be presented as printed media must be submitted as such.
If submitting performance or installation works, include a written proposal and photo or video documentation if presented previously.
Though your work is best presented to the juror in person, you may submit photographs and/or videos of oversized works that you are not able to transport on submission day. Please include where the artwork is currently located. Selected artworks must be delivered to the Halsey Institute by Monday, February 2.
Singular artworks presented with multiple parts (diptychs, etc. but not series) may be considered as one work. Please include photographs and/or instructions on the orientation of the works. The juror may use their discretion to isolate a portion of the work due to exhibition space.
Major prizes including Best in Show, the Norton M. Seltzer Prize, and the Karin Jurick Prize are not restricted by category. Category-specific prizes will be awarded in Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Photography, and Sculpture. Artworks submitted in these categories that are not selected by the juror will be eligible for exhibition in the Salon des Refuses.
Still have questions? Contact Director of Exhibitions Kaylee Lass at lasskr@cofc.edu.
Will Hutnick (b. 1985) is an artist based in Sharon, CT. He received his M.F.A. from Pratt Institute in 2011 and his B.A. from Providence College in 2007. Hutnick is a 2021 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Painting. Solo exhibitions include: McDonough Museum of Art (Youngstown, OH), Geary Contemporary (Millerton, NY), Pamela Salisbury Gallery (Hudson, NY) and Elijah Wheat Showroom (Newburgh, NY). Selected group exhibitions include: Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art (New Paltz, NY), High Noon (New York, NY) and Hollis Taggart (Southport, CT). Selected residencies include: Yaddo, Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency, Vermont Studio Center, Interlude Artist Residency, and Stove Works. From 2015-20, Hutnick was one of the Co-Directors of Ortega y Gasset Projects, an artist-run exhibition space in Brooklyn. He is currently the Director of Artistic Programming at the Wassaic Project, a nonprofit organization that uses art and art education to foster positive social change.
