Myrtle Press Print Exchange

Deadline: July 24, 2026
OPEN CALL

CALL OVERVIEW


Status: Open
Entry Fee: $18 – Payment Form
Applications: Work Sample Requirements
Images: 3-5 images and website (website not required)
Type: Print Exchange
Theme: Arboretum
Eligibility: Artists willing to drive to drop off and pick up prints from Myrtle Press-
Location: Sacramento, CA
Deadline to Apply: July 24, 2026
Notification Date: August 7th 2026
Edition Due: November 9, 2026
Print Social + Pickup: Notification after acceptance – (Thursday Dec 3rd )
Guest Juror: Summer Ventis

APPLY HERE

SUMMARY
Myrtle Press is excited to invite printmakers of all levels to apply for this juried open call. Participants will submit minimum images of their work to be reviewed by a guest juror, who will select artists that submit quality work, no limit on number of applicants. Selected artists will create an edition of 13 hand pulled prints. One full set will remain with Verge for their use, and another will be added to the Sac State Archive, and one set will be for exhibitions. In return, each artist will receive a randomly selected collection of 10 prints, offering a meaningful way to grow your personal collection, see a wide range of approaches to printmaking, and build connections within a broader printmaking community. Participants must be willing to pick up and drop off prints to Myrtle Press in Sacramento, CA. Mailing prints to artists at the end of the print exchange will not be permitted. Pickup will take place during or just after a print social at Myrtle Press, giving everyone a chance to meet, talk about their print, and celebrate printmaking together.


INFORMATION ABOUT GUEST JUROR SUMMER VENTIS: Summer Ventis’s work uses the printed surface to address internal and external landscapes and their intersections; the imprints we leave on each other and our surroundings and the imprints that our surroundings leave on us. She received a BA in Art from Grinnell College and an MFA in Printmaking from the University of Colorado Boulder. Her work has appeared in national and international exhibitions and is held by collections including those of the Denver Art Museum and Proyecto ’ace in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is a member of the Colorado-based collectives Hyperlink and ARTNAUTS and of Sacramento-based Axis Gallery and is Associate Professor of Printmaking at California State University Sacramento.

The Theme: Arboretum
Sacramento is known as the “City of Trees” because of its dense urban canopy. With tree varieties imported from all over the world, this forest resembles an arboretum more than the region’s native oak woodlands. Sacramento’s trees provide enormous benefits. They provide habitat for wildlife and improve the health of the people who live in their shade, lowering temperatures and improving air quality. Mature trees help manage storm water. But this protection doesn’t extend to every resident, with trees more concentrated in higher-income areas. Trees also bring safety risks and maintenance concerns. The Sacramento forest has to be nurtured by humans to continue to exist. This exchange invites artists to consider trees and their meanings in the Sacramento region broadly. Prints may draw on any aspect of trees and their relationships to the region and its people, climate, history, etc.

Some sources to consider:
Sacramento Urban Forest Plan:
https://sacramento.konveio.com/sacramento-urban-forest-plan-0
The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben
https://catalog.saclibrary.org/GroupedWork/bb126187-9313-f6bd-05e0-53fe4d4cb216-
eng/Home?searchId=26660736&recordIndex=2&page=1&searchSource=local&referred
=resultIndex

Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer
https://catalog.saclibrary.org/GroupedWork/d0c0ad62-386c-c64d-40e3-c67d2b07216b-
eng/Home?searchId=26660840&recordIndex=2&page=1&searchSource=local&referred
=resultIndex

Old Growth, Orion Magazine
https://orionmagazine.org/product/oldgrowth/

The Process:
This print exchange brings together printmakers in and around Sacramento, CA. Artists must be able to drop off and pick up work in person at Myrtle Press at Verge Center for the Arts.

  • A non-refundable entry fee of $18 is required to apply.
  • Selected artists will participate in a juried exchange and receive a randomized set of
    10 prints from fellow participants.
  • Prints will be dropped off at Myrtle Press by the designated deadline.
  • Myrtle Press will sort and distribute the works, creating a set of 10 prints for each
    participating artist.
  • Each artist will receive their set during a print social at Myrtle Press or may pick it up
    afterward.
  • Pickup will take place during or after the print social, offering a chance to meet, share
    work, and celebrate printmaking together. There will be an opportunity to talk about
    each print at the social.
  • One full set will be retained by Verge Center for the Arts for use at their discretion.
    One set will be available for exhibiting.
  • One set will be donated to the Sac State Archive, contributing to an ongoing
    contemporary print collection.
    Print requirements:
  • Selected artists will produce an edition of 13 hand-pulled prints. Variable editions are
    okay.
  • All prints must be clearly numbered and signed with the artist’s name. Titles are
    optional.
  • Paper size: 8×10” on archival paper (image size may vary within that format).
  • All prints must employ at least one hand pulled process (relief, intaglio,
    lithography, screenprint, and/or monoprint). Prints may include digital,
    photographic, or Riso elements, but must employ at least one hand printed
    process. No Gelli plate prints, solely digital, Riso, or photographic prints will be
    accepted.