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2026 Annual Regional Show: “Before We Were Happy”

In the Gallery May 26 - July 4, 2026 Reception Friday, June 12, 6-8PM

The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center is pleased to announce its 2026 Annual Adult Regional Show Theme: "Before We Were Happy." As has become tradition in recent years, the Annual Regional Adult Show’s theme is inspired by the corresponding year’s Great American Think-Off question, encouraging artists to explore big ideas through creative expression. A special reception honoring both participating regional artists and the Think-Off finalists will be held on Friday, June 12, from 6:00–8:00 p.m. This free community event is open to all and offers an opportunity to celebrate art, ideas, and conversation in a welcoming setting.

Call for Artists!

All regional artists aged 18 and up are invited to submit up to two pieces of art. All mediums 2D and 3D will be accepted.
  • Exhibit Dates: May 26 - July 4, 2026
  • Reception: Friday, June 12, 2026, from 6-8 PM
Keep reading below for relevant dates, fees, and details. Click Here for Label Form >

Exhibition Theme

Before We Were Happy explores a persistent American idea: that happiness once came more easily, before modern ambition, speed, and pursuit culture. This exhibition interrogates nostalgia as both comfort and myth, asking whether the past truly held greater happiness—or whether that belief obscures exclusion, inequality, and selective memory. This exhibition is a visual response to the 2026 Great American Think-Off question: Has the pursuit of happiness made Americans unhappy? Artists are invited to respond to the tension between nostalgia and myth, examining how ideas of happiness are constructed, remembered, inherited, or resisted.

Conceptual Framework: This exhibition seeks work engaging with one or more of the following perspectives:

Affirmative Approaches (Questioning the Past):
  • Sepia-toned irony and aestheticized memory
  • Idealized histories revealed as incomplete, exclusionary, or false
  • Happiness portrayed as a privilege granted to some and denied to others
  • Domestic, cultural, or national myths unraveled
Counterpoint Approaches (Challenging Nostalgia):
  • Exposing nostalgia as emotional refuge or denial
  • Progress shown as expanding access to happiness and self-determination
  • Joy emerging through struggle, resistance, or social change
  • Reimagining happiness as dynamic rather than lost
Key Question for Artists: Was happiness something we lost—or something we were never all allowed to have? All visual art forms are encouraged, including painting, drawing, photography, fiber art, sculpture, and mixed media. Dates & Details

  • Exhibit Dates: May 26 – July 4, 2026

  • Location: New York Mills Regional Cultural Center, 24 N Main Ave, New York Mills, MN 56567

  • Opening Reception: Friday, June 12 | 6–8 p.m.
    Celebrate with us! Enjoy refreshments, a cash bar, and a gathering of Think-Off finalists and participating regional artists.

  • Gallery Hours:
    Tue: 10 AM - 5 PM Wed & Thurs: 10 AM - 7 PM
    Fri: 10 AM - 5 PM
    Sat: 10 AM - 3 PM
    Or by appointment: contact megan@kulcher.org

Artist Submission Info

  • Who Can Submit: Open to all regional artists age 18+, all mediums

  • Submission Limit: Up to two pieces per artist

  • Eligibility: Work must be completed between 2016-2026

  • Entry Fees:

    • Members: $15 per entry

    • Non-members: $20 per entry

  • Sales: Artwork preferred to be for sale (30% commission to Cultural Center)

  • Delivery:

    • Drop-Off Dates: May 19–22 during regular open hours

  • Requirements:

    • Must be gallery-ready: framed, with hooks and wire (no sawtooth hangers)

    • Must label works on the back with name, title, and retail price 

  • Optional but not required

    • Artist statement, up to 250 words

    • Artist bio, up to 100 words

  • Pick-Up: After July 4, 2026, during open hours or arrange with staff

  • Selection Criteria: 
    • Conceptual engagement with the theme
    • Originality and clarity of vision
    • Emotional, historical, or critical depth
    • Craft and execution
Click Here for Label Form >

Prizes

  • 🥇 1st Place: $100 + 2 event tickets

  • 🥈 2nd Place: $75 + 2 event tickets

  • 🥉 3rd Place: $50 + Cultural Center mug

Join the Conversation

We welcome work that challenges memory, complicates longing, and reconsiders what happiness has meant, and might still mean, in the American imagination. Join us for the reception, explore diverse works, and meet the exhibiting regional artists and the 2026 Great American Think-Off finalists.

For questions or to schedule art drop-off or pickup, contact Artistic Director Megan Shirley-Ross at megan@kulcher.org or call 218-385-3339.

This activity is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.