Holyoke Paper Festival

Holyoke Paper Festival is a one-day celebration of arts and culture recognizing the historic significance of Holyoke, MA as The Paper City. During the late 1800s Holyoke produced an estimated 80% of the writing paper used in the U.S. Historically home to the Pocomtuc, Agawam, and Nonotuck people and nestled next to the Connecticut River, the imprint of its manufacturing history can still be found throughout the city.

In partnership with the Holyoke Local Cultural Council, Holyoke Community College, Holyoke Art, and local business and property owners Holyoke Paper Festival will hold a one-day exhibition of fine art and feature tours, workshops, and more in Downtown Holyoke.

Artists making work in, on, about, or of paper are encouraged to submit 1-3 works that highlight the significance and possibilities of paper.

$30 for 3 works.

This exhibition is open to any media. Artists must be:

All work must be original. Collaborations are accepted. Any media is accepted, though should strongly related to the theme.

Artwork will be juried by Felice Caivano, Chair of the Visual Art Department at Holyoke Community College.

Notification of acceptance will be made by Thursday, May 1, 2025 by email.

Please add [email protected] to your list of approved email addresses so notifications are not flagged as spam.

Shipped and hand-delivered work should arrive at Taber Art Gallery at Holyoke Community College from May 1-31, 2025. Hand delivery of works should be scheduled in advance and only delivered to Rachel Rushing, Director of Taber Art Gallery.

Taber Art Gallery

Holyoke Paper Festival

303 Homestead Ave.

Holyoke, MA 01040

Artists are responsible for all shipping costs. The work must be shipped with a PRE-PAID RETURN-SHIPPING LABEL. Work will not be exhibited that does not include a prepaid shipping label. If an artwork is purchased, the return shipping label will not be used and therefore the noted account will not be billed.

Any artwork shipped in wooden crates must be confirmed by the Gallery Director prior to shipping. Crates or extra-large boxes cannot exceed 100 lbs. and must be moveable with a hand-dolly.

Holyoke Paper Festival and its partners will not be responsible for loss or damage to work in transit to or from the gallery. In the event of damage in transit, the artist is responsible to settle all claims directly with the shipping carrier.

2D works should be ready to hang via D-rings or wire. Unusual or alternative installation requests must be made in advance and approved by Holyoke Paper Festival.

If you have any questions about the festival, please email [email protected].

All emails will be responded to within 48 hours. Emails sent after 3pm on Fridays will be responded to by 5pm the following Tuesday.

Additional Notification Information

Notifications will be emailed and posted in your ShowSubmit account by the end of the day on May 1, 2025.

You may view the notification in your ShowSubmit account by logging in and clicking tapping the Notifications at the top right of the screen, or in your Entry History.

If you do not receive your email, login and view the notification in your account. We cannot respond to inquiries regarding the status of notifications.

Note: Entries made prior to 2023 may not display the View Notification link.

Image and Filename Specifications

• File Format: Submit original, high-quality JPEG image files. Other formats (e.g., PNG, TIFF) are not accepted.
• Crop Your Image: Ensure only the artwork itself is visible in the image. Do not show any visible matting, frames, or background distractions.
• Orientation: Make sure your image is oriented correctly (right side up) so that the artwork appears in its intended viewing direction.
• Image Size: You do not need to resize your image files before uploading. The system will automatically resize them. Smaller images cannot be enlarged to meet the requirements, so ensure your images are high resolution before uploading.
• File Names: You do not need to rename your files before uploading them. The system will handle any file naming requirements.
• File Size: There is a 30mb maximum file size limit. Larger image files will take longer to upload and process.

Additional Entry Information

• You will pay for your entry by credit or debit card using our secure checkout system.
• After your entry is submitted and paid for, you may log back in to review your entry, edit artist and image information, and add or substitute images up until the entry deadline (April 14, 2025.)
• Entry fees are not refundable and must be submitted and paid by the entry deadline.
• Entries cannot be accepted or changed after the deadline. Incomplete entries will be disqualified.

Support

Need Assistance? For questions about the entry process or using this website, please check our Help Center or Entry Guide first for detailed guides and troubleshooting tips. Most answers can be found there quickly.

If you still need help, feel free to email ShowSubmit Support at [email protected], and we’ll respond between 9am and 6pm Eastern Time, Monday to Friday.