Overview

Mid-South Sculpture Alliance (MSA) is excited to present Mining the Material, a 2026 MSA Thematic indoor exhibition juried by Beili Liu and held at University of Central Arkansas, in the Baum Gallery, McCastlin Hall, Conway, Arkansas.

Mining the Material: explores material as the language of sculpture—its history, how it records labor, and its transformation through the making process.

This exhibition fosters MSA ’s mission to advance the creation and awareness of sculpture in its many and varied forms and promote a supportive environment for sculpture and sculptors. Selected sculptures will offer a dynamic exhibition highlighting a variety of techniques, media, and content.

MSA Professional Member Artists are encouraged to submit up to three artworks for consideration.

Application and Exhibit Timeline:

Call opens: May 2026 
Deadline for submission: June 21, 2026
Artists to be notified: July 7, 2026
Shipping artwork deadline: Aug. 7, 2026
In-person delivery deadline:  Aug. 10-21, 2026
Installation dates: Aug. 7 -31, 2026
Exhibition dates: September 1 – October 3, 2026
Exhibition Reception: Friday, Oct. 2, 2026
De-installation dates: Sunday, Oct. 3-4 2026
Return Shipping: Oct. 5, 2026
In-person pick up Window: Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026

Artist Eligibility

●     This opportunity is open to all professional visual artists, aged 18 and older, who are current or new Professional members of MSA.

●     Each applicant may enter up to THREE artworks; all entries must have been conceived and created by the artist submitting the artwork; all media suitable for indoor exhibition will be considered.

●     Application for membership can be made when submitting for this exhibition.

●     Application is free for MSA Professional members

Juror

Beili Liu

Photo credit Phillip Rogers

beililiu.com

Biography

Beili Liu is a visual artist who has exhibited extensively across the globe, in locations including Norway, Finland, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Lithuania, France, Belgium, Austria, Poland, China, Taiwan and across the United States. She has presented solo exhibitions at Hå Gamle Prestegard, Norwegian National Art and Culture Museum; Galerie An Der Pinakothek Der Moderne, Munich, Germany; Museo di Villa Bernasconi, Como, Italy; Elisabeth de Brabant Art Center, Shanghai, China; Chinese Culture Foundation, San Francisco, CA; the Crow Museum of Asian Art, Dallas, TX; Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, TX; and Women & Their Work, Austin, TX, among others. Significant group exhibitions at the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.; New Orleans Art Museum, LA; Museum of Fine Arts Houston; Asian Art Week, NYC; Asia Society Texas Center; Artpace, San Antonio, TX; San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, CA; and internationally at the Hamburg Art Week, Germany; M.K. Ciurlionis National Art Museum, Kaunas, Lithuania; Chengdu Art Museum, China; Zhejiang Museum of Art, China; Musée de la Dentelle in Caudry, Montrouge, France; Asian Art Week, London, UK; and Bunkier Sztuki Gallery, Kraków, Poland. Liu has created public artworks in Beijing, Jilin and Shanghai, China, Bremerhaven, Germany, Taiwan, San Francisco, CA, Dallas and Austin, TX.

Liu has received numerous fellowships and awards, including the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship (2022-2024), the Pollock Prize for Creativity (2022), the Fulbright Arctic Chair, Norway (2021-2022), the Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grant (2016), the National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America Grant through the Museum of Southeast Texas (2014). In 2018, Liu was honored by the Texas Legislature as the Texas State Artist in 3D medium. Liu received the Distinction Award at the Kaunas Biennial, Lithuania (2011), and a San Francisco Mayor’s Award (2008) for her contribution to cultural exchange.

Liu’s work has been featured by PBS Arts in Context series, Sculpture Magazine, Art in America, New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, ArtNews, Art Papers, ArtSlant, Artillery, The Huffington Post, Climate Progress, Public Art Review, Sacchi Review, UK, Helsinki Sanomat News, Finland, Morgenbladet, Norway, China Daily, Yishu, Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, Hamburg Abendblatt and Vita (Life) Magazine, Italy, among others.

Born in Jilin, China, Beili Liu now lives and works in Austin, Texas. Liu received her MFA degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2003) and is the Leslie Waggener Endowed Professor in the College of Fine Arts and a Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Site

The Baum Gallery

McCastlain Hall, Room 145, 201 Donaghey Ave, Conway, AR 72034

https://uca.edu/art/baum/

The Baum Gallery is an educational art museum for UCA students, faculty and staff, and the central Arkansas community. The Director and Faculty Exhibitions Committee select national and international touring exhibitions, sponsor juried student shows, and cooperate across disciplines to curate original exhibits distinctly suited to an academic environment. The gallery develops exhibitions and events that invite interaction and encourage dialogue about visual art: the creators, studio process, history, criticism, curation, and cultural contexts.

Exhibits and events are under the aegis of the UCA Department of Art and Design, College of Fine Arts and Communication. The Baum Gallery maintains institutional memberships in the Arkansas Museums Association, the Association of College and University Museums and Galleries, and the American Association of Museums.

Artwork Themes

Mining the Material: explores material as the language of sculpture—its history, how it records labor, and its transformation through the making process.

The shape and content of the show is decided entirely by the juror.

Shipping, Installation, and Deinstallation

All accepted artwork should either be shipped, or hand delivered at the artist's expense. All shipped artworks must arrive by end of day August 7, 2026.

Shipping address: Windgate Center for Fine & Performing Arts, 131

                              The University of Central Arkansas

                              201 Donaghey Avenue

                              Conway, AR  72035                              Attn: Dr. Bryan W. Massey, Sr.

In-person delivery:

Please coordinate in-person delivery in advance with Dr. Bryan W. Massey, Sr. Email: bryanm@uca.edu  to schedule an appointment for August 10-21, 2026.

Deinstallation

Deinstallation will begin Evening of October 3 – 4,2026.

Return Shipping: All artists requesting return shipping of artworks must include a return shipping label.

In-person pick up:

Please coordinate in-person pick up in advance with Dr. Bryan W. Massey, Sr. Email: bryanm@uca.edu   to schedule an appointment for October 3 – 4,2026

Artwork remaining on site after 180 days following the conclusion of its associated exhibition is considered the property of Baum Gallery for dispersal as it sees fit.

Artwork Scale

The exhibition space allows for free-standing, pedestal, and wall-hung pieces. No suspended works. Wall-mounted works must be less than 75lbs. when installed. The footprint of pedestal works should be max 36” x 36”. 

All packaging and artwork must fit through a 6’ (height) double door. 

Packaging requirements: Reusable Shipping Package/Crate, weight limits: 175 lbs or less

Limitations & Restrictions

1.   All work must be original.

2.   Wall-hung artworks must be ready to hang upon delivery and include any specialty anchoring hardware needed. Wall-hung artwork weight limit is 75lbs.

3.   All shipping or hand delivery and the return of work for the exhibition is the responsibility of the artist.

4.   University of Central Arkansas and MSA reserve the right to reject works that are misrepresented in the application process or are not properly outfitted to display in the gallery.

Artist Responsibilities

Exhibiting venue will supply power, tools, pedestals, basic installation materials and assistance for installation. The artist will provide any specialty hardware that is needed. Selected artists are encouraged to send a detailed installation instruction of artwork. If special arrangements are needed for installation, please email Dr. Bryan W. Massey, Sr.

For further information regarding MSA and this exhibition, please visit www.midsouthsculpture.org, or contact Chelsea Moulder, Administrative Assistant, at admin@midsouthsculpture.org or 803.956.9876

Application Requirements

1.   Completed entry form

2.   Artist statement - about artwork conception. Submissions should be no more than 400 words in length. These statements will be used for exhibition didactics including artist labels and exhibition catalog.

3.   Artist biography statement - 100 to 150 words in length

4.   Images - please submit up to three artworks. Detail images are encouraged with a maximum of up to ten image files total. Works in progress will be considered only if images clearly depicting where the sculpture is to this point and a detailed technical drawing are included. For work better suited for representation by video (installation, kinetic sculpture, etc), post a video and include a link in the application form.
Image upload directions - each image must be:

●     Saved in jpeg or png format

●     Set color to RGB

●     Image size should not exceed horizontal pixel dimension of 1600 pixels or vertical pixel dimension of 1200 pixels

●     each file must be less than 1MB

●     Saved as the artist's last name and image title.Example: DOE_UNTITLED.jpg

5.   Image list - for each image, include:

●     Title

●     Date completed

●     Media

●     Dimensions (please be as accurate as possible)

●     Weight of artwork

●     Description of how the artwork would be installed/hung etc.

●     Optional description about the artwork

Submitting your application indicates that you have read and understood all guidelines and criteria contained within this prospectus. To the best of your knowledge, you are eligible to be considered for this for exhibition. Your application contains your work and the information in your statements is complete and true. You understand that if accepted, it will be your responsibility to ship/deliver your exhibition ready artwork to the correct location and on time, concurrent with any schedules given to you upon acceptance. If accepted, the artwork presented with this application is the artwork that will be installed in the exhibit.  University of Central Arkansas and MSA does not provide insurance for the artwork during the exhibition. The Artist assumes all liability and any injury or damages incurred directly from the artwork or associated malfunctions of equipment/technology in the exhibition. This includes damages to networks in conjunction with internet or server access required for the exhibition.

No person will be excluded from participation in or otherwise subjected to discrimination in regard to services, programs and employment, provided by the exhibition venue based on color, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, age or religion.