Extended Submission Deadline: 1/13/2026
It seems like the first thing we learned how to do as children is pick up something and draw. Of course, what we draw with when we’re little varies: a stick in the dirt, a crayon, our fingers on a frosty window pane, or perhaps the moisture-covered mirror of a steamy bathroom. Drawing can be a problem-solver, a way to understand how things work, or a way to record a fleeting moment. Drawing is innate to us: it is the way we communicated before language; after all, drawing existed before written language.
In the spirit of that impulse, Drawn In, the February 2026 Art League RI’s international juried exhibition, curated by Sarah Hardesty and Amanda Jirón-Murphy, invites artists to submit drawings with the broadest possible definition of the term. Fully finished drawings are welcome submissions, but so too are sketches. The mediums will vary, as will size and degree of finish. Perhaps the drawing is an excerpt from a sketchbook, or it could be the remnants of a performance that indicate where the body has been in space. Maybe the drawing is made with paint.
In Drawn In, we invite a broad and inclusive understanding of drawing. We welcome works that might not be thought of as traditional drawing and that make use of unorthodox materials. We want to expand our definition of the term by including works that challenge our notions of what it can be, how it can be made, and what it could be made of.
The jurors for this exhibition are Sarah Hardesty and Amanda Jirón-Murphy.
Hardesty is an artist, curator, and educator. Recent curatorial projects include Foon Sham at Cody Gallery, Marymount University in Arlington, VA, and Intersections at the University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA. Her work has been exhibited at WaterFire Arts Center, Providence, RI; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Arlington, VA; VisArts, Rockville, MD; ISE Cultural Foundation, New York, NY; Davidson Contemporary, New York, NY; MPG Gallery, Boston, MA; Wheaton College, Norton, MA; and the Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ. She has been awarded residencies at MacDowell, Wassaic Project, Islip Art Museum, Santa Fe Art Institute, and Vermont Studio Center. Hardesty holds an MFA in Painting from the University of Arizona and a BS in Studio Art from Skidmore College. She is currently teaching in the Art Department at Rhode Island College, in the Arts and Creative Industries program at Bryant University, and is the Exhibition and Program Director at Art League RI. She was born in Strong, Maine, and is currently based in Pawtucket, RI.
Jirón-Murphy is the Curator & Resident Artist/Collector Liaison at Museum of Contemporary Art in Arlington, Virginia. In her role, Jirón-Murphy curates the resident artists’ exhibitions, manages the artist residency program, and the museum’s collectors’ program, a public program sharing knowledge about art collecting and supporting artists’ careers. She has served as the Gallery Director at Hamiltonian and the Coordinator of Public Programs and Adult Interpretation at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. She has served as a guest speaker and panel moderator at cultural institutions and schools around the Washington, DC area and has written for many publications, including The Rib and DIRT DMV. She holds a BA in Art History from John Cabot University in Rome, Italy, and an MA in Modern and Contemporary Art and Connoisseurship from Christie’s Education in London, England.
The selected works will be on display in the Art League RI Gallery at 80 Fountain Street and prizes will be awarded based on the juror’s selection. ALRI members who are in good standing are eligible for a $15 discount on the entry fee. Members should contact Ellen Matesanz at office@artleagueri.org for the discount code. Additional information and registration is available on CaFÉ. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at 11:59 pm.
Jurors: Sarah Hardesty and Amanda Jirón-Murphy
Exhibition Dates: February 21 – March 22, 2026
Location: Art League RI Gallery at 80 Fountain Street, Suite 107A, Pawtucket, RI 02860