About this Event
Collectors’ Preview & Sale
Saturday, May 9, 6-9pm at Wayne Art Center
Experience the exclusive opportunity to view and purchase over 300 original paintings featuring local scenes. Revel in an evening filled with fine art, delectable hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, and live music before the exhibition opens to the public. Juror Mark Boedges will award $25,000 in cash prizes to the top winners during the evening’s award presentation.
18th Annual Wayne Art Center Plein Air Exhibition
May 9 – June 20, 2026
Davenport, Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith, and Vidinghoff Galleries
Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival is a jured event dedicated to enhancing the public’s awareness of outdoor painting while providing a venue for established and emerging artists alike to share creative endeavors with collectors and the public.
"En Plein Air"
— French Phrase meaning 'in the open air'Wayne Art Center’s Plein Air Festival is an exciting opportunity to bring valued talent to our community. More than half of the artists come from other regions stretching up and down the East Coast and Midwest. This year with the growing awareness of the Wayne Plein Air Festival, there has been an increase in the number of applicants and the festival is attracting artists from as far away as California.
The first Wayne Art Plein Air Festival was held in 2007 with the intention of making it an annual event. Artists had to mail in slides or CDs with their artwork for juror Sara Linda Poly to review. The 33 participating artists were primarily from the East Coast, although a few came in from the Midwest to paint in Wayne. The paintings were displayed in the newly-completed, bright and spacious Davenport Gallery, and the Preview Party was held in the new Vidinghoff Lobby, taking full advantage of the Center’s 2007 renovation and expansion.
Over the course of 17 years, Wayne Art Center’s Plein Air Festival has grown to be one of the premier outdoor painting events on the East Coast. The application process is now fully online, attracting the foremost plein air artists from across the country. The paintings produced are displayed across the Art Center in the Davenport, Vidinghoff and Outer Galleries, and more than 200 guests attend the Preview Party to have the first chance to see the new artwork. Thanks to generous sponsors and patrons, we are now able to offer over $25,000 in awards in recognition of the artists’ talents.
We appreciate all of the artists, jurors, sponsors and patrons who have made the past fifteen Plein Air Festivals so exciting. We look forward to Plein Air 2026 and to seeing what the 18th annual celebration brings!
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
413 Maplewood Ave, 413 Maplewood Avenue, Wayne, United States
USD 135.23 to USD 642.09
