ROCKLAND — The Center for Maine Contemporary Art has announced an open call for submissions for the 2016 CMCA Biennial exhibition. Submissions will be accepted online through the CMCA website from Jan. 4 through April 4. The CMCA Biennial is an open juried competition for artists at all stages of their career who have a strong connection to the state of Maine. Work in all mediums is accepted for review. Submission to the 2016 CMCA Biennial is free of charge thanks to the support of Allen Insurance and Financial and CHUBB.

The CMCA Biennial Exhibition typically takes place in the fall of even numbered years. The concept of an open juried competition at CMCA dates back to 1978, when then director Ben Goldsmith presented the annual Juried Exhibition. It was the only continuing statewide juried exhibition until the Portland Museum of Art introduced its first Biennial in 1998. Since then, CMCA and the PMA have presented Biennials in alternating years. The jurors for the 2016 CMCA Biennial are Christine Berry, director of Berry Campbell Gallery, New York City, and John Yau, noted writer, poet, and art critic for Hyperallergic.

Christine Berry opened Berry Campbell Gallery with Martha Campbell in the fall of 2013, with a focus on Postwar Modern and Contemporary Art. Berry received her Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Baylor University, Waco, Texas and earned her Masters in Art History and Museum Studies/Museum Education from the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas. Berry began her career at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, continuing on to the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

John Yau is an American poet and critic who lives in New York City. He received his B.A. from Bard College in 1972 and his M.F.A. from Brooklyn College in 1978. He has published over 50 books of poetry, artists' books, fiction, and art criticism. In 1999, he started Black Square Editions, a small press devoted to poetry, fiction, translation, and criticism. He was the Arts Editor for the Brooklyn Rail many years, before he began writing regularly for Hyperallergic.

The 2016 CMCA Biennial will be held in the art center's new building at 21 Winter Street, Rockland, from Nov. 4  —  Jan. 24, 2017. For full submission guidelines and to apply, please visit cmcanow.org/biennial-exhibition/. Applicants will be notified of selections on May 2 by email.