Create Beautiful Art in the Fresh Air

Poster for Louisiana Plein Air Competition 2026
Saturday, April 18, 2026, 8:30am-noon
Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Monroe, Louisiana (check-in at the Visitor Center)
480 Richland Place, Monroe, Louisiana

email Daniel Moore with questions: dmoore(a)latech.edu
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All entry fees must be paid in the form of a donation to Friends of Black Bayou on or before the day of the event. All participants must register via this form prior to participation: https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSe3fowYyWhLag.../viewform

If paying through friendsofblackbayou.org please use special instruction "PLEIN AIR"

Schedule: ​

 ​
  • 8:30 - 9:30am, Artist Check-in (at the Visitor Center)
  • 9:00 - 12:00, Art-making
  • 12:00 - 12:45, Judging, all work must be submitted by 12:00 to be judged
  • 1:00, Awards Ceremony 

​Artwork Requirements:

  • All 2D media is accepted, so long as materials are used responsibly while at the refuge. 
  • Works may be no larger than 24 inches in height or width. 
  • Only one work per artist may be submitted for judging. 
  • Work must be completed the day of the event and submitted by 12:00 for judging.

Registration Categories & Fees: 

(entry is half-price for members of FoBB)
​FoBB Membership: 
  • $15 - Student
  • $15 - Senior Citizen
  • $25 - Regular Individual
  • $35 - Family Memberships
Join FoBB
  • Professional Artists (18+): $20
  • Teen Artists (junior high + high school): $10
  • Young Artists (3rd – 5th grade): $10
  • Tiny Artists (2nd and younger): $10
PAY ONLINE (special instruction: PLEIN AIR.  This brings you to the FoBB donation page.)

Awards: 

  • ​Artwork must be made in accordance to the Louisiana Plein Air Competition rules stated herein to be eligible for awards. 
  • Each category will be granted a Best-in-Show Award and one Honorable Mention, awarded by judges established by Louisiana Plein Air event organizers. 
  • An artist does not need to be present during the awards ceremony to receive the award. Efforts will be made by the event organizers to contact the winning artist(s) in the event of the artist's absence. 
  • Artwork must be made at Black Bayou Lake NWR on the day of the event, in participation of the event, in order to be eligible for awards. 
  • The advertised solo exhibition at Northeast Louisiana Arts Council will occur in April, 2027. More details will follow and communication will be established between the winning artist and the Arts Council following the Louisiana Plein Air Competition. 
  • The advertised solo exhibition at Northeast Louisiana Arts Council will only be awarded to one artist, the winner of Best-in-Show in the Professional Category.

Rules: 

  • ​Each artist may submit only one work to be judged.
  • Contest check-in ends at 9:30 a.m.
  • Work must be submitted to judges by 12:00 to be judged. Late work will not be considered. 
  • Artists are responsible for the protection of their work during the contest.
  • Works are the property of the artist. No artwork is to be sold during the event or at Black Bayou Lake NWR. As such, artists are solely responsible for handling of their artworks. 
  • Works must be left on display at Black Bayou Lake NWR until May 16, 2026.
  • Artwork must be picked up from Black Bayou Lake NWR on or by May 30, 2026. Any work left at Black Bayou Lake NWR after this date becomes the property of Friends of Black Bayou, Inc.
  • Artist will handle art materials responsibly while at the refuge. 
  • Friends of Black Bayou and Louisiana Plein Air have permission to include images of artwork in promotion material, giving credit to the artist.
  • Artist agrees to pay the entry fee, paid in the form of a donation to Friends of Black Bayou, on or by the day of the event.
  • Artists understand and acknowledge that there are risks associated with participation in this event, including but not limited to bodily injury, partial and/or total disability, paralysis and death; social and economic losses and/or damages, these risks and dangers may be caused by the negligence of participants or the negligence of others, that there may be other risks not known to Friends of Black Bayou or are not reasonably foreseeable at this time. Artists further accept and assume such risks and responsibility for the losses and/or damages following such injury, disability, paralysis or death, however caused and whether caused in whole or in part by the negligence of the Releasees named above. 

Questions:

  • ​email Daniel Moore with questions: dmoore(a)latech.edu
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