The 69th CWAJ Print Show (2026)
Artwork Submission Guidelines
The College Women’s Association of Japan (CWAJ) has held the CWAJ Print Show annually since 1956 to exhibit and sell contemporary Japanese prints, helping to preserve passion for the art of printmaking and share it with the world. CWAJ has used the net sales proceeds to provide scholarships and grants to more than 900 Japanese and international students, visually impaired students, and print artists. The 69th CWAJ Print Show will open at the Hillside Forum in Daikanyama and the Online Gallery will be posted in October 2026. We welcome all artists to apply.
• Artwork Submission Procedures (Click Here)
Sunday, March 1, 2026 –Tuesday, March 31, 2026 (by 5:00 pm)
Dates: Oct 14, 2026 (Wed) through Oct 18. 2026 (Sun)
Venue: Hillside Forum (Daikanyama)
Hillside Terrace F Building, 18-8 Sarugaku-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo http://hillsideterrace.com/
Online Gallery: https://cwaj-gallery.jp/
Prints will be available for sale online after the Hillside Forum exhibition is over. (The exact dates will be available later. )
Prints can be shipped overseas from both the Hillside Forum exhibition and the online sales period.
Applicants, or their applicant representative, must reside in Japan. As an exception, applicants who have been selected to exhibit in a past CWAJ Print Show are eligible to apply without a contact address in Japan, however, you will be required to prepay for overseas shipping, in the event you require your print to be returned to an overseas address.
Selection will be based on a two-stage process:
- A first screening of the digital images of the works
- A second screening of the actual works
Applicants who have never been selected to display in the Print Show and artists who have exhibited only in the 2020 Open Print Art Gallery must either reside in Japan or have an “Applicant Representative” who resides in Japan. An “Applicant Representative” takes full responsibility on behalf of an artist for the submission in Japan, the payment of the Submission Fee (although the artist may pay directly using a credit card), and the return to the artist of any print that is not selected for the Print Show or is not sold at the Print Show.
Applicants who have successfully completed a Selection and exhibited in a Print Show (other than the 2020 Open Print Art Gallery) have no requirements for Submission.
Please see the section on Submissions from Outside Japan.
Two-dimensional prints with editions are eligible. All print techniques and mediums are welcome.
- A.P., E.A., and mono-prints are ineligible.
- The artist’s signature, the title of the print, the edition number, and the year the print was produced need to be written on the print (on the front or back).
- The submitted print must be a creation of the applicant. Prints that have been produced in collaboration with another artist are ineligible.
- Prints that have been produced within the last three (3) years are preferred.
- The longest side of the print must be less than 100cm and the total size of the 3 dimensions of the packed print must not exceed 200cm.
- The print must be available for sale. The number of “Available for Sale” editions is limited to the number, other than the exhibited print, that will be available for sale at the time of the Print Show. Please see the section “Selling Works” for details.
- Only one print per applicant can be submitted.
Prints that do not meet the above requirements and/or require extra care to handle will not be accepted.
All selected artists will be featured in the CWAJ catalogue and will receive an invitation to the Opening Reception.
All selected works will be exhibited and sold at the 69th CWAJ Print Show. The recipient of the Print Show Committee Award will be invited to exhibit in the 70th CWAJ Print Show in 2027.
- Tatsuo ICHIEN (Print Artist)
- Junri IKUSHIMA (President of Tokyo Zokei University, Artist)
- Harumi Nishizawa (Head Curator, Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura and Hayama
- Lillian Wies (Modern Japanese Art Historian, Curator)
- Representative of CWAJ
For first-time Applicants: The link to the online submission form will be uploaded to the Artwork Submission portion of the CWAJ webpage during February. Please check the website. If you cannot access the online submission form on or after March 1st, or experience any difficulties in the submission process, please send an email to submissions@cwaj.org. Be sure to include your full name and phone number in your email.
For returning Applicants: You will receive Artwork Submission Guidelines via email in early February with instructions for access to a pre-populated submission form. Please submit your application via the link emailed to you, not the link on the website. If you do not receive these emails, please contact us directly at <CLICK HERE>. Be sure to include your full name and phone number in your email.
Image file details: The file must be submitted in jpeg format, approximately 5 MB or more in size and more than 350 dpi (catalogue size). The image of your print should be taken from the front without distortion and should include the edges of the paper. Please name the file with your family name first in upper case Roman Letters. Example: YAMADA Hanako
Note: The image you submit will be used in the first stage of the selection process without alteration or modifications, and, if selected, for the Print Show catalogue. If the image you submitted is not suitable for printing in the catalogue, CWAJ will charge a fee to cover the cost of having the printer retake the photograph. The image files you submit will not be returned.
The non-refundable submission fee is 3,000 yen. You can pay the submission fee by credit card or bank transfer during the submission period. The applicant’s name must appear as the payer’s name or in a note on the transfer form.
- For credit card payments, please follow the payment instructions that appear in the Application Form that will be sent to you as described in the Submission Procedures section.
- For bank transfer, please remit to:
Mitsui Sumitomo Bank Meguro Branch
Account Number: 7198489
Account Name: Ippan Shadan Hojin CWAJ
- The submission fee is non-refundable.
- Submission fees will be donated to CWAJ’s Scholarship Programs.
Details will be sent to those who pass the first selection. Prints should be shipped unmatted, unmounted, and unframed to arrive at the designated time. Shipping costs are to be paid by the Applicant or the Artist’s Representative.
Acceptance period: April 23, 2026 and April 24, 2026 (tentative). You will be assigned a date for delivery. Please plan your dispatch of the work so that it will arrive on the assigned day.
Delivery location: CWAJ Print Show Committee in Tokyo
Delivery method: Prepaid postage (paid by the Applicant) or in-person delivery
Applicants will be notified by May 31, 2026.
Please contact us <HERE> if you do not receive a notice.
We do not respond to inquiries about specific details of the selection process.
Prints that are not selected in the Second Selection will be returned by the end of June 2026.
The shipping fees address shall be paid by the Applicant or the Artist’s Representative. Where practical, the artwork will be returned in its original delivery packaging.
- Selected prints will be matted for display and available for purchase at the CWAJ Print Show and on the CWAJ Print Show Online Gallery website.
- The artist will be paid 50% of the pre-tax sales price of a print that is sold. The net proceeds of the sale will be used by CWAJ as a source of funds for its Scholarship and other charitable activities.
- Overseas remittances can only be made using PayPal.
- The pre-tax sales price of each print should be the same as the pre-tax gallery price.
- The sales price cannot be changed after CWAJ receives the Application.
- Prior to the start of the Print Show, CWAJ may request certain artists to provide additional editions in advance of the Print Show. CWAJ may also request artists to send additional editions of prints after the end of the Print Show.
- CWAJ will contact artists with the sale results of the Print Show and the Online Gallery by mid-November.
- After the sales results, CWAJ will provide details on number and delivery methods for additional orders and return methods for unsold prints. CWAJ will remove the mats from the unsold prints and return them in their original form.
- We accept entries from overseas. If you have never been selected to exhibit in the Print Show or have only exhibited in the 2020 Print Show and if your print does not pass the second selection, we will return your print to your Artist Representative. The shipping fees whether to local or overseas addresses shall be paid by the applicant, and must be prepaid in the case of overseas shipping.
- When returning prints, we try to use the packaging used to send the prints to us. If this is not possible, you or your Representative will be invoiced for the cost of the new packaging.
- If you have any questions about the payment of the Submission Fee or other fees from overseas, please contact us.
- CWAJ reserves the right to rescind a selection offer for any valid reason, including noncompliance with the submission requirements.
- Please contact us as soon as possible if your contact information changes after you have submitted your application.
- While every care will be taken in handling the works, the organizers will not be held responsible for any accidents or damage to the works during transportation, unpacking, packaging, exhibition, or other handling procedures related to the entry and return of the works. If deemed necessary, applicants are responsible for ensuring their works at their own expense.
- The participation of an artist in the CWAJ Print Show signifies the grant by the artist of a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual right to the CWAJ to use the artist’s copyright for the selected print to photograph and use such photographs to prepare the Print Show catalogue and promote the CWAJ Print Show, including posts of such prints on CWAJ’s website, archive, and social media pages as well in other CWAJ publications and videos.
- The CWAJ Print Show Committee will contact artists in advance if their artwork is selected for use in a product for sale to generate funds for CWAJ Scholarship and Education Programs. An artist’s agreement to such use shall include the artist’s consent to the royalty-free use of the selected work for such product.
