Adam Welch Named Juror of “Ellarslie Open” Art Show

Adam Welch

Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie has announced the 2026 juror and call for art for its annual “Ellarslie Open” juried art show. Adam Welch, executive director of the Arts Council of Princeton, will jury the 2026 show. Artists are invited to submit artwork online through May 6 for consideration by the juror.

Showcasing contemporary work by artists from across the New Jersey-Pennsylvania-New York region and beyond, the “Ellarslie Open,” which debuted in 1983, is one of the area’s premier annual juried shows. In 2025, out of more than 520 entries, 110 diverse works were selected. The 2026 show will open with an Artists’ and Members’ Reception on Saturday, June 6, and will remain on view through September 6. Gallery talks and other related programming will be announced.

Cash awards are given for Best In Show Overall, five category prizes, and special sponsored awards. Artists may submit up to four pieces. Full instructions, timeline, and entry link are found at ellarslie.org/eo43.

Welch serves on the Princeton University Art Museum’s Community Leadership Council and is a trustee of the Witherspoon–Jackson Historical and Cultural Society. Until recently, he also served as a commissioner on the Hightstown Cultural Arts Commission. An artist, critic, educator, and amateur historian, Welch joined the Arts Council of Princeton after a long tenure at Greenwich House Pottery, where he worked from 2003 to 2020. He was appointed assistant director in 2007 and became director in 2010. That same year, he was appointed a lecturer at Princeton University, where he taught until 2021. Welch holds an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and a BFA, with a minor in art education, from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Ariz. He lives in Hightstown with his wife Rachel, a fashion designer, and their two daughters, Amelie and Finley.

Trenton City Museum is housed in Ellarslie Mansion, an 1848 Italianate Villa in the heart of Trenton’s Cadwalader Park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Museum hours are Friday and Saturday from 12 to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. There is no admission charge, but donations in support of the museum’s mission and programs are appreciated. For more information, visit ellarslie.org or call (609) 989-1191.