Open Call

VERA LIST NEW SCHOOL ART COLLECTION WRITING AWARDS

Call for Student Essay Submissions:
Robert Rauschenberg & The News

The Vera List Center for Art and Politics is pleased to invite New School students from all programs to submit a critical or creative reflection—any genre—on 16 iconic prints by the legendary artist Robert Rauschenberg in The New School Art Collection. Entries must be received by January 23, 2026.

Vera List New School Art Collection Writing Awards
The Vera List New School Art Collection Writing Awards are bestowed to New School students for the best essays inspired by works in the university’s art collection. The awards were established in 1996 by the late Vera G. List, a life trustee of The New School, to celebrate the creative and critical thinking of New School students, and the impact of contemporary art in The New School’s academic life. They are directed by the Vera List Center for Art and Politics.

Robert Rauschenberg Print Collection
Throughout his decades-long practice, Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008) continuously dedicated himself to bridging, in his words, the “gap between art and life,” working outside traditional boundaries of art making to respond to the rapidly shifting sociopolitical landscape of his time, a methodology that still resonates today. Environmentalism was one of his utmost concerns, manifested through his personal conservation efforts on the Florida coastline, as well as his public activism, which involved creating art to raise awareness and funds for environmental causes.

The artist first began experimenting with printmaking in 1962, and his work entered The New School Art Collection over many years. The collection includes such signature pieces as Untitled (from “Peace Portfolio”), which documents the aftermath of a 1970 Chevron Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Another print from 1970, Surface Series 48 (from Currents), features silkscreened newspaper headlines such as “Runoff Flushes Raw Sewage to River,” “Anti-War Marchers Back GE Strikers,” and “Nixon Plans Integration Help for South,” demonstrating overlapping efforts and concerns between environmental, economic, political, and social movements.

Rauschenberg believed firmly in the democracy of journalism, often referencing and appropriating clips from newspapers, magazines, and other print media in his prints, which today exist as a record of urgent responses to climate crises, world conflict, and civil rights struggles as they unfolded in real time. In his work, Rauschenberg explored topical themes ranging from environmentalism and ecology to journalism and counterculture, working across a vast range of media and formats, but printmaking and the expansiveness of the multiple was a recurring theme in his practice.

On February 19, 2026, The New School will inaugurate a new installation of its Robert Rauschenberg print holdings in Wollman Hall, the first time they are all assembled in the same space. The winning essay and the finalists will be celebrated as part of the installation opening reception, coinciding with the 2026 edition of New School New Books, an annual reading series by the Vera List Center.

For Award Recipient and Finalists

• First Prize: $500
• 2 Finalists: $250 each
• Featured at the inauguration of Robert Rauschenberg & The News: Select Prints from The New School Art Collection
• Winning essay edited and published by the Vera List Center for Art and Politics in February 2026

Guidelines for Entry

• Any student currently enrolled at The New School is eligible.
• Text entries must be between 1,000 and 1,500 words.
• If interested, register with the VLC for further information by November 28.
• All submissions must be emailed to vlc@newschool.edu as a Word attachment, with “Vera List Writing Awards 2026 Submission” in the subject line.

Deadlines

• Entries must be received by January 23, 2026.
• Email vlc@newschool.edu to register for competition with “Robert Rauschenberg” in the subject line by November 28, 2025.
• RSVP for Robert Rauschenberg Foundation visit by November 28, 2025.

For All Students Submitting to Award

• Curatorial visit of Robert Rauschenberg’s home and studio, now the Rauschenberg Foundation, on December 5, 2025 (RSVP by November 28, 2025).
• Exclusive tour of The New School Art Collection, with a special focus on works related to topics of importance to Rauschenberg, including environmentalism, journalism, and the news.
• Free admission to current Robert Rauschenberg exhibitions in New York City: Grey Art Museum: Handle with Care: Robert Rauschenberg’s Ecological Conscience; Guggenheim Museum: Collection in Focus | Robert Rauschenberg: Life Can’t Be Stopped; Museum of the City of New York: Robert Rauschenberg’s New York: Pictures from the Real World.

For more information on Robert Rauschenberg and the Award: write to vlc@newschool.edu, with “Robert Rauschenberg” in the subject line.