17th Annual Fran Achen

Juried Photography Exhibition

Submissions Open Soon!!

Submissions open Soon!

Please stay tuned for the exhibition.

The Classic Returns IN 2026 FOR THE 17th edition

in both print and digital

Theme

  • SALON: Open

  • DIGITAL: Categories to be Announced with Call for Art

Medium

  • Photography

Key Dates

  • Exhibition: Thursday, June 4, 2026 - Sunday, June 28, 2026

  • Awards Reception: Saturday, 13, 2026

  • Submissions Open: SOON

  • Submissions Close/Entry Deadline: Sunday, April 26, 2026, 11:59pm

  • Notification of Acceptance: Monday, May 11, 2026

  • Drop-Off (Prints): Tuesday, June 2, 2026, 4pm-6pm; Wednesday, June 3, 2026, 12pm-2pm

  • Pick-Up (Prints): Monday, June 29, 2026, 4pm–6pm

Contacts

  • Jeff McDonald, Exhibit Chair - waa.franachen@gmail.com

  • Kim Adams, WAA Gallery Director - wwartsalliance@gmail.com

We're excited to announce the 17th iteration of the Fran Achen Juried Photography Exhibition.

The Fran Achen Juried Photography Exhibition is an annual juried exhibition produced by the Whitewater Arts Alliance. It commemorates the life of Fran Achen and his positive impact on the Whitewater community as both photographer and high school teacher. It consists of two side-by-side exhibitions, one physical and one digital, both displayed in the Cultural Arts Center Gallery, 402 W. Main Street in Whitewater, Wisconsin.

Artwork selected for the Salon Exhibition (SALON, a.k.a. the “Printed Photograph Division”) will be displayed using the traditional, in-gallery, printed photograph, “hanging on the walls” experience while artwork selected for the Digital Exhibition (DIGITAL, a.k.a. the “Digital Image Division”) will be displayed using projection and television equipment in the gallery. Both SALON and DIGITAL will each have their own online web gallery to display their respective selected artwork.

Whitewater Arts Alliance successfully pioneered this multi-faceted exhibition approach during the 2025 Fran Achen Juried Photography Exhibition and, subsequently, in several other of its recent exhibitions. The format was very well-received by visitors to the gallery.

Photographs in the SALON are of an Open/General theme. Photographs in DIGITAL may be submitted into various categories. The specific DIGITAL categories will be announced with the Call for Art.

This is a juried acceptance exhibition with similar, but separate, submission procedures. Entrants complete an online registration form, pay the registration fees, and upload photographic images of their work which will be used by the jury panel to make its selections.

Entry Process (All Divisions)

Digital photographs must be uploaded to complete a submission. These digital photographs will be used by the jurors to make their decisions. For the Printed Photograph Division, final award decisions will only be made once the prints have been delivered to the gallery.

Uploaded image files must be in JPEG format, with at least 1920 pixels on the longer side and a maximum file size of 5 MB. Uploaded images may not include signatures or watermarks. Submissions with incorrectly formatted images may be rejected.

Submissions will be made through ArtCall. Each division has its own Call for Art at ArtCall. Click one of the buttons below to begin the submission process. We hope you will enter both divisions but they require separate submissions. New users will be required to create an ArtCall profile with user login and password. Existing ArtCall users need only login and follow the process for a new submission.

The preferred method of payment is through a credit card on the ArtCall site (using Stripe). Checks will be accepted if you enter the Coupon/Promo Code "PayOffline" which will allow you to make your entry without entering payment. If you choose to pay offline, after you make the submission, mail your check to: Whitewater Arts Alliance, 402 W. Main Street, Whitewater, WI 53190. You may also make payment in-person at the WAA Cultural Arts Center Gallery at 402 W. Main Street, Whitewater, WI during gallery open hours. If payment is not received within 7 days of entry, the submissions will not be included in the jurying process.

Acceptances will be issued by email by the date listed above.

Staff will do their best to notify those with incorrectly submitted entries, but it is the responsibility of the artist to submit correctly and on time. ArtCall allows entrants to make changes to their submissions, but no changes may be made after the submission deadline.

We look forward to seeing your incredible work and celebrating this exciting exhibition together.

Calls for Art will be open soon.

Salon (Printed Photographs)

Call for Art - Printed Photograph Division

Digital (Digital Images)

Call for Art - Digital Image Division
Donate/Sponsor

About Fran Achen

The Whitewater Arts Alliance honors Fran Achen’s contribution to Whitewater by sponsoring the Annual Fran Achen Juried Photography Exhibition.

Fran Achen was a longtime Whitewater resident, teacher, and local photographer. He is most remembered for his photographic collection which chronicles the history of Whitewater.

Born in Kenosha in 1916, his interest in photography began after high school. He spent almost two years delivering cars for the Nash automobile factory. “It seemed like such fun to explore America, so that started my interest in photography and geography, which became my major in college,” he said.

In 1938, when Fran enrolled at Whitewater State Teachers College, it was the first year enrollment went over one thousand. Fran remembered being the last one to register, making the enrollment that year 1,008 students. While an undergraduate student at the college, he served as a photographer for both the Royal Purple and the former Minneiska yearbook, as well as working as a freelance photographer for the Janesville Gazette, making “a buck a picture” which helped to pay his way through school.

While attending college, Fran met his wife, Lydia. They were married for 55 years and had three children—Chap, Randi, and Jim.

After graduating from college, Achen taught social studies for a year before being called up for military service in World War II. Achen served almost four years as the commanding officer of an entirely African American medical unit whose primary duty was to recover wounded soldiers from the front lines. Achen recalled years later that the Rhineland and Central Europe campaign was very successful and remembered crossing the Rhine River just two days after its capture.

When the war was over, he pursued his interest in photography by working in a studio in Madison, and later by purchasing a photography studio in downtown Whitewater, where he worked for 11 years.

In 1956, after selling the studio, Achen continued to serve the community as a teacher at Whitewater High School where he taught his favorite subject, geography. He later became assistant audio-visual director for the Janesville school system.

Achen retired in 1979. However, he never retired his camera. He continued to photograph the life and events in and around the Whitewater area.

In the 1980s, Achen donated nearly 400 custom printed and mounted photographs to the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater also has an extensive collection of Fran’s photos.

Although his photo taking slowed down in his later years, Achen said he was never afraid to flip the shutter on what he believed could be a lasting memory or a special photograph.

Whitewater Arts Alliance, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable organization based in Whitewater, Wisconsin. For more information, please visit our membership page.

Resources:

 

Help the Whitewater Arts Alliance create virtual exhibitions, in house gallery shows, community theatre programs, community concerts, workshops, and more. Our mission is to support, promote, and develop the arts as an essential and integral part of our community. Thank you for your consideration of support to the arts!