Upcoming art showcase
(What is) Belonging.
Submissions Now Open Until November 13th, 2023.
When You Belong Here first opened in November 2018, we hosted a group art exhibition titled "The Art of Belonging". The exhibition brought together over 26 diverse artists, each showcasing their unique perspective on what belonging and how they captured it through their art. This showcase became the foundation of You Belong Here and helped to demonstrate the beauty of being part of a community with various belief systems, identities, experiences, and cultures.
As a community, we have collectively faced a pandemic and are witnessing many events and atrocities that challenge our sense of belonging; the unrest of what is happening at our borders, civil rights being stricken down, women’s rights and health being challenge and reversed, policies impacting the agency of our 2SLGBTQIA+ community, the senseless wars, natural disasters that are impacting so many around the world, and so much more.
As we approach our 5-year anniversary, we want to revisit this theme with renewed boldness and courage. We believe that belonging is a fundamental promise that we make to everyone who comes through our doors. Belonging means different things to different people and we want to hear your thoughts on what it means to you in a COVID era.
We welcome all artists, regardless of skill level, experience, or medium, to submit their work for our upcoming showcase. We hope to create a platform that showcases the diverse stories and perspectives surrounding the theme of belonging.
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Alejandro Martinez is a Chicano, artist, educator and athlete from stolen and unceded Kumeyaay land, also known as San Diego/Tijuana border region. Through a decolonial abolitionist feminist lens, Martinez envisions a world where all people can exist free of persecution and harm. His sense of belonging has been supported through the frameworks of leaders and teachers like bell hooks, Richie Reseda and Angela Davis, who advocate/advocated and have dedicated their lives to the liberation of oppressed people.
In this exhibition and by the process of curation, Martinez hopes to bring together artists whose work and vision brings a true sense of belonging. During a time where many of our kin have been “un-belonged” from their homelands and their histories, Martinez sees an urgency to reconnect the meaning of community, safety and compassion through the artists present at You Belong Here’s 5 year anniversary exhibition.
First time submitting your art? Not sure if your art aligns with the theme? Go through our prompts below:
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We hope to give you some guidance on your journey to choosing works you have created in response to our theme (What is) Belonging.
What role does belonging to self, play in your life, and how does it show outwardly?
How do we help other people feel like they belong?
In this day and age of war, terrorism, natural disaster, immigration, transphobia and homophobia, etc. how do we create spaces of belonging?
How do we help and support people who feel like they don’t belong?
How do we support identities and cultures?
How does community play a role in belonging?
How does prioritizing diversity and inclusion create a sense of community and belonging that benefits everyone?
During our first-ever Creative Convergence event, which took place at the Mingei Museum, members of our vibrant creative community gathered to engage in powerful discussions on a variety of important topics.