Call for Submissions: Death Becomes Us Exhibition at the Santa Fe Community Gallery

The Santa Fe Community Gallery invites artists to submit work for Death Becomes Us: New Mexico Art for the Afterlife , an exhibition that explores how New Mexico artists interpret mortality, spirituality, and the unknown through creative expression. Emerging and established artists working in or rooted in New Mexico are encouraged to apply.

Eligibility & Guidelines

• Open to artists working in or rooted in New Mexico (particularly Santa Fe County, regional pueblos, Albuquerque, Española, Taos, and surrounding areas).

• Emerging artists are warmly encouraged to submit.

• Work that is culturally specific to New Mexico and the Southwest will receive priority consideration; work from other traditions is also eligible.

• Given New Mexico's history of commodification, artists should be culturally aware and conscientious about their use of iconography and symbolism.

Media

• We welcome submissions in many media, including but not limited to painting, sculpture, collage, film, new media, drawings, prints (engraving, woodblock, monotype, and silkscreen), photography, video, digital art, folk arts, fiber arts, metalwork, and handmade jewelry.

• We also invite proposals for relevant programming, including talks, workshops, and performances, to take place during the exhibition's run.

• All artwork must be ready to install (2D work must be wired on the back) and delivered to the gallery on October 15 or 16, 2026.

• 3D works should not exceed 30 lb.

Key Dates

• Applications open: May 20, 2026

• Submission deadline: September 1, 2026

• Selections announced: October 1, 2026

• Works delivered for installation: October 15 and 16, 2026

• Opening reception: Thursday, October 29, 2026, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

• Exhibition dates: October 29-December 12, 2026

• Artwork pickup: December 15 and 16, 2026

Curatorial Statement

Ritual. Spirit. Reverence. Mystery. Folklore. Fear. Grief. Celebration. Transition. Release. Legacy. Remembrance. Ofrendas . The way things used to be. The fleeting. The earthly realm and beyond. The known and unknown. The human and nonhuman. Animals, plants, landscapes, sites. Grounding. Transcending.

We seek creative work rooted in New Mexico's deep cultural heritage, including descansos, memorials, historic sites, iconography, storytelling, generational practices, modern interpretations, and more, as well as work that draws from artistic practices and influences that have circulated through this region from time immemorial to the present.

Death Becomes Us makes space for the myriad ways cultures and artists across New Mexico explore the realities and mysteries of life, death, and the transition between them. We also recognize that not all cultures talk about, acknowledge, or think about death, and this too can inform or redirect artistic practices.

Apply

Click here to apply via Jotform.