Call for Art: Ancestral Futures
Image by Donté K. Hayes, “Bell,” Ceramic, 2025, 14.5"x13.5"x13.5"
Call for Art: Ancestral Futures
Curator: Donté K. Hayes
Application Deadline: Sunday, November 23, 2025
What does it mean to be a good future ancestor? How might today’s personal, cultural, social, and or environmental actions become legacies for those who come after us? Ancestral Futures invites artists to reflect on these questions through their creative practice. This juried exhibition, curated by artist and ceramicist Donté K. Hayes, seeks works that meditate on wisdom, intentionality, and the responsibility of shaping a world that extends beyond ourselves.
Artists are encouraged to submit works that explore:
The role of ancestral wisdom and traditions in shaping the present.
Cultural memory, resilience, and preservation.
Social responsibility, healing, and intergenerational connection.
Personal reflections on intentional living and self-cultivation.
Environmental stewardship and sustainability as acts of care for the future.
Artworks as monuments or markers for the future self and community.
The influence of past memories, upbringing, and personal histories on the present moment.
Responses to collective historical events and how they continue to inform identity, belonging, and responsibility.
Cultural and familial knowledge passed down through generations, and how these inheritances can be transformed into care and enlightenment for the future.
Rather than envisioning utopia, this call for art asks how we can honor the knowledge, experiences, and traditions of the past to cultivate a present rooted in growth, self-improvement, and care. Cultural and familial knowledge stand at the core of this exhibition. The stories, traditions, lost histories, trauma and lessons passed down across generations hold wisdom that can guide us toward becoming better ancestors. Through the act of creation, artists are invited to transform these inheritances into artifacts, monuments or markers to possible future selves and future community. In this way, the works in Ancestral Futures will embody an ongoing dialogue between past, present, and future.
We invite artists of all backgrounds and mediums to submit artwork that explores the concept of the future ancestor though art. Submissions can include painting, drawing, photography, digital art, sculpture, mixed media, textiles, ceramics, and video. We encourage artists to draw on personal experiences and observations in creating their work. We hope to showcase a range of perspectives and styles that do service to the complex and multifaceted nature of this topic. Through this call for art, we hope to shine a light on the ethics of long-term thinking—what The Good Ancestor author Roman Krznaric calls “deep-time humility.”
Deadline for Submission of Applications: Sunday November 23, 2025 at 11:59pm CST
Notification of Acceptance: Will go out by email on January 6, 2026
Delivery of work to ARC: Thursday & Friday, January 29, 2026, 2-6pm; Sat, January 30, 12-4pm
Pick-Up Work at Gallery: Sat, Febuary 28, 2026, 2:30-4pm
Shipped Work Return Date: First two weeks of March (determined by the delivery method)
*Pre-Paid FedEx or UPS return label is required
*Do not use the U.S. Postal Service
About the Curator: Donté K. Hayes
Donté K. Hayes is a research-based artist residing and working in Cliffwood, New Jersey. He graduated summa cum laude from Kennesaw State University in Georgia with a BFA in Ceramics and Printmaking with an Art History minor. Donté received his MA and MFA with honors from the University of Iowa and is the 2017 recipient of the University of Iowa Arts Fellowship. Donté has been awarded residencies at MacDowell, Bemis Center, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Penland, Township 10, Watershed, Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences and The Peninsula School of Art. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Minnesota Museum of American Art, Wellin Museum, Newark Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Gibbes Museum of Art, Newcomb Art Museum, Stanley Museum of Art, Crocker Art Museum and the Des Moines Art Center among others. Donté is a recipient of a 2023 New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist fellowship. In 2022 he was awarded a prestigious Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Grant Award. He is also a 2019 Ceramics Monthly Magazine Emerging Artists and Artaxis Fellow. Donté K. Hayes is represented by Mindy Solomon Gallery in Miami, Florida.
Visit Donté @ https://dontekhayes.com
Opening Reception, Friday, February 6th, 5:00-8:00pm
Exhibition dates: Thursday February 5-27, 2026
Gallery hours: Thurs – Fri 2-6pm, Sat – Sun 12-4 pm
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
Submission Instructions
-
STEP 1: Upload your images
• Decide which images you will submit. Ideally, the art should have been completed in the last 5 years.
• Label each image with: Last name, Item # of the image, Title of work, Medium, size and date. Separate with a dash. Example: daVinci-1-Mona Lisa-30x21x2”-1503. Number the images consecutively.
• Images must be submitted in JPG /JPEG format
• Limit the number of images to the amount you chose to pay for. ARC will only review the number of images you pay for. (standard fee is $40 for 3 images. $10 for each additional image. Students pay $25 for 3 images, with $10 for each additional)
• If you are a student, also upload a photo of your student ID along with your images.
• Please note that images of accepted work will become the property of ARC Gallery and may be used for publicity.
• Upload your images. They will go to a Dropbox file for juror’s review.
• When you are finished uploading files, go to the top of the screen and close this window. It will take you back to the original application form
• Complete the 1st dropdown box: Click on either “standard” or “student” application
• Complete the 2nd dropdown box: Highlight the number of images you are submitting
• Make sure there is a “1” in the Quantity box. (If you click another # it will multiply your fee by that #)
STEP 2: Fill out the application
• Now, click on “Pay Fees”. This will take you to a page where you can enter your application information.
• Check the small box at the top indicating which show you are applying to. (this is easy to miss, but your application will not go forward if you don’t check it).
• Complete: name, email, phone, website (if you have one) and address (be sure to enter your country or it won’t go forward)
• Enter you artist statement. Write a brief statement addressing your work and/or your images. Please limit your statement to under 125 words. Do not include your name (jury is anonymous) and do not try to make it a resume—ie don’t include education details or a history of past shows.
• Click on the box” “I uploaded my images”
• Now enter the label info for each of your images. Each should include: (a) item number; (b) title, (c) dimensions: height x width x depth, (d) mediums / materials, (e) date produced, and (f) price. Make sure you itemize your list to correlate to the #s on the images you submitted.
• Click on the black “pay fees” button at the bottom.
STEP 3: Pay fees
• Click: “sign in”
• Click either: “Apple pay” or “credit card”
• Enter requested information
• Click “continue”
• Review information and click “Purchase”
• Your application will not go through until you have clicked purchase.
• If you have any payment issues, send an email message to the gallery: info@arcgallery.org. We will sort it out for you. (Also we can refund payments that have gone awry, so don’t panic!).
• An email receipt will be sent by ARC Gallery after application and payment is completed
• Submissions will not be reviewed until payments are received
Questions?
Please feel free to email the gallery with any questions. We are here to help. Our email address is: info@arcgallery.org.
-
Eligibility
Original works created within the last 5 years. All mediums and materials will be considered in addition to video and performance based arts. No projections or media installations will be accepted for this show due to space limitations. Open to all artists, national and international.
Exhibition and Delivery Requirements
Work must arrive by scheduled dates or will not be hung.
A label must be attached to the back/bottom of each work with name, title, medium and price.
Work must be presented in a manner appropriate to the artwork and be equipped for presentation. If work isn’t shown in the traditional gallery sense; it should still able to be displayed in a professional manner by gallery installers per artist specifications.
Absolutely no Peanuts in shipping boxes!!!!
Work must be able to remain in exhibition through exhibition dates. No work can be retrieved early.
If work is shipped, use either UPS or FedEX and include a prepaid return shipping label with your package.
No work which was not originally selected by juror will be hung.
Sales
Works will be for sale unless noted as NFS (not for sale) on the entry form. ARC will act as a liaison for sales of the artists' work. However, any work sold and paid for via Paypal will have the small fee deducted from the sale amount. ARC will deduct a 20% commission from the selling price of the work in group shows, with the artist retaining 80% after any Paypal fees if applicable. Please price accordingly.
Insurance
ARC exercises professional care when handling submitted work. We do not assume responsibility or liability including but not limited to accidents, damaged work, or forces of nature. Artists who feel their work is fragile should consider carrying their own personal property insurance. Again, the gallery will not assume liability for damage.
Accepted Work: Shipping and Delivery Return
With the exception of hand-delivered and picked-up work, all work shipped to and from the gallery must be paid ahead-of-time by the artist.
ARC will pack and make ready for return all shipped work and schedule the pickup. However, ARC will not make any payment or handle work that has to be dropped off for return. Please enclose A PRE-PAID return shipping label with the work. This should be, and can easily be, obtained online at UPS or FEDEX websites at the time work is being shipped to gallery for exhibition.
Upon close of show, ARC will alert the chosen shipper that the work is ready for pick-up. Any checks for return shipping made out to ARC will not be accepted nor will handwritten Fed Ex shipment labels. All acceptable pre-paid labels will need a barcode for scanning purposes.
-
Please feel free to contact the gallery via email (info@ARCgallery.org) should you have any questions re: the exhibition, submitting work, or the prospectus. Email messages are checked daily. If you contact the gallery by phone, please call only during hours when the gallery is open.
ARC Gallery and Educational Foundation
Gallery Hours: Open Thurs & Fri - 2-6pm, Sat & Sun - 12-4pm; Closed Mon-Wed.
1463 W. Chicago Ave 1st floor
Chicago, Illinois 60642
312 877-5760
Before you begin, read our Submission Instructions (PDF) in the Call for Entry you are responding to. Click here to browse Calls for Entry.
Please Note: ARC takes a 20% commission fee on works sold. So please price your work accordingly
STEP 1: Upload your images
Decide which images you will submit. Ideally, the art should have been completed in the last 5 years.
Label each image with: Last name, Item # of the image, Title of work, Medium, size and date. Separate with a dash. Example: daVinci-1-Mona Lisa-30x21x2”-1503. Number the images consecutively.
Images must be submitted in JPG /JPEG format
Limit the number of images to the amount you chose to pay for. ARC will only review the number of images you pay for. (standard fee is $40 for 3 images. $10 for each additional image. Students pay $25 for 3 images, with $10 for each additional)
If you are a student, also upload a photo of your student ID along with your images.
Please note that images of accepted work will become the property of ARC Gallery and may be used for publicity.
Upload your images. They will go to a Dropbox file for juror’s review.
When you are finished uploading files, go to the top of the screen and close this window. It will take you back to the original application form
Complete the 1st dropdown box: Click on either “standard” or “student” application
Complete the 2nd dropdown box: Highlight the number of images you are submitting
Make sure there is a “1” in the Quantity box. (If you click another # it will multiply your fee by that #)
STEP 2: Fill out the application
Now, click on “Pay Fees”. This will take you to a page where you can enter your application information.
Check the small box at the top indicating which show you are applying to. (this is easy to miss, but your application will not go forward if you don’t check it).
Complete: name, email, phone, website (if you have one) and address (be sure to enter your country or it won’t go forward)
Enter you artist statement. Write a brief statement addressing your work and/or your images. Please limit your statement to under 125 words. Do not include your name (jury is anonymous) and do not try to make it a resume—ie don’t include education details or a history of past shows.
Click on the box” “I uploaded my images”
Now enter the label info for each of your images. Each should include: (a) item number; (b) title, (c) dimensions: height x width x depth, (d) mediums / materials, (e) date produced, and (f) price. Make sure you itemize your list to correlate to the #s on the images you submitted.
Click on the black “pay fees” button at the bottom.
STEP 3: Pay fees
Click: “sign in”
Click either: “Apple pay” or “credit card”
Enter requested information
Click “continue”
Review information and click “Purchase”
Your application will not go through until you have clicked purchase.
If you have any payment issues, send an email message to the gallery: info@arcgallery.org. We will sort it out for you. (Also we can refund payments that have gone awry, so don’t panic!).
An email receipt will be sent by ARC Gallery after application and payment is completed
Submissions will not be reviewed until payments are received
Remember: ARC takes a 20% commission fee on works sold. So please price your work accordingly
QUESTIONS: Please feel free to email the gallery with any questions. We are here to help. Our email address is: info@arcgallery.org.
Please note that images of accepted work will become the property of ARC Gallery and may be used for publicity.
