Open Call for Mail Art Exhibition + Fundraiser

Show your support for Richmond Art Gallery Association’s programming!

Organized within the framework of the exhibition Sonja Ahlers: Classification Crisis, this call is open to artists from anywhere in the world (18 years and over) who wish to contribute one original piece of Mail Art in response to the theme of collecting and reassembling.

Mail Art, also known as postal art and correspondence art, is an artistic movement centered on sending small-scale works through the postal service. This call is inspired by the work of Sonja Ahlers known for her zines, chapbooks, collages, and mixed media works. Artists are invited to respond to this theme by collecting and reassembling their own stories, images, and ephemera into a postcard-sized artwork, and to mail their postcards to the Richmond Art Gallery.

All 5" x 7" artworks received will be documented and included in an online exhibition and fundraising auction. (one submission per artist)
All works received before the postmark deadline of August 31, 2023 will go on display in the Richmond Art Gallery’s Art Lounge during Sonja Ahlers’ exhibition, from September 9 to November 5, 2023. (space permitting)
All works will go to online auction after November 5, 2023, and proceeds raised will be used to support the Gallery’s free public programming.
Any 2-D media accepted, must be original artworks by artists over 18 years of age.
The organizers reserve the right of admission in the event that some of the images are considered inappropriate (that appeal to intolerance of discrimination or that contradict the artistic objectives).

For more details and submission guidelines, visit the Richmond Art Gallery website.