January Open Call: Solitary

Our January Open Call, “Solitary," has been created by our 34 Gallery Staff to explore the mental health impact of the New Year.  This month, we are particularly interested in works by artists utilizing this art therapy open call to address: Substance Abuse Recovery, Childhood & Domestic Truma, Work Burnout, PTSD & Holiday Isolation.

Themes: As artists, we already know that too many of us enter the New Year alone. The holidays sometimes trigger conflicts in our homes, workplaces, and social lives that require us to walk our own path for survival. 

• The New Year is a powerful time of transition & reflection to address changes we want to cultivate in ourselves.

Artists are invited to explore what it means to be solitary. What part of ourselves went unheard in those traumatic moments before we walked out? Who emerges from the cocoon after the final argument is over? What talisman do we hold when toxic people and habits resurface like ghosts? How do we cope when everyone has walked away? And when do we finally feel whole on this journey of accepting who we are? Show us what Solitary means to you.

Please Note: As a Mental Health Art Gallery, we are asking Creatives to mobilize to help save lives at this time. The 2025 holiday season is expected to have the highest global percentage of mental health crisis and suicidal ideation since The Pandemic. Someone seeing your work can be inspired to keep going with hope and resilience despite their mental health struggles. Your artistic advocacy with us can and will make a difference!

Requirements: Open Medium. Fine Art, Poetry, Audiovisual, Short Film & A.I. Artwork Accepted. Submit up to 3 artworks or poems  by December 29th. Include the following questions in your cover letter: 

• Your artist name, artwork titles, and website/social media links.  
• 1 - 2 paragraphs describing the creative process regarding your work & how it fits with the Open Call Theme. 
• 1 - 2 paragraphs on your experience of being solitary due to an experience or choice along with your top coping strategies to begin the new year.

Selected artists will be notified by January 10th. 

Restrictions: 

• Be advised that this open call also includes a global youth & adult audience. 
• Works that are sexually graphic and/or advocate violence (self or others), discrimination, or hatred (societal/gender/religious/cultural) of any kind will be disqualified.
• File Type: .MP4, .JPG, .PNG --File Size: Up to 100 MB for art & audiovisual submissions; Word, Google Docs, .PDF for poetry.