Beloved Community Artist Series Open Call (Los Angeles)

About the Series & Open Call

This open call invites California-based visual artists to apply for a rare opportunity to present a one-day solo exhibition and lead an intimate artist talk and private dinner experience for an audience of collectors, curators, and cultural leaders. Launching in select cities throughout 2026 and beyond, the Beloved Community Artist series centers visionary artists whose work explores themes of labour, work, value, sustainability, and contemporary life.

Each series is designed as both an exhibition and a meaningful cultural exchange. Creating space for artists to share not only their work, but the ideas, stories, and lived experiences behind their practice. The selected artist will be the sole featured voice of the evening, presenting a cohesive body of work in an environment intentionally designed to foster dialogue, visibility, and collecting opportunities.

Guests will engage directly with the artist throughout the evening, creating a rare platform for deeper conversation and relationship-building with collectors and curators genuinely invested in supporting contemporary artists. The exhibition and dinner will position the artist at the center of the experience, leading conversations around their practice, artistic process, and interpretation of labour in today’s world.

The curatorial framework for each city will reflect the culture and context of the host community while highlighting local artistic voices and perspectives. For the Los Angeles edition, the theme is "The Art of Labour: Abundance, Despite" and submissions will be reviewed by renowned jurors Aubrie Weinholt and Candice Taylor. 

 

Curatorial Theme: The Art of Labour: Abundance, Despite

Los Angeles is a city of reinvention — shaped by migration, hybridity, imagination, and constant motion. Sustained by people who continue creating despite instability, hardship, and economic pressure, LA’s artistic communities transform scarcity into culture, connection, and possibility.

This exhibition explores what it means to remain an artist in a city that markets itself as “the land of opportunity” while access to creative sustainability remains deeply uneven. The Art of Labour: Abundance, Despite invites artists to reflect on the realities of creative survival in Los Angeles: the labor behind sustaining a practice, the systems that shape opportunity, and the ways artists continue to build identity, belonging, joy, and collective care through creation.

How do artists survive, adapt, and maintain imagination in a city shaped by obstacles and reinvention? This open call centers the endurance, resourcefulness, and spirit that artists bring to Los Angeles. Not only surviving the city, but actively shaping its cultural and emotional landscape.

Artists are invited to submit work that reflects the realities of sustaining a creative life in Los Angeles. This exhibition seeks works exploring survival, labor, joy, reinvention, community, and imagination in the face of economic, social, or personal obstacles.

One of Beloved's values is Create with Abundance: We deeply believe that there is enough for everyone. It is our duty to make space, to co-create, and to imagine abundant possibilities in ourselves and our communities. It is our time to build just futures and to do so from a place of abundance.

We welcome work that considers art as survival, release, healing, or possibility. This open call is especially interested in artists who transform limitation into abundance, and who continue building meaning, connection, and culture despite the pressures of survival.

Eligibility

Open to all California-based visual artists working in any of the following mediums: 

• Painting
• Drawing
• Mixed Media
• Sculpture
• Photography
• Textile / Fiber Art
• Collage / Assemblage
• Installation Art
• Wood, Metal, or Glass Work
• Works made from recycled or sustainable materials

Applicants must:

• Be available to attend the exhibition and private dinner on June 27, 2026.
• Be comfortable discussing their work and engaging in conversation with guests throughout the event.
• Be able to locally deliver and retrieve artwork by the listed dates.

Exhibition Timeline:

Application Deadline: June 8, 2026
Artist Notification: June 15, 2026
Artwork Drop-Off: June 25, 2026
Exhibition & Artist Talk Dinner: June 27, 2026
Pick-Up for Unsold Works: June 29, 2026

Submission Requirements:
Please submit the following materials for consideration:

• A cohesive body of work related to the theme of labor, work, sustainability, or contemporary social realities. 
• Minimum of 12-15 artworks available for exhibition
• Artwork images with titles, dimensions, medium, and year completed via PDF. Free Submission Template here.
• Brief artist statement or summary of the submitted body of work
• Artist bio
• CV and/or portfolio website (if applicable)
• Social media handles

Incomplete applications may not be considered.

Additional Information: 

• Selected works may be offered for sale during the exhibition.
• Artists retain ownership of all unsold works.
• Beloved Community reserves the right to curate and install selected works according to the exhibition vision and spatial requirements.
• Additional exhibition details, installation instructions, and event logistics will be shared with the selected artist upon confirmation. 

Applicants who are not selected are encouraged to apply for future editions of the series launching in Fall 2026 and beyond. Please subscribe to the Beloved Community Newsletter for future open calls and announcements and follow on Instagram @WeAreBeloved_US.

For any questions or concerns please contact info@dcdgco.com for more.