The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) New Orleans announced its annual Call for Artists for its upcoming exhibition “Make America What America Must Become.” Eligible artists who currently live and work in the Gulf South states of LA, TX, AL, MS, and FL may apply March 4 through April 8, 2020. The exhibition will premiere at the Contemporary Arts Center (located at 900 Camp Street) from July 18 through September 6, 2020. For submission guidelines, important dates, and to submit, please visit cacno.org/opencall2020. 

About the Exhibition:

America is an anxious nation chasing a more perfect union. As its political body struggles along the arc of justice, the truths “we” hold rarely appear self-evident. Complicated by an overtly mediated era, today’s social movements demand a punctuated examination of #historicalconsequence and #power. At this moment, the distance between Art and Politics—reflection and response—seems to be collapsing. In a letter to his nephew on the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, philosopher and American commentator, James Baldwin, offered an optimistic but urgent message, “Great men have done great things here, and will again, and we can make America what America must become.” 

During a summer of electoral consternation, the CAC presents “Make America What America Must Become,” a call for artists living and working along the Gulf Coast. In the context of our shifting regional landscape, we are seeking artworks across media that examine how power is made manifest in culture, politics, economics, and ecology. We are also curious to see works that were created urgently in response to the current political paradigm and reflect broadly on the conjuring and churning of the American fever dream.

This exhibition is organized and presented by the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans. Support for this exhibition is provided by Sydney & Walda Besthoff, The Helis Foundation, and the Welch Family Foundation. This exhibition is also supported by the City of New Orleans through a Community Arts Grant, as well as by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council.