Arlington Center for the Arts (ACA) in partnership with Arlington’s Poet Laureate, Jean Flanagan seeks submissions to Symbiosis. This unique call invites visual artists and writers from the region to sift through the past and find commonalities in the human experience. This exhibition will pair visual artworks with pieces of poetry, creating platforms for new meanings to be examined and explored.
What are the points of connection across diverse life stories? How do you show your relationship to those who came before you? What did this land look like before colonization or the industrial revolution? Writing and art have unique abilities to transport viewers across time and bring to life perspectives and voices long forgotten. Artists are encouraged to consider their own life experience through these questions, exploring their works’ thematic relationship to family, land, community, and change.
Visual artworks and prose will be displayed together for viewers to engage with, inspiring unique conversations about the experiences of being a resident of Arlington, also known as Menotomy. We invite artists and poets to submit work to this unique opportunity.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Delia Tharnish, Education and Programs Director at
delia@acarts.org or at 781-648-6220.
Important Dates
Deadline to Submit: Sunday, March 9, 2025
Announce Selected Art: Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Art Drop Off: Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Exhibition Opens: Thursday, April 3, 2025
Artist and Poet Private Reception: Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 1, 6pm-7:30pm
Final Day of Exhibition: Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Art Pick up: Thursday, June 12, 2025
Submission Guidelines
Poetry
-Artists and writers must be ages 16 and up
-A written artist statement or writing philosophy must be submitted
-Work must be submitted in 12 pt Arial
-Poetry must be submitted as a word document or google document (not PDF), with the work fully formatted for printing. ACA will not make any edits to grammar, spelling or punctuation. If work is selected, ACA may make changes to font, type size etc. as needed for display purposes.
Visual Art
-Artists and writers must be ages 16 and up
-A written artist statement must be submitted
-Visual work must be ready to hang, installed, or displayed. 2D works must be on canvas or framed with a wire in the back for hanging or it will not be accepted. Specific display needs must be specified and provided by the artist.
Site-specific proposals are welcome, but there is no guarantee we can accommodate. Please reach out to delia@acarts.org if you have any questions. There are no size restrictions beyond the height of the gallery, which is 6 feet tall. There are limited opportunities for anything taller than 6 feet (see site-specific proposals).
Artwork shown at ACA in the past year will not be accepted.
Symbiosis Jurors
-Evan Caldwell, ACA Programs Manager
-Thomas DeFreitas, Poet + Community Partner
-Jean Flanagan, Poet Laureate, Arlington, MA
-KT Landon, Poet + Community Partner
-Aneleise Ruggles, ACA Communications Director
