“We didn’t come all the way from the clouds just to go back, without a trace. We, seekers of refuge, will find it: if not in the world, then in each other.”

— Kao Kalia Yang, The Latehomecomer

 

This exhibition brings together artists whose lives and work are shaped by displacement, exclusion, or precarity, who are speaking from lived experience in today’s America. The works gathered here reflect the ongoing search for refuge within systems that often deny safety, stability, and belonging.

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Rather than presenting refuge as something guaranteed by institutions or borders, this exhibition understands it as relational. It is found in community, memory, care, and resistance. These works do not ask for permission to exist, nor do they translate experience for comfort or consumption.

 

This exhibition invites artists whose work emerges from lived experiences of displacement, exclusion, surveillance, or the ongoing search for refuge within contemporary America. Artists are encouraged to speak in their own voices and define their own relationship to these conditions. Artists may self-identify their relationship to the exhibition theme in whatever way feels most accurate to them.

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Artists will retain full authorship over their work and its interpretation.

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All visual media will be considered, including but not limited to:

• Painting, drawing, printmaking

• Photography

• Sculpture and installation

• Video and digital work

• Text-based or mixed-media work
   

Works may be existing or newly proposed. Installation-based or site-responsive proposals are welcome; please note any technical needs in your submission.

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Artists will retain 80% of all sales, consistent with gallery policy.

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In alignment with the values of this exhibition, 25% of all gallery proceeds generated during the run of the show will be donated to organizations providing direct legal aid and emergency support to individuals and families impacted by U.S. immigration enforcement.

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Submissions will be reviewed with care, prioritizing intention, clarity of voice, and relevance to the exhibition’s focus over polish or marketability.

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Because the gallery space is small and intimate, the number of works included in the exhibition will be limited. We expect to receive more submissions than we can accommodate and appreciate the care, labor, and trust artists bring to this process. Works will be selected based on how they resonate together within the space. We recognize that applying takes time and vulnerability, and we are grateful for every submission. We encourage artists not selected for this exhibition to stay connected for future opportunities.

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We are committed to making this exhibition accessible to artists and audiences. If you have access needs, questions about the submission process, or would like to discuss a proposal before applying, please contact Chelsea Herzig at chelseahrzg@gmail.com or 315-663-8553. 

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The show will run from 6/20/26-7/11/26, and we invite you to join us for a Mid-Exhibition Reception on Saturday June 27th in alignment with Upstate Art Weekend activities! The show will be open to the public throughout the duration of Upstate Art Weekend 2026.