Plasticocene - Open Call for Artwork

ORGANIZATION: North Van Arts

DEADLINE: October 23, 2026

WEBSITE: https://northvanarts.ca/

CALL FOR ARTISTS:

North Van Arts invites artists to submit artworks for Plasticocene, an exhibition exploring plastic as both a material and a reflection of contemporary life.

This group exhibition will feature 2D and 3D artworks made from, responding to, or challenging plastic and its many forms. From the tools we use, the objects we hold, and the clothes we wear, plastic permeates nearly every aspect of the everyday.

North Van Arts wants to build a monument to plastic in the gallery: one that critiques, celebrates, and engages with all things plastic. They encourage submissions that consider our complex relationship with plastic, a material once celebrated for its convenience, versatility, and durability, yet increasingly scrutinized for its environmental and cultural consequences.

Plastic as a material speaks to permanence, disposability, replication, consumption, and transformation. North Van Arts welcomes works that explore how the use of plastic impacts our environment, behaviours, desires, and identities.

Artists are encouraged to explore and question:

• How do you consider the use of plastic in your artistic practice?
• How do you respond to its abundance and accumulation?
• How are we shaped by our patterns of overconsumption?
• What does plastic reveal about contemporary culture?

Plasticocene will invite viewers to reflect on the convenience and consequence of one of the most pervasive materials.

HOW TO APPLY:

Apply through the online application form: https://form-can.keela.co/plasticocene-open-call-for-artwork

FEES/COMPENSATION:

There is no fee to apply. North Van Arts does not pay artist fees for exhibiting artwork. North Van Arts receives an administrative fee of 35% of the total sale price for each artwork sold during the exhibition period.