America, Unfinished?! Group Exhibition Call

WaterFire Arts Center is pleased to announce an open call for artists for America, Unfinished?!, a large-scale group exhibition running from July 2 through August 30, 2026 in Providence, Rhode Island. This exhibition will be housed in the 15,000-square-foot industrial space of the WaterFire Arts Center and will explore the idea of America as an ongoing, evolving, and unresolved project.

Artists are invited to submit work that grapples with the contradictions and possibilities that shape personal and collective experience in our ever-shifting cultural landscape. The exhibition brings together works that examine the systems, stories, and spaces that have shaped, and continue to shape, the idea of America.

Proposals are welcome that engage these ideas critically, experimentally, or through lived experience, including themes such as: Labor and infrastructure, Migration and movement, Identity and belonging, Memory and history, Civic life and shared places, and Material culture and everyday experience.

Emergent and established artists working across all disciplines are encouraged to apply. The venue is especially interested in large-scale installations and immersive environments, participatory or performance-based work, sounds/light/media-based projects, painting, photography, sculpture, textiles, architectural interventions, and works in progress. Artists may apply as individuals or collectives. Local, national, and international submissions are welcome.

Selected artists will receive exhibition space in a major industrial nonprofit arts venue, technical installation support, professional photo and video documentation, inclusion in marketing and press outreach, and opportunities for artist talks, tours, and public programs. However, artists are responsible for transporting work to and from Providence and providing insurance during transit.