BOHEMIA explores an enduring creative sensibility, one that places freedom, imagination, beauty, and artistic independence above convention.

From the artist circles of nineteenth-century Paris and the literary world of Poe's Philadelphia and the Village scene in New York to the creative enclaves around the world, the exhibition considers the places and people that have shaped alternative ways of living and making art. Bringing together visual art, literature music and print culture, bohemian life celebrates the unconventional spirit of those who have chosen creative expression as a way to live fully. The communities that have given that spirit a place to flourish. We ourselves have found that seeking shelter among creatives to weather this political storm and discuss alternatives and respite from our current, well, situation has uplifted us.

The word Bohemian entered French usage in the fifteenth century, reflecting the mistaken belief that the Romani people originated in Bohemia, a historic kingdom in what is now the Czech Republic. Over time, the term became associated with those perceived to live outside conventional society. Its meaning evolved to describe artists, writers, and intellectual free thinkers who embraced unconventional lifestyles, creative independence, and a resistance to established social expectations. Think Dadaists, The Beat Generation, East Village, Taos, Carmel—all communities of free thinking influential artist communities. Oh my goodness, the Surrealists—André Breton, Salvador Dalí, Man Ray, and Max Ernst. Dream logic, subconscious imagery, unconventional sexuality, and the rejection of rational artistic conventions. (So much inspo for this call!)

Often, these bohemian places historically were hotbeds of experimental art and music, where the writers, poets and artists found themselves a layer of protection, where open-minded people spent time. From the coastal artist colonies of Provincetown and Long Island to the desert studios of Santa Fe and the countercultural streets of San Francisco, to the tiny border town of Vama Veche in Romania, where the creatives sought refuge from communism—these beneficial enclaves have offered something beyond geography—a sense of belonging, permission to experiment, and the freedom to live outside convention with privacy, and without persecution and ridicule. Surf colonies can be found wherever the waves break. Cliffs and mountain bases where climbers gather and nomads are living out of vans. Finding our people can change our lives and inspire our creativity. The Willy Lomans do not exist there.

Bohemia is not defined by a particular place. It is an attitude toward living and making, found wherever artists, writers, musicians, and independent thinkers come together to challenge expectations and imagine something different.

BOHEMIA explores:

• Creative freedom that emerges when familiar structures are questioned.

• Traditions are reinterpreted, experimentation is embraced.

• New possibilities are shaped from antiquated ways.

• Drawing from our past while looking firmly toward the future.

• Reflect instincts for unique thinking, collaborative ideas and reinvention.

• Rejection of convention: Refusing prescribed social, artistic, and cultural expectations.

• Creative independence: Making work without waiting for institutional approval.

• Experimentation: Breaking accepted rules of medium, subject, technique, and presentation.

• Community: Finding intellectual and creative kinship outside mainstream society.

• Individuality: Embracing eccentricity, personal identity, and unconventional beauty.

• Cultural dissent: Challenging the values and assumptions of the time.

The intent is to show work that moves between intention and spontaneity, solitude and community, inherited traditions and identities freely chosen. The exhibition will embrace its many expressions and contradictions. It is up to each artist to consider this description and interpret it themselves.

What we would like to see in the submissions:

• Painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, collage, mixed media, sculpture and digital art.

• Figurative and abstract interpretations.

• Historical references and contemporary perspectives.

• Work with literary, musical, architectural, fashion and cultural influences.

• Art that is personal, irreverent, intellectual, playful, experimental or subversive.

The strongest submissions should have a point of view. They should make us think about what it means to live creatively, independently, and outside convention.

We invite artists to explore BOHEMIA as both a state of mind and a way of life. Consider the people, places, ideas, relationships, and experiences that have shaped your understanding of creative freedom. Whether through abstraction, portraiture, photography, collage, or other visual forms, show us your art that defines to you what it means to live and create on your own terms.

At its heart 🤍 is the idea of self-authorship: the freedom to establish your own sense of beauty, purpose, belonging and even success. To be Bohemian is not simply to reject convention, but to understand that the boundaries we inherit can be reconsidered—and that each of us has the capacity to shape a life on our own terms.

PHOTO: MICHELLE MAY