ArtWaves, a nonprofit community arts center, seeks artists to produce works for a one-day pop-up art show in downtown Bar Harbor, Art for Justice: Working Towards Equity. This exhibition seeks to explore issues of racial justice and to inspire positive change from a place of creativity within our community. It will feature new works by local artists that encourage constructive community conversation and personal introspection around issues of race, according to a news release from ArtWaves based in Bar Harbor.

The show will take place from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4. Works will be exhibited at two locations in downtown Bar Harbor: the fence of the Bar Harbor Congregational Church at the corner of Kennebec Street and Mount Desert Street and at the Lompoc Cafe and Books on Rodick Street.

Ideal artworks for this exhibit could raise awareness around the historical and current oppression of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, engage the public on issues of systemic racism (educational, economic, environmental), remember or memorialize the lives of those lost to police brutality and systemic racism, examine or express the artist’s identity in relationship to systemic racism, or express solidarity with our BIPOC community.

The intention of this show is to provide opportunity for both BIPOC and white artists to create works about racial justice and the struggle for equity. This comes with the understanding that art created by BIPOC artists is often assumed to be racial by nature, whereas white artists enjoy the privilege of creating art that either “transcends” or ignores issues of race, leaving the artistic labor of racial justice to BIPOC artists.

This show hopes to invite white artists to join in solidarity with BIPOC artists to address such issues, thereby challenging white silence.

For more information on the intentions of this exhibit, the complete call for artists, or instructions for submitting artworks, visit its page on Facebook by searching “MDI Art for Justice” or email the organizing committee at mdiartforjustice@gmail.com.

To submit an artwork to the curatorial committee, visit judgify.me/mdiartforjustice. Artists of all ages and identities are encouraged to apply.

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