SHAG PRESENTS:
Acts of Devotion
An exhibition curated by Badenov from Société Anonyme
“Real generosity toward the future
lies in giving all to the present.”
~ Albert Camus
Devotion is a quiet thing.
It’s not usually declared — it’s returned to, again and again, until it begins to shape us. It lives in small, deliberate acts: in attention, in care, in the things we hold onto without fully understanding why. There is tenderness in it, but also resolve — a quiet, ongoing commitment.
This exhibition brings those private patterns into the open through image and writing. It explores the parts of devotion that often go unspoken: repetition, fixation, care, compulsion. The work does not seek to explain itself or perform for the viewer. Instead, it offers something more honest — expressions of what artists continue returning to, and the meaning that accumulates through that return.
What remains is not a clear conclusion, but a lingering question: what do you return to, and why?
Submission Guidelines
We are inviting artists to contribute work to a group exhibition exploring intimacy, devotion, and the private logic of desire.
Each selected submission will exist in TWO forms:
1: The Work
A visual piece in any medium, including:
Painting
Drawing
Photography
Collage
Mixed media
Sculpture
Textile work
Video or moving image
2: The Text
A written companion piece (100–400 words)
This is not an artist statement.
We are not looking for explanation or analysis. We are interested in interiority — the emotional, psychological, or personal reality surrounding the work. The text should feel connected to the piece, while still standing on its own.
The goal is not to describe the work, but to reveal something adjacent to it — the feeling, fixation, tension, memory, or experience that gave rise to it.
The writing may take the form of:
A confession
A memory
A fantasy
Instructions
A letter
A journal entry
A fragment of a scene
A list or ritual
An internal monologue
Writing should feel personal, specific, and lived-in. Avoid academic language, over-explaining, or generalized abstraction. If the text could apply to any artwork, it is likely not specific enough.
Both the visual and written components will be considered equally as part of the submission process.
The Exhibit
Within the exhibition, text and image will exist separately.
Viewers will encounter the written works independently through a small printed booklet and will move through the space constructing their own connections between language and image. No direct pairing or explanation will be provided.
Meaning will not be given. It will be assembled through recognition, memory, association, and personal experience.
The goal is not for viewers to fully “understand” the work, but to spend time inside of it — to feel the tension between what is shown, what is written, and what remains unresolved.
Submission Includes
1–5 images of proposed work
(Final number of works included will be determined through the curatorial process)Title of work
("Untitled" is acceptable, though not preferred)Medium + dimensions
(Please include maximum dimensions for installation planning)Written companion piece (100–400 words)
Short artist bio
Instagram handle and/or website
✅ Submission Checklist
HOW TO SEND
Send an email with LINKS to your submissions at. DO NOT send artwork as attachments or writing as PDFs.
Visual Artwork: Send via Dropbox, WeTransfer, Google Drive or similar.
Written Work: A Google Docs link is preferred, but we will accept a Word document attachment.
IMPORTANT DATES
Open Call Launch
May 1, 2026
Consideration Deadline
July 1, 2026
Final deadline for open call proposals and commitment from invited artists
Selection Announcement
July 11, 2026
All artists will be notified regarding inclusion in the exhibition.
Final Work Due
September 21, 2026
All final artwork, writing, and supporting materials due to Geoffrey / SHAG.