CALL FOR ARTISTS
Abstractions of Mental Health
A Community Exhibition on Healing, Hope & Resilience

Accepting Artist Entries Now through September 9, 2026 at 12:00 Noon

Exhibition Dates: September 19 – October 10, 2026
Opening Reception & Artist Showcase: Saturday, September 19, 2026 | 5:00–9:00 PM during ArtWauk
Location: Dandelion Gallery & Studios | 109 S. Genesee St., Waukegan, IL
Presented in partnership with Independence Center

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Dandelion Gallery & Studios invites community artists to submit original artwork for Abstractions of Mental Health, a community exhibition exploring mental and emotional health through creativity, expression, healing, hope, and resilience.

Our minds do not experience the world in exactly the same way. Thoughts, emotions, memories, neurological processes, trauma, relationships, healing, and lived experiences can influence how we see ourselves and the world around us. Our inner experiences may feel fragmented, layered, distorted, vibrant, uncertain, peaceful, overwhelming, or beautifully complex.

How can art give form to what cannot always be seen or easily explained?

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Artists are encouraged to explore the complexities of the mind through abstraction and expressive visual language. Through color, form, texture, movement, symbolism, composition, and experimentation, artists may interpret emotional landscapes, shifting perceptions, invisible struggles, moments of clarity, resilience, recovery, connection, healing, or hope.

Artwork does not need to depict mental health literally. We welcome personal, symbolic, conceptual, and abstract interpretations that respectfully explore mental and emotional well-being and the many ways people perceive, process, and respond to life.

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CREATE. ADVOCATE. HEAL. STRENGTHEN AWARENESS TOGETHER.

This exhibition is about more than displaying artwork. Abstractions of Mental Health is designed to use creativity as a catalyst for conversation, connection, empathy, awareness, and healing.

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As part of Dandelion's expanding Creative Wellness Initiative, the exhibition will bring together artists, mental health professionals, healthcare organizations, creative wellness practitioners, and community partners to demonstrate the important role creativity can play in self-expression, resilience, connection, and overall well-being.

Throughout the exhibition, Dandelion plans to incorporate creative wellness experiences, educational opportunities, artist engagement, and community conversations that encourage connection and help reduce stigma surrounding mental and emotional health.

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Artist Eligibility

Open to community artists residing in Illinois and Wisconsin. Artists of diverse backgrounds, experiences, artistic disciplines, and levels of professional experience are encouraged to submit.

Artists do not need to have personally experienced or been diagnosed with a mental health condition to participate. Artwork may be inspired by personal experiences, observations, advocacy, healing, resilience, emotional wellness, community experiences, or the artist's broader interpretation of the exhibition theme.

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Artwork Eligibility

• Original artwork only.

• Accepted media may include, but are not limited to:

• Painting, drawing, mixed media, abstract art, photography, sculpture, textile/fiber art, collage, printmaking, metalwork, assemblage, and other visual art forms.

• All submitted artwork should meaningfully connect to the exhibition's themes of mental health, emotional wellness, perception, healing, hope, resilience, or the inner human experience.

• Wall-mounted artwork must be appropriately prepared for exhibition and include secure hanging hardware/wire across the back. Artists are responsible for providing any specialized equipment necessary to safely display their work.

• Large or unusually installed works should be identified during submission so Dandelion can determine whether the gallery can safely accommodate the piece.

****Space is limited. Submission does not guarantee acceptance.

 

Important Dates

Artist Entry Deadline
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 12:00 Noon

Artist Selection & Notification
Selected artists will be contacted following the jury and curatorial review process.

Artwork Drop-Off / Curating & Installation
Dates and instructions will be provided to selected exhibiting artists.

Opening Reception & Artist Showcase
Saturday, September 19, 2026 | 5:00–9:00 PM (During ArtWauk)

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Exhibition Dates
September 19 – October 10, 2026

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Submission Guidelines
Artists may submit up to three original works for consideration. Due to available exhibition space, Dandelion may select one or more works from each accepted artist.

This is a curated community exhibition. Artwork will be reviewed based on its relationship to the exhibition theme, originality, presentation, available gallery space, and overall exhibition composition.
All artwork must be original and created by the submitting artist. AI-generated artwork will not be accepted.
Artwork derived from copyrighted characters, commercial intellectual property, or unauthorized reproductions of another creator's work will not be accepted.

Artists must upload clear images of each artwork being submitted and provide the title, medium, dimensions, price or NFS designation, and a short description or artist statement explaining how the work relates to the exhibition.
Artists may also submit a short video introducing themselves and discussing their artwork. Selected videos may be used to help promote the artist and exhibition through Dandelion's website, social media, or exhibition programming.

Artwork may explore difficult emotions and complex experiences; however, submissions should support the overall intention of creating a respectful community environment for dialogue, awareness, and healing. Artwork containing explicit, threatening, discriminatory, hateful, or unnecessarily graphic content may not be accepted.

Dandelion Gallery & Studios reserves the right to decline artwork that does not meet exhibition requirements, cannot be safely displayed, or is inconsistent with the purpose and community standards of the exhibition.

Artwork offered for sale during the exhibition is subject to Dandelion's standard gallery commission: 60% of the sale is paid to the artist and 40% supports Dandelion Gallery & Studios and its nonprofit arts programming.

Artists selected for the exhibition are responsible for delivering and retrieving their artwork according to the exhibition schedule and installation requirements provided by Dandelion.

Artwork & Artist Promotion

By granting publicity permission through the entry form, artists authorize Dandelion Gallery & Studios to photograph and/or use submitted artwork, artist information, and exhibition images for purposes related to promoting the exhibition, participating artists, Dandelion programs, and community arts initiatives.

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Not every submitted or exhibited artwork will necessarily appear in promotional materials. Dandelion Gallery & Studios retains discretion regarding artwork and images selected for website, social media, print, press, and other exhibition-related promotion.

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More Than an Exhibition

Abstractions of Mental Health celebrates the understanding that no two minds experience the world in exactly the same way.

Each artwork becomes an opportunity to make the invisible visible—to express experiences that may be difficult to communicate with words and to create space for others to see, feel, question, connect, and understand.

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Through art, we hope to create conversations that reduce stigma, strengthen awareness, encourage empathy, celebrate resilience, and demonstrate the powerful connection between creativity and mental and emotional well-being.

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Artists: Your Perspective Matters.

What does the inner world look like to you?

How might you visually represent emotion, perception, struggle, transformation, resilience, healing, or hope?

How can your creativity help someone else see mental health from a new perspective?

Create. Advocate. Heal. Strengthen awareness together.

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Host a Group Experience

We invite the community to experience this exhibition together.

Schools, community organizations, healthcare and mental health organizations, senior groups, youth programs, support groups, businesses, social service organizations, and other community groups are encouraged to arrange a group experience during the exhibition.

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Experiences may include an exhibition visit, artist engagement, hands-on creative activity, creative wellness experience, facilitated conversation, or a customized opportunity developed around the interests of your group.

Want to host or arrange a group experience? Contact Dandelion Gallery & Studios to discuss available opportunities and coordinate your experience.

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Get Involved

In addition to artist submissions, Dandelion welcomes community partners, sponsors, creative wellness practitioners, facilitators, healthcare and mental health organizations, educators, and volunteers interested in supporting or participating in the exhibition and its accompanying programming.

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Together, we can create an experience that goes beyond the gallery walls—using art to encourage dialogue, build connections, strengthen awareness, and support mental and emotional wellness throughout our community.

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Questions, Partnerships & Group Experiences

Dandelion Gallery & Studios
109 S. Genesee St.
Waukegan, IL

Email: DC.Dandeliongallery@gmail.com
Call/Text: 224-440-8006

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Admission to the exhibition and Opening Reception & Artist Showcase is free and open to the public.

Dandelion Art Gallery & Studios, NFP, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization committed to empowering artists, strengthening communities, and expanding access to meaningful arts and creative wellness experiences.