Call for Applications: Group Exhibition
Carla Salter & National accessArts Centre
Deadline to apply: October 2, 2025
In partnership with the National accessArts Centre, curator Carla Salter invites artists in all stages of their career to apply for the group exhibition, Sparks Fly.
About the Exhibition
This exhibition explores mental health from the point of view of artists who live with disabilities. Mental health can be a lifelong journey with many ups and downs. Sparks Fly aims to celebrate, share and uncover the unique relationship that people living with disabilities have to their mental health journeys.
About the Curator
Carla Salter is an emerging contemporary Canadian artist and curator working in Calgary, Alberta. Carla’s focus is on art’s ability to tell a story without words. Art has power to share experiences of life, emotions and personal journeys. Carla is passionate about mental health awareness and de-stigmatization.
Carla works out of the National accessArts Centre. She has exhibited internationally and across Canada, with work displayed in Intense Difference of Its Own at the Korea Foundation Gallery in Seoul, Korea, and Reel Perspectives, a public art video installation at Sankofa Square in Toronto, Canada.
This exhibition welcomes artists who:
- Work in drawing, painting, sculpture, craft, fibre, ceramics or video media
- Are 18 years of age or older
- Are in any stage of their career
- Identify as living with a disability
Note: Priority will be given to artists working in Calgary and surrounding areas.
Important Dates
- Submissions open August 1, 2025
- Deadline to apply is October 2, 2025
- Applicants will be contacted by November 6, 2025
- Exhibition opens February-April 2026 (exact dates TBD)
How to Apply
- Submit your application via email to submissions@accessarts.ca
- Submit written responses in a single PDF document.
- Submit artwork or video files via WeTransfer to submissions@accessarts.ca
- For guidance on how to submit using WeTransfer, please click here.
In your application, please include the following:
- Artist Bio (2-4 sentences) briefly describing who you are as an artist.
- Artist Statement (3-6 sentences) describing the art that you make. You can include why you make the art, how you make the art, how you feel when you make art, and any art research that goes into your creative process.
- Up to ten images of your artwork or up to 3 minutes of a video work sample.
- Please name your artwork files with the following format: Artist name, date, materials, dimension or duration.
- A one-page CV outlining your experience in the arts (optional).
If you have questions, please contact submissions@accessarts.ca
