Refuge: The Courage to Witness

Apply for the Open Call Refuge: The Courage to Witness – Side By Side, Piece by Peace

Open Call for Artists in Any Media We invite artists working in all media—visual, literary, and live performance—to submit work for a juried exhibition, Side By Side, Piece by Peace, as part of the project Refuge: The Courage to Witness, initiated by Hagit Barkai, Associate Professor of Art at The University of Louisiana at Lafayette in collaboration with NUNU Art and Culture Collective and with support from the ArtSpark Award by the Acadiana Center of the Art.

Refuge is an act of resistance, a catalyst for peace, and a space for collective healing. As artists, we find refuge first and foremost in our studios and our creative practice, a space for creative transformation and the focus of our human practices through sharing images, storytelling, ceremonies, music, and shared rituals and shared food. This exhibition explores the psychological, cultural, and political mechanisms that hinder acknowledging war and suffering—within ourselves, within our communities, and in the world—and the mechanisms, practices, experiences, and ideas that cultivate personal and collective courage to face the reality of each other and the possibility of peace and healing.

We seek art that illuminates the obstacles obscuring the realities of conflict and the possibilities for healing, revealing how peace is lost and how it can be regained. We invite artwork that addresses any of the many forms of hiding that mask suffering and distance us from one another, examining what causes us to hide from each other, within each other, from ourselves, and from our shared humanity, as well as what brings us back into connection, truth, and clarity, including art that investigates shifting perspectives and the act of holding conflicting experiences. Submissions may address any part of the full spectrum of peace and conflict—from private struggles that disrupt our peace of mind to the broader forces that fracture peace in our communities and across the world. Works may engage with any of the mechanisms such as trauma, fear, pain, hurt, greed, comfort, isolation, or the inability to choose or act, and may consider moments when bodies are treated as foreign, when the self becomes estranged, or when belonging is denied. We welcome art that exposes what is hidden, confronts what is avoided, and imagines pathways toward healing and reconnection, inviting artists who explore one or more themes such as coexistence, juxtaposition, perspective shifts, embracing contradictions, holding contrasts, and navigating gray areas. We welcome works that weave together conflicting elements, span divides, and move between opposites, embodying the light that emerges from brokenness. We look forward to co-creating a space that honors the act of sharing reflections on the human experience in all its complexity as a form of resistance, connection, and collective healing.

Refuge: The Courage to Witness is supported by the Acadiana Center for the Arts ArtSpark Grant, funded by the Lafayette Economic Development Authority and the National Endowment of the Arts.

Key Dates:
January 14 — Press release and announcement of Open Call
February 9 — Open Call deadline
February 9–15 — Selection period
February 16 — Letters sent to accepted artists
February 16 — Press release announcing accepted artists for the group exhibition March 2 (Monday) — Open Call artwork drop‑off
March 13 (Friday) — Exhibition opening
May 4 (Monday) — Artwork pick‑up

About The Jurors:

Guest Juror: Sami Parbhoo is a Palestinian‑Indian American author and cultural leader, and past president of Festival International, supporting the vitality of the local music ecosystem in Lafayette, LA and beyond. [music liaison for the city of Lafayette]

Refuge Advisory Board

Clare Cook is a choreographer, dancer, educator, and the Founder and Creative Director of Basin Arts, advancing sustainable creative practice, expanding access to contemporary arts experiences, and supporting Louisiana artists through impactful opportunities that strengthen region’s cultural landscape.

Anna Kojevnikov is an Arts Advocate and Community Development Leader, serving as Community Engagement Director at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Lafayette LA, supporting artists, cultural organizations, and community groups through grantmaking, professional development and public art initiatives.

Claire J. Amy, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Art Education at UL Lafayette whose work centers on the lived experience of the arts and on community‑driven, statewide service‑learning initiatives that expand access to creative spaces and arts experiences across Louisiana.

Yael Gronner, PhD, is a Collective Intelligence Facilitator and Peace‑Building Activist based in Cabrières d'Aigues, Provence, France, and Co‑Founder of Tisseuses de Paix and Visions Collectives Association, supporting organizations and institutions in building strong multi‑cultural collaborations and cultivating collective intelligence within team.