August 1-31st  |  Ukiah, CA
TBD | Bay Area

Exhibition

Trans Bloom invites artists to submit work for Queer Ecologies, a group art show about land, identity, and our relationship to the world around us. We are seeking all types of work that can be shown in a gallery — including visual art, textiles, photography, sculpture, installation, and more.

“Queer ecologies” looks to nature to challenge rigid categories and show us how interconnection fuels growth. In the natural world, there is constant evolution, transformation, and interdependence. Some plants and animals reproduce without seeds or shift forms. Fungi and trees share nutrients underground. Our ecosystem is fire-adapted, teaching us that destruction creates necessary transformation.

This framework also asks us to look at how colonization has shaped our relationship to land — separating people from place and enforcing control. This show is about reconnecting body, history, and land. At a time of climate crisis and ongoing harm toward trans and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities, this show asks: What can queer relationships to land teach us about survival and care? How do our bodies and histories connect to the natural world? What does it mean to live beyond rigid boxes?

We welcome art exploring:

  • Connections to land and place

  • Environmental justice

  • Ancestral knowledge, land stewardship practices, and cultural memory

  • Queer and trans experiences in-of-with-for nature 

Benefits for participating artists:

  • Exhibition in a thoughtfully curated group show at Medium Art Center in Ukiah, CA

  • Potential inclusion in a future Bay Area showing (2027) as the work continues to travel and evolve

  • Inclusion in a printed exhibition book, extending the life of the work beyond the gallery

  • Professional documentation of your work installed in the space

  • Connection to a growing network of BIPOC, trans, and two-spirit artists across rural and urban communities

  • Opportunities to share your practice through public programming—talks, performances, and screenings

  • Visibility through Trans Bloom and partner networks, reaching both local and broader audiences

  • Relationship-building with curators, organizers, and collaborators for future projects and offerings

  • A space to share your work on your own terms, within a context that honors queer, trans, and BIPOC perspectives

  • Sliding scale commission on artwork sales

  • Modest Stipend ($100) pending funding availability

  • Limited support for installation and logistics, offered with care on a case-by-case basis

Exhibition Details:

  • The exhibition will take place in Ukiah, CA, at the Medium Art Center in August 2026, with a possible additional showing in the Bay Area in 2027

  • An accompanying exhibition book will document the participating artists and extend the work's reach.

  • Art need not be for sale, but if it is, the gallery commission is a sliding scale. 

  • This is open to artists of all backgrounds from across CA, with BIPOC, trans, and/or Mendocino-based artists prioritized 

  • Submission Deadline: June 1st

Join us in cultivating a creative ecosystem where art becomes a practice of connection, resistance, and collective imagination. Direct any questions or concerns to info@transbloom.org. 

Submit your artwork today!

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Queer Ecologies is a group exhibition exploring relationships—to land, to body, to ancestry, and to the systems that shape how we live. We’re interested in work that challenges rigid categories and reflects interconnection, transformation, and care.

    This is a space to ask: what can queer ways of relating to land teach us about how to live?

  • This call is open to artists across California. We are especially excited to receive submissions from BIPOC, trans, and two-spirit artists, as well as artists rooted in Mendocino County. These perspectives are central to the vision of this exhibition.

  • We welcome work that can be shown in a gallery setting, including:

    • Visual art

    • Textiles

    • Photography

    • Sculpture

    • Installation

    • Mixed media

    We’re drawn to work that engages:

    • Land and place

    • Environmental justice

    • Ancestral and land-based knowledge

    • Queer and trans relationships to nature

  • No. Work does not need to be for sale.

    If it is, the gallery commission will be sliding scale.

  • We are a small but growing project and aim to support artists as best we can.

    • We can offer limited support with installation and/or transportation of the work, if needed (please include any requests in the submission form).

    • We will help amplify your work through our networks.

    • We are building relationships that extend beyond this show.

    • The exhibition will be professionally photographed.

    • Selected works will also be included in a printed exhibition book, and each artist will receive two free copies.

    • All artists selected for the show will gain priority in future Trans Bloom programming, such as artist residencies, retreats, and camps

  • No. We have an expansive view of who is an artist and welcome emerging, mid-career, and established artists as well as culture bearers. If your work resonates with the theme, we want to see it.

  • This will be a curated group exhibition with an open call component. A small curatorial team of artists and curators who are part of Trans Bloom’s network will review submissions and select work based on:

    • Alignment with the theme

    • Strength and clarity of the work

    • How pieces speak to each other as a whole

    We’re building an ecosystem, not just selecting individual pieces.

    • Location: Medium Art Center, Ukiah, CA

    • Dates: August 1-31st (installation will occur the week before the opening)

    • There may be a future showing in the Bay Area (2027)

  • Yes. Selected artists may be invited to:

    • Participate in talks, performances, or screenings

    • Be featured in an exhibition book

    • Be part of future iterations or traveling exhibitions

  • We’re living through overlapping crises—climate collapse, displacement, and ongoing violence toward trans and BIPOC communities. This exhibition is a space to gather, to reflect, and to imagine otherwise.