Call Description

For the 2026 Biennial: Interstates, we invite artists to create new work that reflects on movement, connection, and distance as they shape life here. Interstates control how we move through and understand Iowa and the Siouxland region. Interstate 29 follows a section of the Missouri River, carrying people and goods through Sioux City. I-80 runs east and west, connecting the Great Plains to the rest of the country. I-35 cuts through the middle of the state, an artery that includes Des Moines, the Twin Cities, and Kansas City. Together, these highways link local life to a much larger network, placing Iowa at a crossroads of movement and exchange.

Artists are encouraged to consider how these networks of travel, exchange, and crossing can be understood in visual, material, or conceptual ways. Work might respond to the history of rivers and roads, the everyday experience of traffic and bridges, or the ways art and culture travel across borders. Proposals can be rooted in personal perspective or public life.

GUEST CURATOR
Matthew Fluharty is the Founder and Executive Director of Art of the Rural. His work flows between the fields of art, curating, writing, and community development. His writing has been published widely by platforms such as the National Gallery of Art and the Walker Art Center. Matthew was the organizing curator for High Visibility: On Location in Rural America and Indian Country, a collaboration with the Plains Art Museum, and he is the recipient of a Curatorial Fellowship from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. He lives and works in Winona, Minnesota.

Application Requirements

CALENDAR
Submission Deadline: February 27, 2026, 11:59pm
Acceptance Notification: March 9

Delivery/Receipt of Accepted Artworks: March 30

Exhibition Opens + Public Reception: April 16, 5 – 7pm
Exhibition Closes: August 9

Pick Up/Return Artworks: September 9

Entires must be submitted via the CaFÉ online form before February 27, 2026, 11:59pm.

Artists may submit up to 5 artworks in any combination of 2D or 3D artworks. 

Images should be .jpg files no larger than 2MB in size. The quality and clarity of your images will help the guest curator make their decision. Please take the time to submit the best images possible.

Eligibility Criteria

This exhibition welcomes original work, created in 2024-2026 by artists 18 and older who currently live in Iowa or within 300 miles of Sioux City. 

Artworks in all media can be submitted. However, artists who use electronic equipment to present or display their work will be prepared to supply the necessary equipment and troubleshoot any technical problems while it is on view.