Call Description

The inaugural edition of the IMLBB Art Showcase presented by International Mr. Leather in conjunction with the Leather Archives and Museum will be held May 21 - 24, 2026, in Chicago, IL., USA. IML week brings together an international audience of more than 16,000 attendees across the queer spectrum with wide and varied interests in the leather and fetish communities.

This is a selling exhibition. Cash prizes will also be awarded. Please read open call thoroughly for details. See below for theme description, submission info, and important dates.

*Please note, all details regarding the application are provided here. We do not accept proposals via email. All applications are reviewed through CaFÉ and notification is emailed to the applicant. Once submitted, all application fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. Artists of accepted art agree to the use of images of their artwork in promoting of the Art Showcase, including use in social media.

2026 THEME: “Defiant/Restraint”

“Sooner or later, though, no matter where in the world we live, we must join the diaspora, venturing beyond our biological family to find our logical one, the one that actually makes sense for us.”

- Armistead Maupin, Logical Family: A Memoir (prologue)

For the inaugural presentation of the IMLBB Art Showcase, in conjunction with The Leather Archives and Museum, the exhibition seeks work which is not only a representation of the leather, kink, fetish and BDSM Community, but one which exists in celebration of and advocates for the sustained queer space custom-made to the specifications and desires of eroticism.

That this call remains open to the artist’s interpretation is, by design, an experiment into witnessing the nuance of erotic and fetish-inspired art in the 21st century. Whether art is response to, derived from, or inspired by the Community, the goal of this exhibition is to present a diverse, contrasting range of content and form, media, and bodies, as well as emotional and psychological expression; desire, sensation, intimacy, celebration, survival, etc.

We seek work which considers dichotomy. The leather community sustains itself by honoring two paradoxical sides of a coin; conformation via historically established semiotics and an individualized pursuit of self-identity through appearance and behavior. In that spirit, the pursuit of inherent contrast and comparison looms large over much of the queer art canon, fertile ground for the development of compelling work: objectification vs. liberation; camp vs. sincere; violence vs. ecstasy; sub vs. dom, etc.

We seek work that considers the ‘coding’ inherent to the world of gear, kink, BDSM and the grandparental underground cultures from which today’s scene derived. From the fetishization of uniform and liberation of roleplay to the paralyzing fear of the AIDS crisis and the euphoria of the Pride march. We seek work that celebrates the human. From hyper-performative presentation to the subversive to the radically vulnerable, this will be an exhibition of acceptance and investigation. We seek a diversity of bodies, ages, identities, and non-figurations which consider the effect and representation of the Community, not just as an applied layer of personality, but as an extension of one’s lived understanding and experience.

We seek work which investigates the proposal that “masculinity is an artificial and constructed performance that always relies on props,” (Fernbach, 2000, p. 239), which indeed may include, when considered more broadly, the use of clothing, objects, gestures, and physical appearance. The idea may further contend that the dressed body is in fact more sexualized than the naked one, whereby bare skin is covered and replaced, sometimes entirely, with the idealized avatar of animal leather, synthetic rubber, and the like to sculpt and redefine both the body and the character so as to allow its wearer a wholly sustained interim persona.

We seek work that considers the abstract senses underlying the physical experience. While the human body is, no doubt, the frame upon which the overarching concept is physically applied, there is room, if not need, for the exploration and experience of fetish and kink as a non-body, abstracted sensorial conceit. Ritual and rite, bristlingridges of desire, masks of anonymity, the sublimity of release; that which has no concrete or universally accepted symbol of its existence yet is broadly experienced and deeply held.

All inroads to the theme are welcome for the 2026 edition of the IML Art Showcase. As we consider the place and time of this exhibition, we open ourselves to the potent power of art in the 21st century. A diversity of ideas, a collective celebration, an expression of strength in a life unapologetically lived.

Work cited: Fernbach, Amanda. 2000. “The Fetishization of Masculinity in Science Fiction: The Cyborg and the Console Cowboy.”

ABOUT THE LEATHER ARCHIVES AND MUSEUM

The Leather Archives and Museum in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood is a unique cultural institution dedicated to preserving and sharing the history, art and culture of leather, kink, BDSM, and fetish from around the world. Founded in 1991 by Chuck Renslow and Tony DeBlase, the museum, library, and archives were created to safeguard artifacts, documents, artwork, publications, and oral histories that might otherwise have been lost, especially during the AIDS crisis when much of this history was in danger of being destroyed. LA&M features multiple exhibition galleries with historical displays, erotic art, and community-focused collections, as well as a research library and archival collections for scholarly research and personal curiosity. Its mission emphasizes research, education, preservation, and community engagement, making it an important resource for understanding alternative sexual histories.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL MISTER LEATHER / INTERNATIONAL MISTER BOOTBLACK

Since its start in 1979 with just 400 attendees, International Mr. Leather Weekend has grown into a world-recognized celebration that now brings more than 16,000 visitors to Chicago every Memorial Day Weekend. It stands as a top conference for the city and celebrates its 48th IML and 34th IMBB this year. The weekend welcomes the wider fetish community, offers a four-day vendor marketplace with makers from across the globe, and is powered by more than 250 volunteers. It contributes over $15 million in tourism to Chicago.

EXHIBITION AND JURIED PRIZE INFORMATION

The exhibition will be held in-person at the Congress Plaza Hotel in a dedicated exhibition space during the 2026 International Mister Leather / International Mister Bootblack competition week in late May. The exhibition will be open to IML’s 16,000+ attendees as well as the general public. Accepted artwork will be exhibited alongside a selection of historic work and objects from the collection of the Leather Archives and Museum.

Selection of work for inclusion will be determined by the exhibition curators and the jury. Placement within the show will be determined by the curators. Cash awards will be determined by the jury (except for the Audience Choice Award). The Director’s Choice Award will be selected by the IML Board of Directors.

The jury will grant awards in the following categories:

First Prize: $500

Second Prize: $350

Third Prize: $250

Audience Choice (to be voted on by attendees in-person during the exhibition and announced on the final day of the exhibition): $250

Directors’ Prize: The selected artist will be given the opportunity to collaborate with the IML Board of Directors to develop artwork for a limited edition poster for the following year’s IML Week. A portion of the proceeds of the poster sales will go to this artist.

Application Requirements

• Accepted media include painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, mixed media, and sculpture/3D work. Due to venue limitations, we are unable to display video or sound-based work, non-free-standing 3D work, or live/performance art. Artworks that required electricity will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

• In keeping with the nature of the convention's events and themes, sexually explicit work will be included in this exhibition. Imagery of minors, of self-harm or violence towards others, and artworks deemed to depict acts not committed by consenting adults will not be accepted and may be reported as required by law. 

• All work must arrive ready to install. Stretched paintings must include hanging hardware. Work on paper must arrive framed (plexiglass recommended) with hanging hardware. Sculpture must be free-standing and able to be placed on a table or plinth unless specifically intended for display on the floor.

• 2D work must not exceed 32 inches in height or width, must not exceed 6 inches in depth, and must not exceed 30lbs in weight.

• 3D work must not exceed 36 inches in height and must most exceed 18 inched in width or depth or exceed 40 lbs in weight. Work must require minimal to no assembly with instructions provided for assembly and desired display.

• Work submitted to the open call must be complete at the time of submission and must match work sent for exhibition.

• ALL WORK must be original, human-produced work. Fully digital renderings and AI-generated work will not be accepted.

• Selected artists will be notified of inclusion via email and may have more than one work selected for inclusion.

• Artists accepted into the exhibition or event will grant IML rights to use selected images and preferred name for publicity / marketing and for archival purposes, including use on the IML's social media.

• Jury and curators reserve the right to exclude work from inclusion or installation if it does not match submission, does not arrive ready for display or does not meet criteria as stated above, or cannot be safely installed.

• To help offset the cost of the exhibition, a commission of 20% will be retained by the organizers (The Leather Archives and Museum) on all art sales. Please consider this when pricing your work. The organizers will be responsible for the collection and distribution of sales proceeds to artists. The organizers will re-pack work in its original shipping materials for its return if unsold.

• The artist is responsible for ALL shipping costs to the exhibition AND return shipping of all unsold work AND any import/export duties and taxes. If purchased, the buyer of purchased work will be responsible for any and all shipping costs as necessary.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must be 18 or older. Artists at any career stage, of any gender expression, or sexual orientation are welcome to apply. International artists are welcome to apply.