Mon 9/21 @ 8:00 am – 11:59 pm EDT
An invitation to Artists
A haven can be defined as a place of safety, shelter, and refuge, and/or renewal and inspiration.
We invite you to use your artistic expression, whether in painting, photography, sculpture, poetry, music, dance, live performance and other forms – to explore these questions and spark meaningful conversations and creations related to the theme of Haven:
Personal experience
- What is the experience of seeking for a haven, of moving from being lost to finding a place where you discover what you’re searching for?
- What is a place that gives you the strength and direction to build something new, even amidst challenging conditions?
Building havens
- How might a family, neighborhood, or community be a haven, a place where people support each other to have the physical, emotional and spiritual elements one needs to thrive?
- How might a haven be a place to seed and grow something better? How can we build long-lasting community havens?
Arts as a haven
- How can the arts be a haven for healing, peace, dignity, and community resilience?
- How can we create havens for our relationship with the source of creativity?
In our previous show, Migration, we asked artists to explore the nature of people moving between places and what it means to be welcomed in a new place, and to reclaim voice, culture, and dignity there. A dimension of that experience is the search for a haven, a place of refuge and belonging.
Personal experience of a haven
Imagine a time you were lacking vision, faith, or a sense of purpose. Recall the feelings of restlessness and the feeling of an unmet need for something.
Picture the experience of finding a haven, some way that a light of clarity, truth, inspiration, or direction comes in. You may meet someone or enter a home, neighborhood, or a community environment where the qualities of fellowship and warmth awaken your spirit and restores a sense of belonging and connection. In that experience, you may find respite and safety, like a ship anchored in a harbor.
Offer a safe haven to every fearful one, and bring comfort and solace to every dismayed one. Gladden the heart of every sorrowful one, and bring joy to every tearful one. Be as refreshing water to every thirsty one, and as heavenly food to every hungry one. Become the cause of glory to every abased one, and the source of blessings to every poor one. —‘Abdu’l-Bahá
“My home is the home of peace. My home is the home of joy and delight. My home is the home of laughter and exultation. Whosoever enters through the portals of this home, must go out with gladsome heart. This is the home of light; whosoever enters here must become illumined.” – Abdu’l-Bahá
Building havens
In these times of divisions and tensions in our communities and world, we each can be a protagonist in building havens, places where people can prosper or grow that are nurturing and confirming.
“…with every passing day, we see the condition of the world grow more desperate, its divisions more severe. The escalating tensions within societies and between nations affect peoples and places in a myriad ways. This demands from every conscientious soul a response…. Heartfelt concern must prompt sustained effort to build communities that offer hope in place of despair, unity in place of conflict.” – Letter from Universal House of Justice, 2024
Arts as a haven
The creative process and artistic expressions can be a haven for the individual and arts can play an integral role in growing peace, dignity, and resilience within community life.
“Indeed the arts as a whole, so integral a part of the development of a community from the start, stand out in such settings as an important means of generating joy, strengthening bonds of unity, disseminating knowledge, and consolidating understanding…”
— Universal House of Justice, 30 December 2021
Important Dates
- Submit art for review by Monday, September 21st, 2026 | Midnight.
- The curating team will review submissions and respond to artists by October 4th, 2026
- Final electronic file or physical piece(s) to be received at Green Acre by October 19th, 2026
- The show will open November 7th, 2026
