Call for Submissions: Dying.exhibit 2027

Shay Salehi & Adam Giroux, Ode to a Black Hole, 2023. Installation view, Dying.exhibits 2023, Youngplace. Image courtesy of Dying.series.

Call to Artists and Designers: Dying.exhibit 2027

Submission Deadline: November 10, 2026

We are all going to die, so why not talk about it? Dying.series invites artists and designers to submit works that explore death, dying, and care through the lens of the health humanities, for Dying.exhibit 2027 at the DesignTO Festival in Toronto.

As a collective, Dying.series creates events that invite conversation on death and dying to create an opportunity to engage with diverse perspectives on death and dying through art and design works, and participatory experiences. For 2027, the exhibit we will be putting together is titled Dying.exhibit 2027. This exhibit will aim to look at how the worlds of art, culture, and end-of-life in contemporary times collide through art and design pieces that engage the public, inviting interaction, and provoking expression.

This year, we are especially interested in works that approach death and dying through the lens of the health humanities: how art and storytelling can help us understand illness, care, grief, and mortality. We welcome work that reflects the experiences of patients, families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals, whether in hospitals, hospices, at home, or elsewhere.

We envision Dying.series as a catalyst for dialogue, empathy, and understanding in relation to the end-of-life, through a diversity of cultural experiences and perspectives related to death. This exhibit endeavors to engage with the broader community and asks: What might we as individuals, and as part of multiple communities, learn from sharing experiences of death, dying, and loss? How might we encourage comfort in conversations on dying and death?

Dying.series will be part of the DesignTO Festival from January 22 to January 31, 2027; venue: Youngplace, in Toronto.

Health Design Studio, Threads of Time, 2024. Installation view, Dying.exhibit 2024, OCAD University, Toronto. Image courtesy of Dying.series.

Project Requirements

We are open to multiple formats (2D, 3D, digital, installation, multimedia etc.) that invite audience participation.

We encourage pieces under the following themes:

• Design practice: communication materials, products, services, and spaces
• Healthcare and end-of-life care: experiences of patients, families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals; care settings such as hospitals, hospices, and the home
• Community and patient-focused practice: work created with or for communities, patients, and families
• Public engagement, public art
• Participatory art: participant engagement, co-creation, interactive art, physical interaction

We particularly invite works within these themes that address issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Please make sure you disclose any extraordinary considerations for the sizing or mounting of your piece. Specifically, pieces over 6′ x 12′, ceiling-mounted pieces, digital/tech requirements, and/or pieces requiring a dark space. These pieces will require a separate consideration by the committee.

Note: We have a dedicated professional installer who will be in charge of installing and displaying the artworks.

Mahsa Alikhani, Dream’s Ashes, 2026. Installation view, Dying.exhibit 2026, Youngplace. Photo: Anne Fleming.

Compensation

Selected artists will receive an honorarium at the current CARFAC group exhibition rate.

Selection Process

Submissions will be reviewed by a committee of jurors from multidisciplinary backgrounds. Selected artists will be notified through email.

Submission Requirements

For your application, please submit:

• Letter of intent including a proposal of your piece and how your practice and/or work aligns with the call (max. 1 page).
• Low-resolution visual references of your piece (max. 5 images), including measurements and special mounting considerations (e.g. hanging, special equipment, large size).
• CV and short bio.

How to Submit

To submit your application, visit the Dying.series 2027 application form.

Submission Deadline: November 10, 2026

For additional information or questions, please contact:
info.dying@gmail.com

Dying.series
www.dyingseries.ca
info.dying@gmail.com

Instagram @dyingseries

Accessibility:
Youngplace is fully accessible.

Image Descriptions:
1. A visitor turns a hand crank on the side of an open, glossy red casket lined with white fabric, which glows from within. Behind her, the Dying.series 2023 exhibition continues with sculptures on plinths and hanging works.
2. A visitor in a black coat and knit hat looks at dozens of colourful handwritten paper tags tied with yarn to a loom made of branches. Small fabric pouches holding blank cards hang below, inviting people to write or draw a response and tie it on.
3. A visitor in red glasses studies a large wall installation of dozens of small paper prints in deep blue, arranged in a grid. Each print shows a dress-like silhouette, repeated with subtle variations across the wall.