Call for Submissions: Photo-Based Art Project Exploring Tattoos at Latcham Art Centre

Paper Mirrors (installation view), 2025. Artists from left to right: Michael Ciesielski, Anthea Black, Ron Siu. Image courtesy Latcham Art Centre. Photo by Molly Steels.

Contribute to a community-centred project that will investigate the stories behind tattoos: the people who wear them and the people that create them.

Submission Deadline: October 31, 2026

Latcham Art Centre is embarking on a yearlong project to collect images and stories that explore the relationship between people and their tattoos, and communities formed around tattoo artists and their studios. The result will be a photo-based exhibition that captures the ideas, moments, and stories behind one of the fastest growing and most visible contemporary artforms.

The project aims to represent prevalent themes that are emerging from tattooing as a visual expression of community belonging, identity, personal passion, healing, and commemoration.

We are inviting submissions from photographers, videographers, and tattoo artists that: represent a range of styles and practices; are interested in collaborating with community members to develop an innovative body of work; express the story-telling capacity of photography and tattooing.

Over the duration of the project, Latcham will organize onsite photo sessions with community members and tattoo artists. Latcham will work collaboratively with the selected artists to create an exhibition that will provide an immersive visual experience representing the diverse world of body art.

Latcham welcomes submissions from a diverse range of photo-based artists, including those newly exploring tattooing as a subject and photographers whose existing portfolios engage with tattoo-related themes.

The call invites submissions that:

• explore the storytelling potential in tattooing as a subject
• demonstrate previous experience and interest in working collaboratively with a variety of people
• reflect the cultural, historical or personal dimensions of the art of tattooing
• engage with experimental, documentary, or poetic approaches to photography

How to Submit

Please complete the submission form on Latcham’s Exhibition Submission portal.

• Attach up to 10 images of related work (jpg, jpeg, png, or pdf files not exceeding 1MB)
• Include a brief biography, a statement that outlines your interest in tattoos as a subject, and how your practice aligns with the goals of the project, a c.v., and an image list.

Submission Deadline: October 31, 2026

Latcham will be in contact with the successful artists in the Fall of 2026.

If you have questions about the call please contact Latcham’s Curator, Jeff Nye at jeffrey.nye@latchamartcentre.ca.

Project Timeline

• Application Deadline: October 31, 2026
• Artists Notified of Acceptance: November 15, 2026
• Community Collaboration/Production Phase: January – May, 2027
• Exhibition Installation Period: July, 2027
• Exhibition Dates: August, 2027 – October, 2027

About Latcham Art Centre

Latcham Art Centre is a public art gallery that inspires the community to engage with arts and culture through dedicated exhibitions of contemporary art that reflect a range of artistic media and the cultural diversity of our province. Latcham Art Centre offers vibrant education programs that cultivate creativity and experimentation through classes, workshops, artist talks, and tours. Latcham Art Centre is located in Stouffville, Ontario, 45 minutes northeast of Toronto with free parking and is accessible via GO Transit. The Gallery is open to the public and admission is free.

Latcham Art Centre is accessible.

Gallery Hours:
Monday: 10am – 5pm
Tuesday – Thursday: 10am – 8pm
Friday – Saturday: 10am – 5pm
Sunday: Closed

For more information please contact:
Jeff Nye, Curator
Latcham Art Centre
jeffrey.nye@latchamartcentre.ca

Latcham Art Centre
2 Park Drive
Stouffville, ON L4A 4K1
T: 905-640-8954
www.latchamartcentre.ca

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