Call for Submissions: VIVA Alliance’s 4th Annual Exhibition – Plasticity

Call for Submissions:
VIVA Alliance’s 4th Annual Exhibition – Plasticity

Submission Deadline: Wednesday, June 17, 2026, 11:59pm

Exhibition Dates: September 9 – 16, 2026
Exhibition Venue: Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, Exhibition Hall, Vancouver

VIVA Alliance is now accepting submissions for consideration for its 4th Annual Exhibition, Plasticity, taking place in September 2026.

An artist fee will be paid to all selected artists, with additional compensation for those invited to participate in artist talks.

Concept Description – Plasticity

VIVA Alliance’s 4th Annual Exhibition, Plasticity, considers how we and the world around us are continuously shaped through processes of formation, instability, and transformation. The exhibition approaches plasticity through the felt and material processes of change, reflecting on the ways materials, bodies, images, memories, environments, systems, and social realities are shaped by pressure, contact, precarity, and uncertainty. It asks how forms reorganize themselves through relation with the world, and examines how such encounters may alter perception and meaning through negotiation, rupture, and exchange.

In a contemporary moment shaped by acceleration, displacement, environmental change, self-optimization, and constant reinvention, Plasticity offers a counterpoint to purely celebratory understandings of flexibility and adaptation, reflecting on how we navigate the pressures of existing in a state of continuous formation.

With this curatorial direction, VIVA Alliance invites artists to reflect on the processes through which unstable systems restructure, regenerate, or respond to forces, pressures, and relations that continually remake our worlds.

Submissions may engage the theme through material experimentation, image-making, installation, sound, video, performance, digital media, interdisciplinary practice, or other forms.

The Jury

The jury panel for the 4th Annual VIVA Exhibition, Plasticity, includes Hangama Amiri, Steven Hubert, and Lorilee Wastasecoot.

Entry Criteria

The key criterion for entry in the 4th Annual VIVA Exhibition is thoughtful engagement with the announced exhibition concept. Participating artists are invited to freely interpret the concept in the context of their own perspectives, experience, and art practice.

Additional practical considerations:

Media
We welcome submissions in visual arts, media arts, and performing arts, including video, sound, digital, projection-based, interactive, and interdisciplinary works.

Size restrictions
There are no formal size restrictions. However, the transportation and installation of the pieces at the exhibition venue should be feasible without extreme measures or damage to the exhibition venue.

Production date
There are no restrictions on the production date of submitted works.

Geographic restrictions
We typically accept submissions from artists whose practice is based in BC. However, we welcome applicants from across Canada provided that logistic considerations are addressed in advance.

If the selection panel members find it necessary to view the work in-person during the selection process, we ask that the piece be available for viewing in the greater Vancouver area. In this case, the curators will contact the artist in advance and arrange a visit at a mutually convenient time.

Number of works submitted by artists
We generally ask that artists submit no more than 4 works. However, we will consider series or bodies of work that consist of more than 4 interrelated pieces.

About the Selection Process

For the 4th annual VIVA Exhibition we will consider visual, interactive media, and performance art projects appropriate for presentation at the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre. A committee will review submissions and select works through consensus in the course of elimination rounds. Selected artists will be contacted by the end of July 2026.

This exhibition will run for 8 days in September 2026. The opening receptions, performances, screenings, talks, and other community programming are coordinated in conjunction with the exhibition, held either in-person or online.

How do you find out if your work has been selected
VIVA Alliance will send out notifications informing you of the result by the end of July 2026. If the panel finds it necessary to view the work in-person, the curators will contact the artist to arrange a convenient time for a studio visit.

Accessibility considerations
We do not expect all artists to be familiar with accessible practices. However, VIVA prioritizes the accessibility of exhibition for artists and visitors with diverse abilities; the VIVA team is equipped to offer artists the means to enhance the accessibility of the exhibition as appropriate.

Delivery and return of works
◦  The accepted works should be delivered to the exhibition venue on September 8, 2026. If this is not possible, the artist is responsible to arrange for an alternative delivery method in advance.
◦  Works should be picked up from the exhibition venue on September 17, 2026.
◦  More detailed information will be released closer to the exhibition date.

Sale of artworks
Artworks are not required to be offered for sale in order to be included in the exhibitions. Once the notice of acceptance is sent out, VIVA will circulate instructions to:
◦  Indicate whether or not the artist wishes to make their work available for sale
◦  Set prices for the works they wish to offer for sale

VIVA will retain a commission of 30% on the sale price of artworks sold during the exhibition.

FAQs

Is the submission only open to Iranian-Canadian artists, or are artists from other communities welcome to apply?
The submission is open to artists of all ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, communities, and lived experiences. We welcome submissions from the broader artistic community and encourage artists from diverse backgrounds to apply.

How many artists are selected?
Our team may select up to 20 artists for the 4th Annual Exhibition from our submissions according to the curatorial vision for the exhibition.

Do you accept international submissions?
No, at this time, the scope of the Annual VIVA Exhibition is limited to Canadian artists.

Who is on VIVA’s selection team?
The selection process is conducted by a committee including the exhibition’s curator, jury members, and VIVA Alliance’s director.

What are some of the key criteria for selection?
Some of the most important criteria for selection are:
A. Overall artistic merit
B. Technique and skillful execution
C. Thematic depth and relevance

Consideration of other factors concerning feasibility is also important in making a selection. This may include practical considerations such as preparation and installation requirements, exhibition space limitations, accessibility concerns, atypical insurance expenses, and the organization’s financial or human resources.

VIVA Alliance will not respond to inquiries about the outcome of the selection process. However, the team may reach out to offer constructive feedback when they have specific input that could help improve the proposed project for future opportunities.

How does VIVA Alliance compensate the artist?
VIVA Alliance will host an opening reception, produce promotional material for the exhibition, provide installation services, and work carefully with the artists in the professional presentation and documentation of the exhibitions. Please note that VIVA Alliance does not pay for the fabrication of new artwork, framing, or material costs. If your project requires further resources than outlined here, please include all expenses in a budget sheet that entails the costs and required funding.

An artist fee will be paid to all selected artists, with additional compensation for those invited to participate in artist talks.

Does VIVA Alliance pay for shipping?
The cost of shipping and handling of the artworks is the responsibility of the artist unless otherwise discussed.

What if I want to do something outside of the exhibition budget?
An expanded exhibition budget requires seeking additional funding, or for the artist to bring their own funds via grants or funding from private donors and sponsors.

How to Submit

Please visit the website for full submission guidelines and how to submit.

Submission Deadline: Wednesday, June 17, 2026, 11:59pm

VIVA Alliance
353 Railway Street, Suite 401
Vancouver, BC V6A 1A4
info@vivaalliance.ca
vivaalliance.ca
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