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This year we received 406 proposals that were voted on by an international panel of over 800 jurors from many disciplines. Each eligible proposal received an average of 94 votes. 82 countries were represented both in applicants and in our jury pool. In addition to many individuals, 18 international university classes made voting part of their syllabus from Korea, Canada, UK., US, Africa et. al. Jurors were asked to read at least 50 anonymous submissions, with many reading over a hundred. Over 23,000 votes were ultimately cast to determine the five winning proposals that will become apexart International exhibitions in our 2026-2027 season.
You can find the full proposal results page here.
The winners are:
Wind, Land, and Their Song
Submitted by Gray by Silver—Jeju, Korea
Explores disappearing Jeju folk traditions through sound, installation, and textile art, linking cultural memory to ecological knowledge. The exhibition considers how communities preserve and adapt traditions amid environmental change, tourism, and generational loss.
Cargo of Hope
Submitted by Badagry Young Contemporary Collective—Lagos, Nigeria
Examines human trafficking across West Africa through installation, sculpture, and performance, revealing how migration becomes exploitation. Artists explore loss, commodification, and survival, questioning what happens when hope itself is manipulated as a system of control.
We Are Each Other’s HARVEST: Black Women and the Politics of Self-Care
Submitted by Tara Jefferson—Cleveland, United States
Archives a century of Black women’s self-care as resistance through audio, film, and artifacts. Centering healing, rest, and community, the exhibition reframes care as a vital, intergenerational practice of survival and liberation.
Five Women Drinking Mercury
Submitted by Naira Corzon Cortez—La Paz, Bolivia
Five artists investigate the fear and uncertainty of mercury contamination from illegal mining in La Paz, Bolivia through sound, video, and installation. Blending personal exposure with scientific evidence and activism, the exhibition transforms lived anxiety into collective witness and demands urgent government accountability.
Softwear
Submitted by Kira Wainstein—London, United Kingdom
Traces the shared histories of weaving and computing, highlighting gendered labor and early code systems. Contemporary artists use textiles to reinterpret digital logic, reclaim materiality, and reveal overlooked connections between craft, technology, and computation.
Consider submitting a proposal to our New York City Open Call in October 2026, or being a juror by sending an email to juror@apexart.org by the first week of October 2026.
