MEDICINE Open Call — Artist Submission for Group Exhibition

Language has long shaped how distress is understood. What is often described as a “psychological issue” is framed as a form of relatable sadness, while “mental illness” is marked as something unsettling — an otherness that stabilises the boundaries of normality. This difference in linguistic weight reflects an instinctive social defence mechanism: by defining what is “abnormal,” society reassures and anchors its idea of what is “normal.”

These experiences are neither purely social constructs nor isolated biological conditions. The realities of physiological suffering cannot be ignored, yet once they enter social discourse, they become entangled with structures of power beyond pathology itself. Within modern systems of productivity, individuals who cannot participate in established rhythms of collaboration are often treated as residual figures — excesses within the machinery. Historically, institutions have attempted to strip such individuals of interpretive agency, positioning them as passive subjects of correction.

To question these power structures is not to reject the necessity of care. Rather, acknowledging the frictions within the folds of the mind allows for a clearer boundary between scientific function and human experience. Contemporary frameworks of intervention are gradually shifting beyond mechanisms of social regulation, becoming points of support through which subjectivity can be reconfigured. Destigmatisation lies not in denying illness, but in disentangling pathology from structures of shame. When care moves beyond correction, individuals are no longer required to pay a moral cost for biological limitation.

MEDICINE is an exhibition that does not seek to diagnose, judge, or console. Instead, it operates as a space of observation, presenting artistic practices that engage with experiences of vulnerability, systems of exclusion, and the persistence of dignity within overlapping structures of definition.

The exhibition will take place in 67 York Street Gallery , from 18 March to 19 March 2026, inviting artists to explore themes such as emotional landscapes, mental health discourse, stigma and destigmatisation, embodiment, care ethics, medical systems, and the relationship between pathology and lived experience.

This call is open to artists, researchers, and creative practitioners worldwide.

Works may take any form — including installation, moving image, sound, text, performance, painting, sculpture, or sensory-based practices — that engage with questions of care, subjectivity, and the social dimensions of psychological experience.

There is no submission fee.

Selected artists will be required to pay a £100 exhibiting fee, which will go directly toward exhibition operation and space retirement.

Selected artists will be promoted on art media platforms and featured on 67 York Street Gallery’s official website , with the possibility of being invited to future GUSTAR Art Space exhibitions and collaborative projects.

Submission deadline: 16 March 2026

To apply, please register through the Eventbrite General Admission free ticket.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing a Google Form link to complete your submission with images and written materials.

We look forward to receiving your work. If you have any questions, please contact: [email protected]

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Host or Publisher MEDICINE Project Team