Southwest Contemporary Vol. 13 — The Road — Spring-Summer 2026
From El Camino Real to Route 66. From the transcontinental railroad to the Interstate highway system. Artists have traveled roads that have defined, shaped, and connected the Southwest across millennia.
In Southwest Contemporary, Volume 13—our Spring 2026 print issue—we will explore The Road as idea, as function, as experience, as connecting space and sinew.
We are interested in highlighting artists who are exploring ideas of passage, who are tracing movements across time and space. Whether drawing the lines on a map, following migration routes of people and animals, exploring everything from ancient footpaths to soaring concrete overpasses to rockets in the sky.
The open road often appears as a place of epiphany, a transition between states of being. Vehicles can be containers for identity, at the same time that the movement of the road offers a space for anonymity and disappearance. Roads can also obliterate, divide, and threaten communities and environments.
We encourage you to consider the theme in an expansive way, not just in a literal sense. We want to explore the metaphorical, physical, and experiential aspects of how the road paves its way into artists’ practices. In this issue, we invite artists in the Southwest whose work, in any medium, responds to these ideas—materially, conceptually, spiritually—to apply.
- Does your practice explore the metaphorical richness of passage, travel, lines, paths, thresholds, dead ends?
- Does your artwork relate to the theme as material, medium, form, or frame?
- Does your art practice have a material resonance with the theme? (Think: concrete, asphalt, flat forms, construction materials, roadside detritus, hi-viz colors and paint)
- Does your work operate as social practice, making inroads to different communities, urban and rural places, access points?
- Does your art practice reflect the experiential aspects of navigation and travel—from the boundless to the banal?
- Does your art practice, like roads, reveal rich information about the landscape around it? (Think: property lines, water sources, safe passages, danger zones)
- Does your art depict or engage with the landscape of the road? What takes place in the crossroads, in the margins, in the swarms of tourists and commerce, in the desolate in-between spaces?
- Do you use the visual elements and aesthetics of the road in your work? (Think: motion, rhythm, roadside attractions, map-making, horizon lines, signage)
- Does your art deal with vehicles or transportation? (Think: cars, bicycles, motorcycles, trucks, walking)
- Does your art travel and roam? Does your practice involve a form of itinerancy?
Attend the Free Information Session
To learn more about this open call for artists, the theme, and the submission/jurying process, attend a virtual info session and Q+A with the SWC editorial team on Wednesday, October 22, 1 pm MDT.
Selected Artists Receive:
- A two-page spread featuring their work in Southwest Contemporary Vol. 13, our Spring-Summer 2026 print issue.
- A profile article written by an SWC contributor.
- A feature on SWC‘s newsletter and social media channels.
Guest Juror: Aurora Tang, Program Director, Center for Land Use Interpretation
Aurora Tang is a curator and researcher based in Los Angeles. She has worked with the Center for Land Use Interpretation since 2009, and currently serves as its program director. Tang was managing director of High Desert Test Sites from 2011 to 2015, where she worked on site-based programs in Joshua Tree, and throughout Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Utah. As an independent curator, she has organized exhibitions at institutions such as the Armory Center for the Arts, MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, and MOCA Tucson. Tang is the recipient of an Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Curatorial Research Fellowship.
Who Should Apply:
SWC invites artists and artist collectives at any stage of their career to submit work in any visual arts discipline. All arts media are accepted: painting, sculpture, new media, performance, printmaking, fiber arts, photography, mixed media, video, installation, and more.
Eligibility:
- Artists (age 18+) primarily residing and working in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Mexico, Texas, or Utah.
- Artists previously featured in print by SWC within the last 24 months are not eligible.
Requirements:
- Submissions are only accepted through the form linked below.
- Submit five images/videos/audio files of different artworks (each file no larger than 10 MB. Print-quality images will be requested at a later date if needed.)
- If video files are larger than 10 MB, please submit a PDF with a public web link to the full video (Youtube, Vimeo).
- Collectives should make a single submission.
- Artist Bio must be no more than 300 words and no more than 2500 characters.
- Artist Statement must be no more than 300 words and no more than 2500 characters.
- Artwork does not need to be for sale.
- Artwork should be recent within the last five years.
- Submission fee: free for SWC Members* / $15 for non-members.
Important Dates:
- Entry Deadline: Friday, November 7, 11:59 pm MST.
- All artists will be notified of the final decision by the end of December 2025. If your work is selected, you will receive further information at that time.
- Published: March 2026.
Submission Reviews (Optional Offer)
If you would like constructive, one-on-one feedback on your submission, we offer consults with members of the Southwest Contemporary editorial team. If you sign up for a Submission Review, you will be assigned to one of SWC‘s editorial leads, and we will contact you to coordinate your 25-minute consult:
Natalie Hegert, SWC arts editor, art writer, and curator.
Jordan Eddy, SWC editorial director, art writer, and curator.
Lauren Tresp, SWC publisher and editor.
These 25-minute Submission Reviews will take place via Zoom and are priced at $50.
**This offer is completely optional and has no impact on the jurying process.**
About the $15 Submission Fee
All submission fees go toward supporting the writers, editors, contributors, and staff who make our publications possible. If you are unable to pay at this time, we understand and urge you to submit your work for general editorial consideration instead. To do so, send 3-5 samples of your artwork, your bio, artist statement, website, and any other relevant links to editor@southwestcontemporary.com. Please note that submission fees are nonrefundable and editorial coverage is not guaranteed.
*NEW as of Fall 2025: SWC Memberships now include FREE submissions to all SWC open calls. Learn more about additional benefits—like access to our Industry Newsletter and Opportunity Index—and become a member here. Existing members, look out for a coupon code in your inbox, or contact us directly to request it.
About the Submission Form:
- While this form will save your progress, we recommend preparing your responses in a separate document to save your text in case of disruption.
- Have your bio, statement, and artwork media files ready for upload before you begin.
