Upcoming Deadline

Flight is many things. It is the mechanical wonder of wings cutting through air, the quiet migration of birds across a pale sky, the terrifying freedom of leaving the ground behind. It is escape and arrival. It is the way light lifts off water at dusk, or the feeling of a thought becoming something larger than itself.

We are not looking for a single interpretation. We welcome the literal and the abstract, the grounded and the untethered. Whether your work depicts a sparrow mid-arc, an aerial landscape seen from above, or a purely formal exploration of weightlessness and momentum, if flight lives somewhere in it, we want to see it.

This exhibition is open to artists working in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, printmaking, textile, mixed media, and beyond. We encourage submissions that challenge, expand, or quietly reimagine what it means to fly.

Important Dates

Submission Deadline: 05/06/2026

Notification of Acceptance: 05/08/26

Artwork Drop-Off: 05/09/2026 - 05/12/2026

Exhibition Dates: 05/17/26 - 06/30/26

Open Call:  Community Exchange
Space: Various

For creatives looking for the opportunity to showcase their work and receive a stipend for exhibiting.

Through Community Exchange, VAE curates and leases artwork from local artists to be displayed in partner spaces throughout the year in Raleigh, connecting artists with new audiences and bringing local creativity into public and professional environments.

To be placed in VAE Raleigh’s Community Exchange Directory, please submit images of three works to give us a sense of your work. If selected by the space, 5 - 10 pieces from your portfolio will be included in a six-month exhibition.

This opportunity includes an artist stipend for participating artists.

Members always apply free. 
Non-members, there is a $25 fee. 

** Please let us know if you need assistance with filling out the application.**