Chances are you’ve driven past a road sign that reads HILL BLOCKS VIEW. These warnings are placed midway up roads with vertical inclines so steep you can’t see the other side. As drivers, we’re prompted to imagine what might lie just beyond the hill. With mere seconds to adjust, we enter the unknown.

In 2025, we take HILL BLOCKS VIEW as a metaphor for the speed at which we’re encountering the uncertainties and insecurities of our socio-political moment. Just days in, the second Trump presidency has detoured us to a series of blind summits whose other sides yield catastrophic unknowns.

As we inventory the wreckage -- both anticipated and forthcoming -- DEI departments terminated, public education on the chopping block, global trade deals marred, migrants deported without conviction or trial, indigenous people caught in the mess, trans soldiers barred from service, reproductive healthcare criminalized, global aid stamped out, Gaza targeted for an armed takeover, and sacred pledges to our planet abandoned, just to name a few, we wonder, where do we go from here? Also, how the hell do we get off this road?

We invite artists to wrestle with several questions arising from our collective moment, and to reflect on the role artists might play as we experience a range of fears, desires, and vulnerabilities. Chief among them, what is the role of feminist movement in an era of anti-woke sentiment?  How might artists uniquely have the skillsets to design a roadmap for a future where women thrive? And how might we radically rethink insecurity as an opportunity to fiercely band together? 

We offer this final question with a call to action in mind. In her 2023 text, The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart, artist-activist Astra Taylor describes how we rethink uncertainty as an opportunity to think collectively and curiously. She writes, “Recognizing our shared existential insecurity, and understanding how it is currently used against us, can be a first step toward creating solidarity.” For Taylor, solidarity is one of the most life-saving forms of security we can possess.

This open call draws inspiration from iconic Black, Afro-Brazilian, Latina, Indigenous, and Global South feminists who have long navigated landscapes of uncertainty and resistance. Thinkers like Gloria Anzaldúa’s concept of the nepantla—the space in-between—and Beatriz Nascimento’s theorization of quilombos as sanctuaries of resistance, offer frameworks for imagining new possibilities when the path forward is obscured. Audre Lorde’s call to harness our power in the face of fear, and Christina Sharpe’s exploration of living “in the wake," underscore how histories of oppression and resilience shape our present and future. Art collectives like Gran Fury whose public propaganda advertisements confront government neglect during times of crisis, and Taller de Gráfica Popular, whose art advanced revolutionary social causes in Mexico, exemplify what’s possible when we unite and work collectively.

Simultaneously, we acknowledge the simple activity of holding space as a strategy for building communities of care and liberation. Conceived by liberation trainer Niyonu Spann, holding space is a quieter act of stepping back, listening to and watching two people communicate. The role of the space holder is to maintain attention and bear witness. As a grounding truth, we see art’s value in this light. Its power is in its ability to hold space as we process our vulnerabilities and emotions, plan for the future, act, rest, meet new people, exchange ideas, share culture, and realize the fullness of our capacity to collectively dream.

To Participate:

This is an uncensored unjuried show, and submission is free and open to all. To participate, complete this form by Thursday, February 27, 2025, indicating how you’d like to participate, and what you’d like to contribute. We’re salivating at the mouth to hear your ideas, so dream big.

The exhibition will take place at Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven, CT (80 Audubon St.) from March 8-22, 2025.

Given the dimensions of the gallery, we suggest limiting your contributions to 60 inches in any direction, but consideration will be given to larger submissions. 

Submissions may include visual art, literary art, and proposals for performances, installations, film screenings, public programs, and participatory works. Historically, we’ve supported the presentation of a handful of large sculptures that have punctuated the show, and 2-3 live performances that are the hallmarks of our opening receptions.

Submissions can respond to the themes and provocations listed above or depart, more headily floating in their orbit. For us, the most important thing is that this is an opportunity for coming together in solidarity. In other words, the curatorial framework HILL BLOCKS VIEW is purposefully wet and noodly. As long as your submission support our mission -- to champion feminist movement and a world where women thrive, we welcome you to join us!

Important Dates

• Opening Artist Reception: International Women's Day, Saturday, March 8 from 5-7pm

• Artwork Drop Off and Install: Sunday March 2 from 10-4pm

• Artwork Pick Up and Deinstall: Saturday, March 22 from 10-4pm, or Monday, March 24 from 9:30-1pm.

Food Commission

We can't wait to gather on International Women's Day for the opening of HILL BLOCKS VIEW. Rather than purchase a few run of the mill cheese platters, we're looking to mix things up. As Things Fall Apart, we invite you to submit an idea for a food concept that we can collectively consume. Ideas may think critically about the food industry, the food chain, food culture, economies of exchange, food waste, agriculture, and scale. They may take a more jubilant, absurdist, or indulgent approach. They can be baked into a live performance. Really, the framework is unbridled here. Send us your gooeyist concepts through the submission form.

We can’t predict the size of the crowd, but invite you to create a concept to feed 100 people. The selected proposal will receive a $300 stipend, and we invite you to share a budget so we have a clear sense of your total project needs and how the piece might be best supported or scaled.

Volunteers Wanted!

Should you have the capacity to lend your skills, muscles, or time to help install, document, or publicize the show, we hope you’ll sign up for one of our open volunteer slots. (Sign up available in the online form). This is what we’re talking about when we talk about collective action in motion. And oh how it feels great.

FAQs

Q. What is the parking situation like at CAW?

Parking is available in a nearby garage on Audubon Street. Heavy works may be unloaded closer to the storefront, but cars cannot remain double parked beyond the time it takes to securely move the artwork inside.

Q. What if I can’t make drop off or pick up times?

Let’s get creative! We encourage you to:

1. Ask a fellow artist or friend to drop off your work for you.

2. Mail us your work the old fashioned way. Don’t forget to include a prep-paid shipping label and packing instructions.

Q. Who do I write to if I have questions about the show?

Email nastywomenct@gmail.com. We’re volunteer-run collective, so please give us 48-72 hours to respond. We appreciate your grace.