Mobile Arts Council Members’ Show at Cottonwood Center for the Arts COS

Call for Artists: “Spirit of the South: works by Mobile Arts Council Members”– A Gulf Coast Exhibition in Colorado Springs

Mobile Arts Council, in collaboration with Cottonwood Center for the Arts in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is thrilled to invite our Artist Members to participate in a special exhibition for August 2026. This exclusive, juried opportunity will feature artwork created by Gulf Coast artists that celebrates and shares the spirit of the South with our friends in the Rocky Mountain region.

Cottonwood Center for the Arts is a nonprofit arts organization and creative hub located in downtown Colorado Springs. A cornerstone of the local arts community since 1997, Cottonwood is home to more than 130 studio artists and is the largest collective of creatives in the city. The center features gallery spaces, a theater, classrooms, and a wide range of programming, including exhibitions, open calls, First Friday events, arts education for youth and adults, workshops, panels, live demonstrations, and performances. Cottonwood brings together professional artists, small businesses, nonprofits, students, and arts patrons to engage the Pikes Peak Region through learning, collaboration, and cultural exchange, all while working to cultivate a thriving arts district and leave a lasting legacy of art, culture, and beauty for future generations. They are rated as the second most visited tourist attraction in Colorado Springs second only to the Visitor Center at Garden of the Gods.

We invite artist members to create work that intentionally explores what it means to live and create in the South, from the influences of our coastal landscape to the echoes of our region’s rich and complex history.

Consider the ways your Southern identity and lifestyle shape your art: How/why does living on the Gulf Coast influence your vision and expression?

What stories, traditions, or imagery define “Southern” to you?

What do you hope viewers, who may have never visited our region, understand or feel through your work?

What do you hope to convey about the South that reinforces or challenges the typical stereotypes?

In a time when our country feels increasingly divided, this exhibition seeks to build connection through creativity, bridging regions, perspectives, and shared humanity through the language of art. Each Mobile Arts Council Member may submit up to two entries for consideration. Selected works will be juried into the exhibition and exhibited at Cottonwood Center for the Arts in August 2026. This is a powerful opportunity not only to add to your professional resume, but to represent the voice of Southern artists on a national stage.

Submit your works today and please do not hesitate to reach out to Sydney Cramer or Jessica Jones with questions or concerns.

All submissions must be digitally entered online by 11:59 P.M., SUNDAY, MAY 31ST! Pieces juried into the show must arrive to Cottonwood by July 30TH at 5:00pm! 

Find more about Cottonwood Center for the Arts here, and for their complete entry guidelines click here.

**Artists will be responsible for their shipping and return labels in lieu of Cottonwood’s regular submission fees.**