Seeds of Resilience

Exhibition Description: Seeds of Resilience, on view April 11 to May 9, 2026.  

Woman Made Gallery invites women and non-binary artists to submit work for Seeds of Resilience, a multidisciplinary art exhibition that explores how personal, cultural, and ecological survival are deeply intertwined. This exhibition centers themes of environmental justice, ancestral memory, and the intimate relationship between care and resistance.

Seeds of Resilience takes the seed as a potent symbol: as a carrier of memory, a vessel of potential, and an agent of regeneration. Across cultures and ecosystems, seeds embody the promise of new life and the endurance of what/whom came before. Artists are encouraged to interpret this theme through personal narratives, environmental observations, or political critique. Whether abstract or representational, literal or symbolic, your work might address the seed as inspiration, material, or metaphor. 

This exhibition seeks works that reflect on resilience as a cyclical, intergenerational, and rooted process. How do women, non-binary people, and marginalized communities bear the weight of environmental degradation—and lead efforts to restore balance? How do we—like seeds—store ancestral knowledge, adapt to shifting conditions, and grow toward the light of healing, sustenance and renewal?

We are interested in works that link personal or cultural survival to ecological practices, storytelling, or community care. We welcome works that explore the connections between gender, ecology, and systems of power. Eco-feminist art might challenge extractive capitalism, center healing relationships with the land, or celebrate the nurturing, cyclical nature of life.

This theme embraces works that speak to heritage, healing, and identity. Artworks might highlight seed-keeping, land stewardship, food sovereignty, or connections to place. Reflections of personal transformation, intergenerational memory, or the inner work of resilience are encouraged.

Eligibility

This call is open to women and non-binary artists of all backgrounds and disciplines. All visual mediums are welcome, including painting, sculpture, photography, fiber, printmaking, mixed media, installation, video, and eco-art.

Artists may submit up to three works in any medium. .

Entry Deadline: February 22, 2026  Entry Fee: $35

The exhibition will be held at Woman Made Gallery, located at 1332 S. Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60607.

Curating Team:  Monica J. Brown and Nora Moore Lloyd. 

Monica J. Brown Monica J. Brown explores memory, history and personal mythology through visual art, sound, movement, writing and performance. Her visual art has been exhibited widely throughout Chicago, nationally and internationally. 

Exhibition spaces include: Black Art in America, Atlanta, GA; ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL; Governors State University, University Park, IL; SooVAC, Minneapolis, MN; and Ucross Art Gallery, WY. Monica is a Ucross fellow, and has attended residencies at Atlantic Center for the Arts, Ragdale, and Dorland Mountain Arts Colony, among others.  She has created murals with Chicago's Hubbard Street Mural Project, and Detroit's Live6 DNA Arts Project. 

Monica has received Individual Artist Program grants from Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and Individual Artist Support grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. She is also a recipient of Columbia College’s Albert P. Weisman Award. She earned a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles; and an MA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Columbia College Chicago. Her work is in the collections of: Black Art in America, Harold Washington College, and Diasporal Rhythms. Monica is currently represented by SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art.

For more information visit Monica's website. 

Nora Moore Lloyd (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, born 1947) is a multidisciplinary artist trained in photography and videography. Her work documents the stories of Indigenous elders and reflects her connection to cultural practices such as birch bark harvesting and wild rice gathering. A longtime member of Chicago’s Native American community, she divides her time between the city and her Wisconsin home, where she is an enrolled member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Nation.

Raised in the Chicago area, Nora did not discover her Ojibwe heritage until 1983. Reconnecting with relatives in Wisconsin and engaging with Chicago’s Native community deeply shaped her artistic path, guiding her toward photography as a tool for cultural storytelling.

Her art has been exhibited at The Block Museum of Art, the Field Museum, the Chicago History Museum, Illinois State Museum locations, Cahokia Mounds Museum, Woman Made Gallery, and internationally in Bolivia and Guatemala.

Important Dates 

Exhibition Dates: April 11–May 9, 2026 

Opening Reception: Saturday, April 11 | 4–7 PM CST 

Artist Walkthrough: Saturday, May 9 | 2–4 PM

Entry Due Date: February 22 | 11:59 PM CST 

Notification: February 28, 2026 

Entry Fee: $35 

Each entry requires a minimum of one artwork, though up to three artworks may be considered per submission. Entry fees are non-refundable.

Members at the Enhanced Artist Level and above receive one free entry annually. Please email general@womanmade.org to receive your one-time code for free entry redemption.  

WMG offers fee waivers to those who request the need. To acknowledge the historic inequities of wealth distribution, they are exclusively reserved for ALAANA/BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+. Factors that result in an approved application include financial instability or low income status, student or recent graduate status, identification as ALAANA/BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+, or a demonstrated need otherwise. The WMG team will approve and send a fee waiver link within 2 days of artist's request. Please email WMG at general@womanmade.org to request a fee-waiver.

Eligibility   Woman Made Gallery is a space for women and nonbinary artists, including trans women and femme/feminine-identifying genderqueer artists. We welcome art from women and non-binary artists from our local community, regionally based, and around the world.     

Due to wall size restrictions, artworks must fall within 6’ horizontally and under 75 pounds in weight, unless delivered to and picked up from our gallery by the artist. Artists may be additionally responsible for the installation of oversized works.

New media artworks are eligible. To be considered, artists must  submit a sample .mp4 or URL under 10 mins for purposes of consideration. For exhibition, WMG requires a digital transfer (Google Drive, Vimeo downloads, WeTransfer) as well as a USB formatted in .mp4 file format delivered to the gallery. WMG can provide a limited number of media players, Epson projectors and TV monitors with basic speakers. All other new media needs are the responsibility of the artist.

Art Sales   Accepted work may be listed for sale or be not for sale (NFS). WMG will retain a 40% commission on sold works. Work remains the property of the artist until sold. Sold artworks shall remain in the exhibition until the end of the exhibition. Artists will be paid no later than 30 days after the close of the exhibit.

Terms of Exhibition   An artist contract with full terms of the exhibition will be administered at the time of acceptance notification. Artists need to retrieve their work by the date noted in the artist contract or make alternate arrangements. WMG is unable to store work beyond the pick-up date. Artists may donate their art to WMG's fundraising efforts if unable to pick it up. WMG is happy to talk through preparations, offer advice, and recommend resources as requested.