This year’s theme considers the land as an active witness to change and memory. Artists are encouraged to respond poetically and contemplatively to questions such as:
- How does the land remember?
- What histories are embedded in soil, stone, trees, and water?
- How do seasons, climate, and natural cycles shape place over time?
- What traces do people leave behind as they move through the landscape?
Works may interpret the theme literally or abstractly and should engage thoughtfully with the surrounding environment.
About the Exhibition
Art on the Trails is a juried outdoor exhibition featuring temporary, site-responsive artworks installed along wooded trails and natural spaces. Artworks are encountered by visitors as they move through the landscape, creating a layered experience of art, place, and time.
Artists working in sculpture, installation, mixed media, and interdisciplinary practices are encouraged to apply. Proposals should consider durability, safety, and environmental impact, and should be appropriate for an outdoor setting exposed to weather and seasonal change.
Who Should Apply
This call is open to emerging and established artists. Artists with experience in outdoor, site-specific, or environmental work are encouraged to apply, though prior outdoor exhibition experience is not required.
A Decade of Looking Back — and Forward
As Art on the Trails marks its 10th anniversary, Time in the Landscape offers an opportunity to reflect on what has been shaped, remembered, and carried forward. This exhibition honors the passage of time while inviting new perspectives to join an ongoing dialogue between art, land, and community.
Guidelines for Submissions
Please consider the following guidelines before submitting a proposal:
- The exhibition opens on June 13 and closes on September 13.
- Artists may submit existing work or a proposal for site-specific work.
- There are no buildings or electrical outlets in the Preserve. All work must be installed in the natural environment.
- Multiple entries are welcome and encouraged.
- You may identify a location for your work if you choose. The final siting of the work is at the discretion of the juror. View a map of Beals Preserve.
- Tours of the Preserve are available upon request.
- Please indicate if the work requires support or suspension in the landscape and your proposed method for achieving this. You may bring in structures or use trees as supports for your installation, as long as it does not harm them in any way. For instance, strapping around trunks or ropes around branches is acceptable. Nails into trees are not acceptable.
- All work will be considered based on the quality of the proposal and ability to implement the proposed work. Experience with outdoor installations is helpful, though not required. All experience levels are welcome.
- The artwork delivered and installed must be as proposed in this submission. The Program Director reserves the right to decline any work that does not resemble the proposal.
- Installation day is Saturday, June 13th. The artist is expected to be present or have a representative present on Installation day to install their work. Artists can choose an installation time.
- This is a Leave No Trace exhibit; from installation to dismantling, nature must be left intact, and all materials brought to the site must be removed by the deinstallation deadline. No exceptions.
- We actively promote works for sale if applicable. Should your work be sold as a result of exhibition in this show, the artist agrees to donate 25% to Southborough Open Land Foundation, which supports the running of this program. We rely on artists to be forthcoming should they be contacted directly by a collector.
- By submitting a proposal, artists acknowledge Southborough Open Land Foundation assumes no liability for artwork on the property during the exhibition.
- The selected artists will be notified by May 1, 2026 via email. Acceptance in the show is provisional and contingent on agreeing to terms listed above at time of notification.
- Up to 15 works will be accepted.
- All accepted artists will receive a $100 stipend for participating.
- Please contact Catherine Weber, cweber@catherinemweber.com if you have questions.
