16th Annual International Juried Exhibition - Solastalgia

The A.D. Gallery at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke welcomes all interpretations of the theme, Solastalgia: the emotional distress of watching your home environment change around you.

Artists are invited to submit two-dimensional or three-dimensional works, installations, or digital media (including video-based media). AI-generated work will not be considered.

16th Annual International Juried Exhibition - Solastalgia
February 11 - March 3, 2027
Entry Deadline: Monday, December 7, 2026

The A.D. Gallery at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke welcomes all interpretations of the theme Solastalgia, the emotional and experiential distress caused by negatively experienced environmental change while still living within one's home environment.

Coined by philosopher Glenn Albrecht, solastalgia is a form of homesickness felt without ever leaving home: the grief of watching a familiar landscape change around you - receding shorelines, vanishing species, drought-cracked earth, wildfire smoke over childhood streets, development replacing the sounds of nature.

This exhibition seeks work that gives visual form to that ache; change felt from within a place one still calls home. We welcome interpretations that are personal, political, poetic, documentary, speculative, or abstract.

Artists are invited to submit two-dimensional or three-dimensional works, installations, or digital media (including video). Selection will consider originality, composition, technique, style, expression, and craft. AI-generated work will not be considered.

This exhibition welcomes interpretations that are personal, political, poetic, documentary, speculative, or abstract.

Themes and questions artists might explore:

• Loss of place-identity due to climate change, extraction, or development
• Memory and landscape — before/after, then/now
• Solastalgia as distinct from nostalgia (the pain of change vs. the pain of distance)
• Community and collective environmental grief
• Resilience, adaptation, and finding new relationships to changed places
• The sensory experience of a transforming environment (sound, smell, light, texture)
• Indigenous and generational knowledge of land in flux

Juror: Carla Rokes
Carla Rokes is an artist and educator originally from the Carolinas, with a BFA from UNC Charlotte and an MFA from Pratt Institute. She has been teaching studio art at UNC Pembroke since 2003, where she focuses on Drawing and Design. Her courses range from Art Appreciation to advanced drawing and graduate-level independent study. Alongside teaching, she has directed the university gallery and served as Chair of the Art Department.

Her current work investigates emotional and ecological transformation through abstract, layered mixed media drawings. Combining collage fragments, paint, marker, and graphite, she constructs dense, symbolic environments that reflect both personal and planetary unrest. Rokes has exhibited her work nationally and internationally, including solo and juried shows, and has curated numerous national exhibitions, residencies, and workshops. She is active in community arts and professional organizations, using both teaching and studio practice to foster creativity and connection. https://carlarokes.com/home.html

Awards: $400 first prize, $200 second prize, and $100 third prize

Entry Fee: $35.00

Shipping and Handling Fee: Accepted artists must provide for delivery and return of work, as below. Please do not submit work for consideration if you are unable to deliver accepted artwork to Pembroke, North Carolina by Friday, January 22, 2027.

CALENDAR
Entry Deadline: Monday, December 7, 2026
Jury Notification: Tuesday, December 15, 2026
Delivery of Accepted Work: Tuesday, January 19 – Friday, January 22, 2027
Dates of Exhibition: February 11 – March 3, 2027
Pick up / Return Shipment: Pick up: Thursday, March 4 & Friday, March 5, 2027
Shipped work will be returned after Friday, March 5, 2027.

Entry Procedure: Each artist must submit work following the guidelines below.

Entries must be submitted by Monday, December 7, 2026.

Entry Guidelines:
• All entries must be submitted on CaFÉ.
• Artists may enter up to 3 works
• Submitted images should be in JPEG format
• Submitted files should be at minimum 1200 pixels on the longest side
• A full view of each submitted artwork is required
• For Video submissions, all works must be no longer than 5 minutes. If the work is accepted, you will be asked to submit the original file.
• An artist statement about the work submitted and how the work engages with solastalgia.
• A 1-page Artist CV or Resume. Submitted file should be a PDF.
• For information on how to apply for a call, go to https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/how-to-apply-artists/
• For information on uploading your media, go to https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/uploading-media/
• If you have any questions or need assistance using CaFÉ, go to https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/

Eligibility: Open to all national and international artists. Works must be completed within the last three years and not have been previously exhibited at the A.D. Gallery. Artwork should be original, no mass-produced prints or reproductions. Submitting artists must be at least 18 years of age.

Entry Fee: $35.00

Shipping and Handling Fee: Accepted artists must provide for delivery and return of work, as below. Please do not submit work for consideration if you are unable to deliver accepted artwork to Pembroke, North Carolina by Friday, January 22, 2027.

Acceptance and Delivery of Work: Artists whose work is selected for the exhibition will be notified by Tuesday, December 15, 2026. Please do not submit work for consideration if you are unable to deliver it by Friday, January 22, 2027. Artists are responsible for delivery of their work to and from the gallery.  Accepted work may be delivered in person or shipped postage paid by artist in appropriate packaging for artwork that is reusable upon return shipment. If inappropriate shipping materials are used, damaged work will not be covered by the gallery. All packages must include a prepaid return address label. Shipped artwork must arrive by Friday, January 22, 2027 at 5 p.m. UPS or FedEx is the preferred method of shipment. 

Mailed entries should be shipped to:
UNCP Department of Art 
c/o Nicole Beverly 
1 University Drive 
PO BOX 1510 
Pembroke, NC 28372-1510

Return of Work: Return postage should be prepaid by the artist and included with the work at the time of delivery. If work is dropped off in person, it should be picked up in person. The gallery will only return work if the artist provides appropriate packing & shipping material with a prepaid shipping label. Shipped work will be returned after Friday, March 5, 2027.

Presentation: Wall-mounted work: Not to exceed 5’ in height or width, and 60lbs.; Installations: May not alter the character of gallery walls, ceiling, or floor.

Pedestals will be provided for 3-D work. Multimedia: The gallery is equipped with three 52” monitors (for digital output).

All works must be ready to install. 2-D work must be framed under plexiglass or glass (with exception of works on canvas) and wired with the necessary hanging device attached. Unframed works should be shipped with the appropriate hanging equipment and installation instructions. The juror or gallery director may withhold works that are misrepresented by digital submission.

Art Sales: Sale of work is not permitted as this is a non-profit gallery supported through a state funded university.

Contractual Agreement: Entry to this exhibition implies agreement on the part of the sender to the conditions set forth in this prospectus.

All entries selected for this exhibition will be insured for the listed value from time of receipt through return shipment. Elected work must remain on view until the close of the exhibition.

Copyright Policy: All works must be original. Any audio/music scores associated with submitted works must be original and/or copyright free.

Permission to photograph artwork for exhibition publicity is considered granted unless otherwise stated.