Light of a Clear Blue Morning

As the year tips toward its longest night, Kinhouse invites artists to submit work for a group show exploring light, hope, and small beauty that carries us through winter's dark.

Named in spirit after Dolly Parton's Light of a Clear Blue Morning — a song about weathering hard seasons and trusting brightness returns — this exhibition asks us to sit with the dark honestly, and to find or make the soft, luminous things that help us through it.

We're looking for work that speaks to:

• The solstice as threshold between darkness and returning light
• Hope that's hard-won, not naive — the kind that follows a long night
• Softness as resilience: comfort, warmth, tenderness, rest
• Literal or symbolic light — candles, lanterns, dawn, fire, glow in low light
• Ritual and gathering — how communities move through winter together
• Quiet, domestic scenes that hold beauty in small, ordinary moments

As the year tips toward its longest night, Kinhouse invites artists to submit work for a group exhibition exploring light, hope, and the small acts of beauty that carry us through winter's dark.

Taking its title in spirit from Dolly Parton's Light of a Clear Blue Morning — a song about weathering hard seasons and trusting that brightness returns — this exhibition is an invitation to sit with the dark honestly, without rushing past it, and to find or make the soft, luminous things that help us through it.

We're looking for work that speaks to any of the following:

• The winter solstice as threshold — the turning point between darkness and returning light
• Hope that isn't naive, but hard-won: the kind that comes after a long night, not instead of it
• Softness as a form of resilience — comfort, warmth, tenderness, rest
• Literal or symbolic light: candles, lanterns, dawn, fire, the glow that persists in low light
• Ritual, gathering, and the ways communities make it through winter together
• Quiet, interior, or domestic scenes that hold beauty in small, unremarkable moments

All mediums welcome — painting, drawing, textile, ceramics, photography, printmaking, sculpture, fiber art, and mixed media. We're especially drawn to work that embraces softness in both subject and material.

All submissions will be considered for this group exhibition opening with reception Friday, December 4th and closing January 22nd, 2027. Artists selection for the exhibition will each receive a $20 shipping stipend to help offset costs. 

To get a better idea of our space: please view our instagram: @kinhouseart or check our FLOOR PLAN here.

All accepted works must be available during the exhibition timeframe and ready for installation upon reception. Work that is not professionally presented, arrives damaged, or does not match the juried selections may not be displayed during the exhibition. Your work must come ready to hang and includes any special installation equipment in the shipment. If your work requires special installation instructions you may email us if accepted into the exhibition - kinhouseart@gmail.com 

Persons with any gender identity, ability, and from any location are welcome to apply. Work must be submitted in its finished state (no works in progress) and available to be shown December 4th, 2026 through January 22nd, 2027 in our gallery in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA.