CHAMBERS OF THE HEART / CÁMARAS DEL CORAZÓN

Art by Alan Tello

DETAILS

OPENS / ABIERTO: 16 FEB 2026
CLOSES / CIERRA: 16 MAR 2026

CALL 4 ART / CONVOCATORIA 4 ARTE
TRANS / NONBINARY / QUEER
ARTISTS 25 & UNDER / ARTISTAS 25 Ó MENOS
LIVING ON TURTLE ISLAND / VIVIENDO EN LA ISLA TORTUGA
(AKA AMERICAS / AMÉRICAS)

KEEP SCROLLING FOR DETAILS
SIGA DESPLAZÁNDOSE PARA OBTENER MÁS DETALLES

DETALLES / DETAILS

CRITERIOS DE ACEPTACIÓN

Deben cumplir con TODOS los criterios

Identificarse como Trans/ No binario / Queer Y
Identificarse como Artista, incluyendo trabajo visual, auditivo, música, poesía, diseño, literatura, drag, baile, cinematografía, gastronomía, cosmetología, y más Y
Tener 25 años ó menos Y
Vivir en las Américas/ la Isla Tortuga (EE. UU.)

GUIAS DE ENTREGA

Deben cumplir con TODAS los guías

SOLO ENTREGAS DIGITALES
Formato de 8.5” por 11”
300 PPP
NO tiene que ser algo relacionado al título ó identidades queer / trans
SE SUGIERE: Escoger algo que ya has hecho (Nada Nuevo)

IDEAS: fotos, imágenes de documentación, partituras musicales, fotogramas de vídeo, ilustraciones digitales, diseño gráfico, poesía, collage, recetas, papelería escaneada, etc.

INFORMACIÓN SOLICITADA EN EL FORMULARIO

Nombre (puede ser seudónimo)
Correo electronico
Verificar identidad: Trans / No binario / Queer
Verificar edad : 25 ó menos
Escribir: Sobre ti
Escribir: Sobre tu trabajo
Escribir: Reacción al título
Entrega digital
Permiso para imprimir y compartir su trabajo no-comercialmente (no lo podemos vender)

ENTREGAR

ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA

Must meet ALL criteria

Identify as Trans / Nonbinary / Queer AND
Identify as an Artist, including visual, sound, music, poetry, performance, media, design, literature, drag, make-up, dance, film, social practice, culinary, cosmotology, & more AND
Be 25 years of age or under AND
Reside in the Americas / Turtle Island

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Must meet ALL guidelines

DIGITAL SUBMISSIONS ONLY
Formatted to 8.5” by 11”
300 DPI
DOES NOT need to be related to the title or queer / trans identities
SUGGESTED: Pick something already made (aka Nothing New)

IDEAS: photos, musical scores, journal page, video stills, digital illustrations, graphic design, poetry, collage, scanned ephemera, etc.

SUBMISSION FORM FIELDS

Name (can be pseudonym)
Email
Check for: Trans / Nonbinary / Queer
Check for: 25 or Under
Words: About you
Words: About your work
Words: Reaction to title
Digital Submission
Permission to Print & Share Works non-comercially (aka not for sale)

THE TEAM EL EQUIPO

ALAN TELLO

Alan Tello is a 17 year old photographer and painter in San Francisco, California. He is a 3rd generation organizer who works on advocating for deeply afforable housing and environmental rights in the city. He is also a young queer and trans person who hopes to one day be a astrophysics and continue to both do photography and advocate for those who may not be able to.

At 7 years old he gave his first public comment at the planning commission in SF against a large market rate building that would of displaced families from there homes and perpetuateded gentrification in the city. After being evicted from his childhood home at 10 he continues to advocate for deeply affordable housing so that he may be able to remain in the city.

SONIA ESTEVA

From a young age a passion for social justice was planted in me by my family of organizers and movement builders. Due to the leadership they instilled in me, I channel my academic and professional pursuits to work that gives back to communities such as my own. That's what makes me so thankful to work in 5 Elements, a San Francisco based organization that makes a safe and empowering space for young people in the city. It’s also what drives me to complete my education in urban and environmental studies. I strive to understand the root causes of urban issues like gentrification, rising cost of living, and inaccessibility of vital resources, so that I may play a role in improving them.

As an artist, creation is my medicine. I think of my photos as representative of my heart: people I love, things that move me, moments so precious I try to make them last forever. I also like to sew, as it gives me a means to make something new from something broken, old, or unused. Art is a mode for me to express myself, as well as re-create myself, and for that I am forever grateful.

KAZANI KALANI FINAO

I move through the world as he / him / his. Uso.

I was born and raised on Frisco Yelamu Territory,

and I am still here—

breathing, rooted, surviving the steady violence of gentrification:

displacement, replacement, erasure disguised as progress.

I am Samoan, Fa’atane, a trans man shaped by ocean memory

and ancestral knowing.

I am a student at City College of San Francisco,

a creative writer and storyteller,

a community organizer with my heart at the center of everything I do.

I carry stories the way others carry maps—

to find our way back to one another.

My practice is freedom-making.

My commitment is to protect the narratives of the communities

I come from,

the communities I stand with,

the communities that made me.

JASON WYMAN

I am Jason Wyman (they/them), also called Queerly Complex, and I was born upon the Land of 10,000 Lakes, also called mní sóta home of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ. I now live, create, and love upon Yelamu, lands of the Ramaytush Ohlone people, renamed by colonizers Yerba Buena, then San Francisco. My name means, “Healer,” or so I’ve been told. What it means to me is, “Someone eternally and perpetually finding their way.”

My work has shown in homes, in public transit plazas, in secret gardens, in parks and along water's edge, on streets and alleys, and in institutions, whose names do not matter. I am also a founding Board Member of People Power Media , an Arts, Placemaking, and Virtual Experience organizer with Queer Housing Summit, a Founding Member of 465 Collective, and on the planning team for Chambers of the Heart.

CO-SPONSORED BY:

5 ELEMENTS

5 Elements explores innovative methods to promote academic and personal development from elementary levels to transitional adulthood. Our programs serve youth of color with evidence-based practices and multicultural frameworks, using the arts as a vehicle to overcome adversity.

We serve diverse youth populations from low-income Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Arab communities who reside in the Bayview, Excelsior, Sunnydale, Lakeview and Mission districts of San Francisco. We partner with innovative projects across the Bay Area, extending our reach to youth across the region.

QUEERLY COMPLEX

Queerly Complex is the art of relating to one’s self, each other, and the Cosmic Mysteries through contemplation, curiosity, conversation, and co-creation.

This results in:

art, performance, poetry, & media,
gatherings, happenings, exchanges, workshops, & events,
collaborations, collectives, commons, and co-productions.

TIMELINE

02.16.26 CALL 4 ART OPENS

03.16.26 CALL 4 ART CLOSES

04.16.26 ACCEPTANCE LETTERS SENT

05.01.26 ARTIST CONFIRMATION DUE

07.08.2026

CHAMBERS OF THE HEART ART SHOW OPENS
@ 465 COLLECTIVE

08.02.2026

CHAMBERS OF THE HEART ART SHOW CLOSES

SOBRE / ABOUT

CÁMARAS DEL CORAZÓN

es una exhibición que palpita con las realidades experimentadas, sueños, y las visiones de jóvenes y adultos jóvenes queer, trans, y no binario. Tomando inspiración de la anatomía del corazón, esta exhibición está organizada por cuatro cámaras– Generaciones, Culturas, Solidaridades, y Los Cosmos– cada uno que representa un aspecto vital de la experiencia colectiva.

GENERACIONES dan honor a los jóvenes, adultos, ancianos, ancestros, y descendientes, reconociendo que cada pálpito de nuestro corazón está relacionado a nuestros antepasados y las almas que vendrán en el futuro. Aquí celebramos la sabiduría, resiliencia, y creatividad que los jóvenes traen a nuestras comunidades y movimientos.

CULTURAS abarca la riqueza de identidades– género, sexualidad, raza, lengua, migración, religión, clase, y mas – que crean nuestras comunidades vibrantes. Afirmamos que lo queer, trans, y no binario no son sólo identidades, sino culturas en ellas mismas, llenas de tradiciones, expresiones, y maneras de ser únicas.

SOLIDARIDADES reconoce que están interconectadas nuestras luchas y sueños para liberación. Desde nuestros barrios y familias al movimiento global, esta cámara amplifica el poder de la acción colectiva, cuidado mutuo, y la batalla en contra de la opresión en todas formas incluyendo regreso de tierra, reparaciones, abolición, autonomía corporal, y mucho más.

LOS COSMOS nos invitan a soñar más allá de los límites del presente, para imaginar nuevos mundos y posibilidades. Es un espacio para la curiosidad cósmica, para imaginar futuros donde todos somos aceptados y apoyados, donde la empatía y conexión abren entendimientos profundos del ser y del uno al otro.

Juntas, estas cámaras crean un vivo, palpitante corazón– testamento al poder, la belleza, y complejidad de los jóvenes y adultos jóvenes queer, trans, y no binario. Por medio del arte, somos testigos de nuestros sueños, batallas, y nuestra capacidad infinita de amar y transformar.

Deja que esta exhibición sea un portal: una invitación a ver, sentir, e

imaginar un mundo donde todo corazón es libre.

CHAMBERS OF THE HEART

is a Call for Art pulsing with the lived realities, dreams, & visions of trans, nonbinary, & queer artists 25 & under. Inspired by the heart’s anatomy, this exhibit is organized around four chambers—Generations, Cultures, Solidarities, and The Cosmos—each representing a vital facet of collective experience.

GENERATIONS honors youth, adults, elders, ancestors, and descendants, recognizing that every heartbeat is shaped by those who came before and those yet to come. Here, we celebrate the wisdom, resilience, and creativity that young people bring to our movements and communities.

CULTURES embraces the rich tapestry of identities—gender, sexuality, race, language, migration, religion, class, and more—that make up our vibrant communities. We affirm that queerness & transness & non-binaryness are not just identities, but cultures in themselves, full of unique traditions, expressions, and ways of being.

SOLIDARITIES acknowledges our interconnected struggles and dreams for liberation. From our local neighborhoods and families to global movements, this chamber uplifts the power of collective action, mutual care, and the fight against oppression in all its forms, including land back, reparations, abolition, bodily autonomy, and so much more.

THE COSMOS invites us to dream beyond the boundaries of the present, to imagine new worlds and possibilities. It is a space for cosmic curiosity, for envisioning futures where all are affirmed, where empathy and inquiry unlock deeper understandings of ourselves and each other.

Together, these chambers form a living, beating heart—a testament to the power, beauty, and complexity of queer, trans, and non-binary youth and young adults. Through art, we bear witness to our dreams, our struggles, and our boundless capacity for love and transformation.

Let this exhibition be a portal: an invitation to witness, to feel, and to

imagine a world where all hearts are free.