HAIR: An International Call for Art Made of or About Hair

The Cincinnati based non-profit arts organization and gallery, Manifest, invites visual artists and designers to submit original works made of or about hair. Open to any and all traditional and non-traditional 2D and 3D visual arts media.

Hair is a plaything. The essential element of any doll’s lovability, it is the part of a doll that can be most actively played with in facsimile to life. You can brush it, braid it, style it, and cut it at least once. Hair’s physicality is engaging. It associates closely with beauty, and it is significant to one’s personal and cultural identity. The look of it, the light on it, its movement, is all seductive.

With regard to its “thing-ness”, the boundary between “fiber” and “hair” is very thin. Creating certain hairstyles is sometimes indistinguishable from weaving or sculpting. Hair from an animal is made into clothing. Even human hair can be formed into wigs and extensions. Sometimes hair from a loved one is braided into keepsakes.

What is the difference between a thread and a hair?

$40 for up to FOUR entries submitted. $5 per each additional entry.

Includes exhibitor honorarium of $50 for each exhibiting artist, and new Grand Jury Award of $1,000 for one jury-selected work from among the exhibits on view.