FRESH: Crafting the Narrative

FRESH: Crafting the Narrative

January 8 - March 13, 2027 | Betty and Howard Taylor Main Gallery

FREE to apply!

The annual FRESH Juried Exhibition at Summit Artspace has challenged local artists to push the boundaries of their art-making through concepts and materials for this show. This exhibition features local emerging artists exclusively to highlight the strong talent rising in our community and to provide a specialized platform to celebrate those artists. FRESH has a new theme each year that reflects current trends in the art world and our culture generated by a local emerging curator. 

2027 CURATOR: Nova Stewart

EXHIBITION THEME  "Crafting the Narrative explores how artists use materials and making to tell their own stories, question the stories others have placed on them, and reshape how they are seen. “Crafting” has two meanings here: physically making an artwork and actively shaping a story. The exhibition asks who gets to decide the value of a material, an artwork, an identity, or a lived experience -and- what can happen when artists take control of that story for themselves.I am especially interested in work that challenges the divide between “fine art” and materials or processes that have often been dismissed as decorative, domestic, childish, hobby, or simply “craft.” 

I'm looking for mixed-media sculpture, assemblage, collage, fiber and textile work, ceramics, illustration, found object and recycled material work, along with unexpected uses of beads, sequins, clay, artificial flowers, toys, paper, and other everyday or inexpensive materials. I would be especially drawn to work that is highly decorated, tactile, repetitive, visibly handmade, or intentionally “too much.” Painting, photography, video, digital work, and other media would also fit the exhibition when they strongly explore storytelling, identity, or how meaning is created. 

I am interested in the contradiction that an artwork can be judged as “too much,” too decorative, colorful, sentimental, strange, or excessive. While at the same time being seen as not serious enough to be “fine art.” People can face similar judgments. They may be told they take up too much space, need too much support, or do not fit expectations of who they are supposed to be. This gives artists room to explore disability and access, race, gender, sexuality, body image, family history, regional identity, class, labor, grief, and other parts of personal and social experience. It also leaves room for humor, fantasy, joy, abundance, and self-invention.This theme feels especially relevant now because many contemporary artists are breaking down the boundaries between art, craft, design, and everyday materials. 

Artists are using material choices to talk about identity, power, memory, history, and lived experience. Rather than treating craft as something lesser than fine art, Crafting the Narrative treats making as a way of claiming authorship over both materials and stories.At its center, the exhibition asks: Who gets to craft the narrative and what can happen when artists choose to remake it for themselves?" - Curator, Nova Stewart

IMPORTANT DATES

• Deadline for Entry:  Sunday, November 15, 2026, 11:59 p.m.  
• Notification of Acceptance: November 25, 2026
• Drop Off: Monday, December 21, 2026, 12 - 6 p.m.   
• Opening Reception: Thursday, January 14, 2027, 5 - 8 p.m. during our monthly Art After Hours event
• Pick up: Week of March 15, 2027 (artists will be notified of pickup dates at least two weeks before the close of the exhibition)

ABOUT THE CURATOR

Nova Stewart (they/she) is an arts administrator, artist, and community advocate based in Northeast Ohio. They hold an MA in Arts & Culture Management from the University of Akron and a BFA in Illustration from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Their professional experience includes exhibition coordination, gallery administration, artist support, programming, and community arts work with organizations including the Emily Davis Gallery, Summit Artspace, Akron Soul Train, Curated Storefront, and Peg’s Foundation Gallery.

Nova’s curatorial interests center on material experimentation, contemporary craft, illustration, disability and access, identity, storytelling, and work that challenges traditional ideas of artistic value. Their mixed-media practice often combines illustration with sculptural, assemblage, and everyday craft materials, shaping their interest in how materials can influence the stories we tell about art, ourselves, and one another.Their work explores disability, memory, grief, and chronic illness through dreamlike narratives where the fantastical becomes a form of survival. They are particularly interested in the way craft materials are often treated as lesser because of their associations with femininity, childhood, domestic making, and hobby craft. For Nova, that dismissal parallels the ways pain and illness can be devalued when they do not present in ways others expect. Their experiences navigating chronic illness have further shaped their interest in how appearance, material, and expectation influence whose stories are believed and taken seriously.

Nova is also the co-founder of StarFall Creative Collective, a grassroots initiative focused on accessible programming, resource sharing, and artist support across Northeast Ohio. Their curatorial experience to date has primarily involved supporting other curators and helping translate exhibition concepts into completed gallery experiences, and they are now developing an independent curatorial voice.

ELIGIBILITY

• Artist must be an emerging artist (active practice within the last five years max). Must be currently based in Summit County or contiguous counties (Cuyahoga, Geauga, Medina, Portage, Stark, or Wayne). Must be at least 18 years old to enter. 
• Artwork must have been created since January 1, 2025 and not previously displayed in Summit Artspace. Artwork must be completed upon submission. 
• Jurying will be done via digital image. Artists may submit two entries for consideration in the show, and may submit up to three high quality digital images (.jpg, .pdf, .tiff. .png) of the artwork entered. The images must accurately represent the finished work and accepted work must be professionally presented for exhibition (see notes below). Artist's name cannot be in the file name of digital images.  

DISPLAY

• Final installation size of 2-D work cannot exceed 4' (48") wide or 7' (84") high. 3-D work must not exceed 39" in diameter, nor may any single component of the work exceed 50 pounds.
• All wall-mounted artwork must be hang-ready with appropriate hardware for weight of piece. All work must be labeled with the artist name and contact information when delivered.
• Summit Artspace has a limited number of pedestals, monitors, and projectors available. The artist may be required to provide a special display fixture appropriate for the installation. Please note all displays are subject to Summit Artspace approval. Suitability of works which must be suspended, require a power source, are between 35-50 pounds, are close to the size limitations or have other special installation requirements will be determined on an individual basis. 
• Professional installation will be provided by Summit Artspace. Care will be taken when handling and displaying all artwork; however Summit Artspace waives responsibility for either damage or loss of artwork. 

Questions? Contact Director of Artist Programs and Exhibitions, Anna E. Young, at anna@summitartspace.org.