Letter From a Friend

Towards the end of last year, I came across an open call for submission to a group show titled Letter From a Friend, with guaranteed exhibition. I can’t find the original post anymore, but I remember it said that Bacio Collective wanted to try something new. I thought: “Great, me too.”

A past version of me would have found every possible excuse not to send anything. I would have started with a lot of enthusiasm, then slowly talked myself down—alternating between being critical of what I made, claiming I “didn’t have time,” or finding issues with the call for submissions itself—ultimately because I felt like an imposter.

I don’t know the exact motivation behind this open call, but I suspect the show has made participants feel seen and valued. At the collective level, it showed visitors art that exists beyond exclusive circles and Art with a capital “A”. It also proved that a simple, open initiative can lead to a beautiful event that signifies unity.

I dare say that many of us yearn for accessible art—as artists, shadow artists, and art appreciators—even if some of us are unaware, unvocal about it, or don’t want to admit it for whatever reason. I’d be lying if I said personal ambition didn’t influence me to post the piece I made, but the opportunity to be part of something collective moved me even more.

Bacio shared their visual documentation of the exhibition last week. It took me some time to find mine among the 441 artworks. I actually forgot to document my submission before sending it, but honestly—it doesn’t matter. The final piece is the collective display of every letter from friends all over the world (29 countries!).

This was a lovely initiative, and I’m happy that open call post found its way to me through the algorithms.