Workman Arts welcomes curatorial proposals that incite a range of intersectional narratives and conversations as it relates to mental health and/or addictions. This year the curated exhibition will take place between early September – October 2025 (dates TBD), and will focus on themes of Care, Community, Togetherness and Sustainability.
The selected curator (or curatorial team) will receive a curatorial fee of $3,000 and will be able to offer participating artists an artist fee and materials budget to potentially create new work. Project Planning and administrative support will be provided by Visual Arts Manager Fatma Hendawy over the period of mid-June 2025 until the exhibition closure in early October 2025.
The exhibition and/or public program will be held at WA Offsite Gallery at 32 Lisgar Street in downtown Toronto.
We welcome and encourage proposals from applicants who are Indigenous, Black, racialized, women, 2SLGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and/or are members of other visible or invisible marginalized groups.
If you encounter any barriers when applying, please contact Fatma Hendawy (fatma_hendawy@workmanarts.com) for submission alternatives.
History of Being Scene
The Being Scene exhibition began over 20 years ago on the grounds of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Every year, Being Scene exhibits a juried survey of over 100 artworks by Workman Arts member artists as well as artists with lived experience who have received services from CAMH. Since 2018, Workman Arts introduced a smaller curated exhibition as part of the overall exhibit. Working closely with a guest curator, artists gave shape to compelling ideas and narratives, covering a wide range of conceptual and material approaches from diverse experiences.
Workman Arts has identified equity and anti-oppression as strategic priorities and strongly encourages qualified applicants from diverse communities to apply and self-identify in their proposals.
About Workman Arts
Workman Arts is a multidisciplinary arts organization that promotes a greater understanding of mental health and addiction issues through creation and presentation. We support artists with lived experience through peer-to-peer arts education, public presentations and partnerships with the broader arts community. We offer these opportunities to a growing member base which consists of artists with varying levels of experience ranging from emerging to professional artists, in all forms of practices such as Media, Literary, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts. Member artists have an existing art practice and goals to further develop, professionalize and share their practice.