A Community Art Project
MARU invites youth and young artists to join “Belonging in America”, a community art project about identity, home, connection, and belonging.
In a recent survey, we asked our community a question:“Where do you belong?”
88% said they felt a sense of belonging to the Bay Area
29% felt belonging to America.
Through art, we want to hear your story.
Who and what do you belong to?
Do you feel like you belong in one place—but not fully in another?
How have you and your community created your own place to belong?
Where are places that we all belong?
This project is about claiming space, sharing truth, and imagining an America where we all belong.
You don’t need to be a professional artist.
Your experience is enough.
Your voice matters.
We Belong—our stories, our voices, our place in America.
Logistics Overview
There will be two rounds of evaluation. The first round will be based on digital images of submitted artwork, which will be reviewed by a peer panel and professional artists. Artists whose work is selected in the first round will be invited to submit their original pieces for the second round of evaluation.
The second round will be conducted by a panel of community leaders from diverse sectors, including public service, education, and cultural criticism. The final selected works will be exhibited at the MARU Community Gallery in San Leandro for two months, open to public viewing and potential sales. Details regarding the commission structure will be shared with artists selected for the second round.
Selected artists will also be invited to participate in an artist talk during the opening reception on May 30, 2026. Artwork that is not selected for exhibition or sold during the exhibition period will be returned to the artists.
Curatorial Focus: Works on Paper
For this inaugural exhibition, MARU has chosen to focus on works on paper. Paper is versatile. It bends. It folds. It can be marked, erased, layered, or transformed. Paper carries names, histories, documents, letters, and drawings. Paper preserves memory. And when brought together, paper becomes resilient and structural — like community.
In many ways, paper reflects the experience of becoming American — adapting while holding identity, transforming while preserving memory, standing stronger together than alone. Through this material, we invite young artists to explore belonging as something shaped, marked, and continuously formed.
Eligibility
Participants
Anybody ages 13–18 (7th grade to 12th grade) residing in the East Bay.
Artwork Medium
Works on paper only, including but not limited to:
Pencil
Charcoal
Pastel
Watercolor
Ink
Acrylic
Artwork Size
Maximum physical size: 36” × 36” (including mounting or framing)
All works must be original.
Submission Process
Round 1 – Online Review
Submit one artwork for digital review.
Required Information:
Artist Name
Age
School, City and County
Contact Email
Parent/Guardian Email (required if under 18)
Artwork Title
Medium (e.g., watercolor on paper)
Approximate Dimensions (height × width in inches)
Short Artist Statement (150–250 words responding to the theme)
Digital Image Requirements:
JPEG or PNG format
Maximum 1920 pixels on the longest side
Maximum file size: 5MB
File name format: LastName_FirstName_Title.jpg Example: Kim_Jisoo_Belonging.jpg
If you need assistance resizing your image, please contact MARU. We are committed to making this process accessible to all participants.
Jury & Selection
Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of invited community leaders, professional artists, cultural critics, and peer reviewers from the greater Bay Area.
Works will be evaluated based on:
Strength of concept
Engagement with the theme
Originality
Artistic development
Clarity of presentation
Selected artists will be invited to participate in Round 2, which will include physical artwork review and additional exhibition details.
Deadline: April 15, 2026
Selected artists will be notified May 2026.
MARU believes belonging is built through participation. We look forward to seeing how young artists in our community define and shape what it means to belong in America.
Submissions are now being accepted
When you are ready to submit your artwork, please complete the following form.