The David Brower Center invites Northern California artists to apply to Art/Act: Local 2025, our annual juried exhibition showcasing four local artists whose works explore environmental concerns and topics. This year’s exhibition theme is reclaiming discarded materials at the individual, community, and societal levels.

How do we confront the reality that when we throw something away, it continues to exist? How can we envision and build new, more sustainable models that account for the long-term effects of what we produce and consume? When we deplete the use value of items made of non-biodegradable materials like plastics or synthetic textiles, we discard them; these are sent to a landfill or wind up in our oceans, parks, and neighborhoods. Without public infrastructure to refurbish and recycle existing consumer items, the burden falls on individuals, households, and organizations to make thoughtful decisions about how to reduce this impact. Grassroots efforts have led to the establishment of practices like low- and zero-waste households, local gifting communities, bulk shops, thrift stores, and salvage yards. How can we build on these smaller movements to reimagine our systems of production and consumption to consider and reintegrate byproducts at every stage?

For Art/Act: Local 2025, the Brower Center encourages artists to consider these questions as they relate to their own work and creative practice. All artists deal with transformation—bringing together separate materials or elements to make something new. We seek artwork that questions the custom of discarding and embraces reclamation as part of the material and thematic process of artmaking.