Marfa

Founded in 2020, MAINTENANT is an art and fighting laboratory in the Chihuahuan High Desert, with two gallery spaces—one also a boxing gym—and outdoor sculptural works embedded in the landscape. The gallery is inviting artists to be considered for a group exhibition. “We champion those that are punching up,” said gallery co-founder Sabrina Lejeanvre-Matheis. “This exhibition asks artists to take a position.”

“We seek work that responds—visually, materially, conceptually or textually—through resistance, care, urgency, refusal, discipline or conviction,” she said. “Responses may be literal or abstract, personal or political, quiet or confrontational.”

For this first iteration, the exhibition will primarily inhabit the garage and surrounding land at MAINTENANT. Possible sites include garage walls, flat files, flagpoles, the exterior of the metal outbuilding, and outdoor areas throughout the property.

Each submission must include a brief text that corresponds to the work—or that is the work. If the work is text-based (a poem, etc.), no additional text is required. For non-text-based work, a text component is required. This may take the form of a statement, poem, fragment, manifesto, lyrics, a QR code linking to audio, or another approach.

Submit to MAINTENANTMarfa@gmail.com by March 1, 2026, including:

  • 0–5 images or a video
  • A concise description of the work
  • The required text component
  • Dimensions, medium, and materials
  • Indication of whether the work is for sale

The deadline for physical works to arrive is March 22, 2026, and there will be an opening on Saturday, April 4, 2026 (time to be determined).

Lejeanvre-Matheis said selections will prioritize work that is “compelling on its own and demonstrates a clear and forceful engagement with the exhibition’s central question.”

Selected artists will be notified shortly after the deadline. Additional details will be shared by request or upon submission. The exhibition will include a catalogue/pricelist pairing images of the works with the submitted texts. Selected artists may also be invited to read or perform their submissions during MAINTENANT’s second annual “Critique of America” Independence Day event on Saturday, July 4, 2026.