Unsent Letter Mailbox and ClearStory Arts invite Chattanooga-based artists to apply for participation in a curated exhibition opening Friday, January 2, 2026, at ClearStory Arts.
10 artists will be selected to collaborate in creating original works inspired by anonymous unsent letters collected during a series of mailbox pop-ups across Chattanooga.
These letters (unspoken confessions, unshared griefs, or untold truths) will form the raw material for artistic interpretation across multiple mediums.
Artists will have two anonymous letters to choose from and will be asked to produce at least one original piece in response.
The exhibit, The Inexpressible Contained, explores how letters written in anonymity transcend cultural constraints and linguistic boundaries. Drawing from Maggie Nelson’s reflection that “the inexpressible is (inexpressibly) contained within the expressed,” the show highlights how art enables us to voice what words alone cannot carry.
The Unsent Letter Mailbox is an installation series born in NYC, inviting strangers to write an unsent letter in exchange for reading one written by someone else. At its heart, it celebrates the power of anonymous storytelling to help us realize we're much closer than we think.
Since its inception in February 2024, the project has been coined a "movement" in New York City, and has become a safe space for over 1,500 people to safely find words to express the inexpressible, finding in that process, a way to have a deeper conversation with themselves and each other.
Accepted Mediums: Visual art, Film, Photography, Sculpture, Mixed media
Key Dates
- Submission Deadline: September 29, 2025
- Selected Artists Notified: October 15, 2025
- Art drop-off date: December 19, 2025 between 10am and 5pm
- Exhibition Opening: January 2, 2026
Artists' stipend and the exhibition experience are funded in part by ArtsBuild.
Link to apply is: www.clearstoryarts.com/unsent-letter-mailbox-artist-application
For more information or media requests, contact: unsentlettermailbox.chatt@gmail.com