ALAMEDA, CA \u2014 An East Bay nonprofit has launched a new art project about identity and is seeking teens to take part. <\/p>\n
MARU \u2014 a community-centered East Bay organization dedicated to amplifying diverse voices \u2014 launched the “Belonging in America” art project earlier this month. <\/p>\n
The organization is seeking teens ages 13 to 18 from the East Bay who want to share how they claim space, share truth and “imagine an America where we all belong,” through art, according to Alameda city officials and the nonprofit<\/p>\n
The organization will seek art on paper only for the inaugural exhibition, as it is a versatile material that bends, folds, carries names, preserves history, and is resilient and structural, just like the community, according to MARU. <\/p>\n
“In many ways, paper reflects the experience of becoming American \u2014 adapting while holding identity, transforming while preserving memory, standing stronger together than alone,” according to MARU. “Through this material, we invite young artists to explore belonging as something shaped, marked, and continuously formed.”<\/p>\n
Artwork can be submitted<\/a> to MARU through April 15. Work can be done with pencil, charcoal, pastel, watercolor, ink and acrylic, according to MARU. <\/p>\n Artwork size must be no larger than 36 by 36 inches, including mounting or framing, according to the nonprofit. For more on the submission process, click here<\/a>. <\/p>\n