CALL FOR ENTRIES:
Research Renderings A collaboration between IEA & Hope Lives: Art for ALS |
| International Encaustic Artists and Hope Lives: Art for ALS invite IEA members to submit new artworks inspired by one of 3 of the ALS research images provided below. Hope Lives: Art for ALS is an annual art exhibition in its fourth year. It is a fundraiser and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) awareness event that takes place each May in San Francisco, CA, during ALS Awareness Month. The Hope Lives exhibition celebrates artists and helps raise awareness and funding for ALS research. Application deadline: March 28, 2025. |
This year’s theme, Research Renderings, is an opportunity for IEA artists to create artwork inspired by one of these 3 images that are scientifically charged, presenting visuals of degeneration and regeneration on a molecular level. At the same time, the images are aesthetically beautiful, which invites artists to reimagine content, form, color and mark making in new and exciting ways.
Image 1 This image presents atrophy of human skeletal muscle under a microscope. Muscle cramping, twitching and atrophy are some of the first symptoms of lumbar onset Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). When a healthy person uses their muscles, it is a result of neurons firing messages through the synapses to their muscles for movement. In the case of someone with ALS, neurons deteriorate leading to disruption in synaptic communication and ultimately causing muscle weakness and atrophy. |
Image 2 Image of a human spinal cord, nerve, cerebellum, cortex and motor neuron under the microscope in a lab. When a person has ALS, the neurons that run along the spinal cord deteriorate and stop communicating with other parts of the body. This causes muscle atrophy and loss of movement. ALS imprisons the person with the disease. It steals a person’s ability to function and move, yet their minds remain whole and active. The breakdown of bodily function ultimately includes breathing. |
Image 3 This is a microscopic view of a neural network of brain cells. The brain’s neural network sends thousands of messages to every part of a person’s body for voluntary muscle movement. ALS disrupts the health of neurons, thus cutting off vital messages to the rest of the body. ALS specifically targets motor neurons, both upper (from the brain to the spinal cord) and lower motor neurons (from the spinal cord to the muscles), causing them to deteriorate and die. |
This is a curated exhibition for IEA members only, made possible through the united efforts of Melissa Stephens (artist & founder of Hope Lives), the IEA organization (IEA), San Francisco Women Artists Gallery, and the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI.)
IEA artists are guaranteed that at least one eligible entry from their application will be included in either the IEA and Hope Lives web-galleries or the gallery exhibition at the San Francisco Women Artists Gallery.
Participating artists will be eligible for one of three Lynn Giovannelli Excellence in Arts Awards:
To Life Award ($200), the Inquiry Award ($100) and the Hope Award ($75)
About the Curator Melissa Stephens, founder of Hope Lives: Art for ALS, is an encaustic painter, photographer and printmaker who has spent 15 years educating children and adults in the arts. She received a BA in Art from Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, IA. She is an encaustic painting instructor and advocate for the arts in Walnut Creek, CA. Her encaustic paintings explore themes of: healing and hope, and show in galleries regionally and nationally. In 2022 she co-founded NorCAL Wax, a Chapter of the IEA. That same year, Stephens created Hope Lives: Art for ALS to honor her sister who was diagnosed with ALS in July 2020. She has served as the Social Media Chair of Valley Art Gallery in Walnut Creek, CA since 2016. In 2024 she began serving as the Exhibition Director for the IEA. |
Melissa, left, with her sisters Lynn and Susanne at the |
