call for submissions - mend:able exhibit

photo credit: Vince Federoff

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• FESTIVAL DETAILS
  When — August 22, 2026

• Time — 11am - 4pm

• Where — Lorne Mountain Community Centre (Km 1, Annie Lake Rd)

the mend:able exhibit is a favourite part of the festival and celebrates repair, reuse, and creative resilience.

The Mend:Able exhibit showcases the skills and creativity needed to repair, rebuild, or rejuvenate items that would often end up in the landfill. It celebrates many rural skills that are part of everyday life when you are an hour from the nearest store, and the ingenuity and creativity used in ‘making do’.

This exhibit is meant to inspire and educate us all on what we can do to make a difference. The Mount Lorne exhibit is now calling for submissions. If selected, your mend(s) will be part of the one day reNEWed Festival to be held August 22, 2026, at the LMCA Community Centre.

How to Submit

Please fill out the form below, including:

• A few photos of before and after, if you have them, or of the repaired item (format in PNG is preferred but JPEG or HEIC is also acceptable).

• Include a paragraph on why you chose to fix this item, and the methods that you used,(max 150 word or so). ***Your story will be included as part of the exhibit.

• Open to all/everyone - Youth, elders, anyone outside the area are all welcome to apply

Key Dates (2026)

• Submission deadline: July 15

• Notification of acceptance: August 8

• Item drop-off deadline: August 15

• Pick up of items: August 22 between 4 - 5 pm (festival exhibit runs 11-4pm)

Honorarium

This is a juried exhibit. Selected submissions will receive an honorarium of $50 per item exhibited, with a maximum of two pieces per artist.

This exhibit is made possible with support from the Arts Fund. Thank you!

Questions 

• Ava P Christl – avapchristl54@gmail.com

• Shiela Alexandrovich – sjalexandrovich@gmail.com

See one of 2025 Exhibitor’s submission below.

For more inspiration from previous submissions - check out the Mend:Able Exhibit gallery.

Chris Spencer, Healing Apron in 2025

My friend gave me a pair of cotton sleeping pants and they ripped. I hand sewed them into an apron and used fabric from a pair of cords pants second hand. I coated the apron in beeswax to make it waterproof.

I also used the hand sewing process as a meditative activity by inhaling as I pushed the needle through and exhaling as I pushed the needle back through. So every stitch supported my healing journey.

Apply Now                                        

Application due by July 15th.