The International Art Education & Therapy Development Academic Association

Open Call

"Celebration of Being" Global Healing Art Contest and Exhibition

Every life is a poem composed by the universe, vibrating with the unique frequency of existential value. Life is the primal gift, yet becomes the proposition we spend our lifetimes interpreting. Some dance for the breath of dawn, distilling each moment into celebratory wine; others shoulder life's weight in the dark night, making existence itself an eternal inquiry.

And we choose—to use art as our vessel, ferrying stranded souls; to make color our light, illuminating life's most primal dignity.

"Celebration of Being" Global Healing Arts Contest and Exhibition cordially invites expressive arts therapists, healers, practitioners, artists and art enthusiasts (covering literature, painting, dance, music, theater and other fields) to interpret their personal understanding of life's celebration through their unique artistic languages, jointly explore diverse expressions of reverence for life, contemplate creative approaches to existential dilemmas, and construct aesthetic solutions for spiritual healing.

Here, every existence is the protagonist of the celebration, every heartbeat deserves to be heard by the world.

A. Solicitors

This exhibition is a global online exhibition, open for recruitment of art expression artists from around the world. No age limit, no form limit, free expression, let us continue the theme of "Celebration of Being" through different artistic expressions, delving into deeper dimensions of existence to heal, to transcend the finitude of life, and to embrace the boundless and expansive realms of human experience.

B. Solicitation theme

The artistic expression with "Celebration of Being" as the theme can be expressed in various forms such as literature, painting, dance, music, drama, etc.

C. Contents of solicitationchicun

The submitted works are compressed and packaged in a folder and sent to the mailbox. The compressed package is named after the author's name+exhibition name. The use of pdf is prohibited. The folder must contain the following contents:

a. Music works must provide: audio (wav format or Mp3 format), named according to the work information (author's name, work name), such as: Feizi Plateau;

b. Video works must provide: videos of the works (mp4 format), named after the work information (author's name, work name, creation time), such as: Feizi, plateau;

c. Fine arts works must provide: pictures of works (2M) Please send 5 works named after the information of the works (author's name, work name, material, size, and creation time), such as: non sub plateau canvas oil painting 60 × 80cm 2002 ；
d.Installation works must provide: Picture of the work (2M). Please submit 5 works named after the work information (author's name, work name, material, size, creation year), such as: non sub "Plateau" installation 30 × forty × 50cm 2002；
e.Sculpture works must be provided with: artwork images (2M). Please submit 5 works named after the work information (author's name, work name, material, size, creation year), such as: non sub "Plateau" copper carving 30 × forty × 50cm 2002；
f. Written works must be provided with: word document, and named with work title+work information (author's name, creation year).

g. Performance art must provide: videos of the works (mp4 format), named after the work information (author's name, work name, creation time), such as: Feizi, plateau;

2. Author's resume, including name, gender and contact information (mobile phone number, WeChat, email number).

3. Work introduction/work description concept/art review.

4. A profile of author( The size of photo is the horizontal board at 16:9).

The documents are compressed and sent to the mailbox according to the submission requirements: IAETDAA@gmail.com.

D. Exhibition Instructions

"Celebration of Being" fees for contributions. The works， are seleted into this contest， will be displayed and publicized globally in the "Celebration of Being" Global Healing Art Contest and Online Exhibition, and the certificate of this exhibition will be given. 56 $/person must be paid to be shortlisted for this exhibition. This fee is used for the exhibition planning, publicity, expert review, certificate cost, etc.

The online exhibition will select gold, silver, bronze, and special contribution awards from the shortlist. After comprehensive evaluation by the organizing committee, all winners will have the opportunity to be included in the excellent healing artist talent pool of International Art Education & Therapy Development Academic Association, and receive a global opportunity to recommend artists and art therapists.
The winners will have the opportunity to receive special personal interviews, charity auctions, and promotion opportunities from major international media promoted by IAETDAA. Excellent works can also participate in various large-scale domestic and foreign projects promoted by, such as the annual academic forum of IAETDAA, the City Light series of art and cultural projects, and various community public welfare projects, empowering various industries in society.
we will invite excellent artists and art therapists to participate in the offline exhibition of IAETDAA and become the keynote speakers of online and offline workshops at home and abroad.

E. Submission time

Online Exhibition Deadline: 30th June，2025

F. Attention to exhibitors

All contributors guarantee that the works submitted are original and plagiarism is strictly prohibited. In case of copyright dispute, the organizer will bear no responsibility.

G. IAETDAA reserves the right to interpret this event.

Apply Now

Visual Art Group

Audrey Keenan

Solo Exhibition

Charless Fazzino

Solo Exhibition

Chen Pengrui

Solo Exhibition

Cici Liu

Solo Exhibition

Qiu Peijun

Solo Exhibition

Dmytro Tytula

Solo Exhibition

Eliane Ludwig

Solo Exhibition

Jin Xiaoyan

Solo Exhibition

Rakia Raza

Solo Exhibition

Santhosh CH

Solo Exhibition

Susana López F

Solo Exhibition

Shan Xiran

Solo Exhibition

Song Ruizhe

Solo Exhibition

Veronika Spleiss

Solo Exhibition

Shelley

Solo Exhibition

XuFeiXiaoSu

Solo Exhibition

Zhou Chang

Solo Exhibition

Zhu Di

Solo Exhibition

Zhang Jiamin

Solo Exhibition

Video

In a world we are all interconnected By Hu Hengyue

" In a world we are all interconnected" , my submission for The Cycle of Life exhibition, is both a continuation of this Returning to the Core and Love series and a pivotal moment in this empowering healing journey.

MERELEPHANT: AI Art Therapy Reimagined By Zhang Lingmin

Core Concept: Integrating "Art + Technology + Healing" to create the world's first holistic art therapy ecosystem merging Eastern philosophy, AI-generated art, smart hardware, and immersive experiences.

Fan Jingyu

Marilyn R. Wilson

In Letting You Go, I Finally Began to See

The moment I was born, she effortlessly became my grandmother. A new life’s arrival, it seemed, carried with it an update to every familial role. I called her "Grandma" in countless moments—when strangers offered seats on the bus, when a petite silver-haired figure emerged from behind our North Gate apartment door, when third-grade Wednesdays meant racing home to her golden egg pancakes. Those tender crepes, rolled with stir-fried potatoes and bean sprouts, saw my eight-year-old self devouring seven or eight at a sitting, sometimes forcing down one extra just to hear her chuckle: "Look how DouDou relishes every bite!" To this day, I believe loving and making others feel loved are separate acts—my childhood instinct knew that savoring a cook’s offerings might be life’s purest love language.

Three days after her passing, I attempted the psychological "empty chair" exercise. Staring at our photographs until the edges blurred, I conjured her presence—those shrewd obsidian eyes glinting beneath papery lids, that perpetual half-smile curling like autumn leaf edges. The question slipped out unbidden: "Grandma, did you love me?" No hesitation colored her reply, only the familiar rustle of her quilted jacket as she leaned forward: "In our days, we didn’t speak of love. We lived. We stayed. You were my first granddaughter—that was the truth of it."

Born in 1945, she’d navigated ration coupons and grain queues; I arrived in 2000 amid abundance, free to ponder life’s whys. How strange—blood relatives separated not just by decades, but by entire universes of experience.

That day, I strained to see through her eyes, knowing the futility: granddaughter and grandmother, our bond predefined by duty’s unspoken contract—her nourishing my childhood, me tending her twilight years. Yet beneath these inherited roles lived Wang Jiansheng: woman who hated mutton but gnawed chicken feet with gusto, who stored walnut kernels in floral tins "for brain health," whose quick fingers could shuffle mahjong tiles faster than any senior center shark. When dementia-free at eighty, she’d still outcalculate pharmacy scams while munching sunflower seeds.With this understanding, I’ve not only personally witnessed my grandson’s journey as a caregiver, but have long embraced her as a radiant, unique individual – complete with distinctive routines, passions, and an authenticity that illuminates her place in the world.

During our final imagined conversation, she cut me off with a bookie’s grin: "Enough tears—I’ve got enough old pension to win at mahjong." My laughter caught, jaw stiffening as if her dentures had migrated to my mouth. Later, I drew the feeling with my left hand, friend didn't know the cause, but he said that he felt - we kept drawing a circle, and the end of the circle was another starting point.Like the Diamond Sutra says—"Allcomposed things are like a dream,a phantom, a drop of dew, a flash of lightning.This is how to meditate on them,this is how to observe them."（Thich Nhat Hanh，1992）Thank you, Madam Wang Jiansheng, for the pancake-scented memories. Thank you for teaching me death’s bittersweet grammar. Today I stand here—love spoken, gratitude given, apologies tendered, farewells whispered. May your next journey be smooth as combed silver hair, complete as a winning mahjong hand, free as nut shells scattering in the wind.

Show Less

Marilyn R. Wilson

Circle of Life

A circle is the perfect shape.

There is no beginning and no ending.

Round and round it takes you

On a continuous eternal journey.

All the edges are smooth.

There are no flaws to trip you.

It is calming, it is pleasing and

It has a rhythm all its own.

Our journey on mother earth is

Perfectly expressed as a circle of life.

We erupt int

Circle of Life

A circle is the perfect shape.

There is no beginning and no ending.

Round and round it takes you

On a continuous eternal journey.

All the edges are smooth.

There are no flaws to trip you.

It is calming, it is pleasing and

It has a rhythm all its own.

Our journey on mother earth is

Perfectly expressed as a circle of life.

We erupt into this world, move through it

And, when the time is right, fade away.

A current disconnect has left our hearts

Unaware of this beautiful cycle.

We are bereft when we lose those close to us.

And unable to move from our place of grief.

We need circle of life communities

To help us dance to this rhythm.

Filled with the joyful noises of new life,

And the sounds of humanity playing.

Front porches filled with rockers

Holding smiling elders exuding love.

Parents in their free time immersed in

Playing with the young, supported by their elders.

Neighborhoods united in saying goodbye

To those returning to the dust that formed them.

Celebrating their lives in joyful shared stories

With memories we hold dear in our hearts.

Communities united to celebrate new souls

Bursting noisily onto the scene.

Stepping in to the empty spaces left by those gone.

Offering hope for the future in their tiny hands.

The circle is a continuous celebration

An honoring of every stage of life

From newly emerging to recently departed,

As well as every moment in between.

Along it's arc we come together as one

To perform a beautiful shared dance

Fueled by a pulsing, irresistible heartbeat.

Our souls joyfully and harmoniously in sync.

We are a community who walk together

Our path unfolding - arrival, life, death, rebirth -

In a pattern as old as the universe

The circle of life.

Show Less