working title No. 5

A pilgrimage through sacred spaces, profane realities, and everything in between!

exhibition of experimental art+music

MAY 28 - 30, 2026, 6:00 – 9:00 PM → ST. PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL

Project [BLANK]’s annual exhibition returns to close the season with a festival of innovative local art and music. This year’s WORKING TITLE fills the soaring gothic halls of St. Paul’s Cathedral with bold visual art, multimedia installations, performance art, and live experimental music from a diverse group of transborder artists.

This year, WORKING TITLE centers on the theme of Sanctuary. What defines a sacred or protected space? What boundaries—physical, social, spiritual—are drawn to offer refuge to those under threat? We invite artists to submit works that engage with sanctuary as a personal experience, a collective practice, an architectural condition, or a political act of resistance.

At its center is the world premiere of a major new work by San Diego composer Michelle Lou—a mind-melting composition for voices, tubas, pipe organ, and electronics—surrounded by three days of new works, installations, and thought-provoking performances from some of the most exciting creative voices in Southern California, Tijuana, and Baja California.

The exhibition is curated by sculptor Diana Benavídez and Artistic Director Leslie Ann Leytham, and artist submissions will be reviewed by a panel of artists: Alessandra Moctezuma, Alvaro Díaz, Cat Gunn, and Luisa Martínez.

PURCHASE TICKETS

Artists are encouraged to consider how sanctuary is built, defended, eroded, or reimagined in contemporary life, and to thoughtfully engage with the exhibition site, St. Paul’s Cathedral, placing the neo-gothic architecture in dialogue with new ideas. While existing works are welcome, they must actively engage with both the theme and the environment.

Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of artists, including Alessandra Moctezuma, Cat Gunn, Alvaro Díaz, and Luisa Martinez who will select the works for inclusion in the exhibition.

All sculptural and installation works must be freestanding; suspended works from the ceiling are not permitted. Wall space for two-dimensional artwork is available but limited. Video artists are encouraged to provide their own technical equipment, including projectors, though this is not a strict requirement.

We welcome submissions for live sound or music performances that can take place across all three nights of the exhibition, as well as proposals for performances presented on a single evening.

Artist honorariums ranging from $300 – $400 will be offered to participating artists.

All visual artists, video artists, musicians, composers, sound artists, experimentalists, and performance artists are invited to submit. To get a sense of the event, click here for photos from last year’s exhibition.

Please submit proposals via this ONLINE FORM by February 28 at 11:59 PM.

For questions, contact Artistic Director Leslie Ann Leytham at leslie@projectblanksd.org

CALL FOR WORKS

Deadline to submit: Feb 28 via ONLINE FORM
Notifications will be sent: Mar 16

PROJECT [BLANK] presents WORKING TITLE NO. 5, our fifth annual group exhibition of visual art, multimedia installations, and experimental performances. This three-day event will take place May 28–30, 2026, at the historic St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in Bankers Hill.