APAture 2021: Embrace Submissions Open Until July 11

APAture returns in 2021 with the theme: Embrace. After a year of isolation and social distancing, we’re collectively imagining what intimacy and closeness mean. During times of sickness, violence, and injustice, how do we come together in community and in radical care? What do we hold close in our lives and in our art? What do you embrace as you step into your artistic power? We invite you to submit work in response to these themes. 

Submissions close July 11th at midnight

There is a submission fee but we will offer waivers upon request for those in need (no questions asked).
Please email apature@kearnystreet.org if you have any questions

2021 Festival Dates: October 22nd to November 14th

This year’s festival will be presented online with limited in-person audience.

What is APAture?

APAture is Kearny Street Workshop’s annual multidisciplinary arts festival that presents and promotes a range of art by local, emerging artists of Asian and/or Pacific Islander descent. 

For eighteen seasons, the festival has sparked dialogue around the most pressing questions and central concerns of our day, particularly those impacting the Asian and/or Pacific Islander communities. APAture has also spurred collaboration between artists and the Bay Area community at large.

 You’re eligible to apply if you:

  • Are not an established artist*

  • Are of Asian and/or Pacific Islander descent**

  • Live or work in the San Francisco Bay Area

  • Are at least 18 years old

  • Will be submitting work created in or after 2019

We generally feature the following kinds of work:

  • Visual Arts: Painting, photography, sculpture, installation, multimedia, illustration, etc.

  • Literary Arts: Fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, spoken word, etc.

  • Music: All genres, including electronic, turntable, sound, noise, etc.

  • Film: Animation, documentary, experimental, music video, slideshow, etc.

  • Performing Arts: Theater, dance, movement, puppetry, comedy, etc.

  • (Unfortunately the Comics and Zines showcase will be postponed this year)

    Questions? Visit kearnystreet.org/apature-artist-faq

*Please refer to FAQ for questions about what constitutes as being an established artist
* *Those with Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry from one or more of the following regions: East Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Pacific Islands, and West Asia/the Middle East. Our definition includes multiethnic and multiracial artists with Asian and/or Pacific Islander heritage.

Past APAture Recaps

Jason Bayani2021