Man or Bear: No Safe Choice

Exhibition Dates: April 10, 2027 - May 8, 2027
Juried by SAIC MA students
Due Date: January 23, 2027, 11:59 PM ET
Notification: February 21, 2027
Fee: $30

You are in the woods, scared and lost, but what if you aren't alone? There is a threat, and
it's near, and you have a choice... man or bear? This question went viral on social media
platforms like TikTok and Instagram in late 2024. This question of who or what a woman would
rather be alone with is just one of the many examples of the public discourse surrounding
violence against women in the new age of social media. Woman Made Gallery (WMG) invites
women and nonbinary artists to submit work for Man or Bear, an exhibit honing in on the issue
of male violence and abuse against women.

From the undercurrents of red-pilling young boys and online stalking to more public
discourse surrounding Shane Gillis Saturday Night Live “women dress like whores now” to
Donald Trump's “Quiet Piggy,” the audacity and comfortability of the harassment of women
online is reaching a threshold of misogyny. This is not new, just elevated, and we want you to
show us your most raw reactions over a plethora of mediums and forms.

The rise of conservatism being pushed on young men through their algorithms manifests
in different facets of pain that we must bear the brunt of. AI-produced revenge porn, the
trans-vestigation of female athletes, manosphere gaming culture, and disinformation smear
campaigns of women in positions of power are just a few examples of the harassment of women
within the online space.

So we find ourselves back in the woods of social media where the eyes of those watching
are more than you can count. And for once, you are given a choice, a choice that will predict the
safety and outcome of your bodily anatomy and life. Are you alone with the man or the bear?
Both are wild, but at least a woman will be believed when she is attacked by a bear.

Themes and Areas of Inquiry
Woman Made Gallery welcomes artworks and all forms of media that engage with broad
feminist topics, including but not limited to:
- Critique of Redpilling/Manosphere
- Rise of Online Conservatism: limiting women's rights, purity culture, Trad Wife, and
harassment of women for views
- Discussion of Incel Culture—podcasts
- Examination of Online Investigations–proving gender (specifically with the Trans
Community)
- Condemning the “Boys will be boys” –Frat and Rape Culture
- Reclamation of authorship, narrative power, and cultural agency
- Intersectional experiences of gender, race, class, sexuality, disability, and migration
- Art as a site of resistance, critique, or social transformation
- Personal narratives that illuminate broader struggles for justice, equity, and representation
- Creative responses to the current political moment, including the challenges, threats, and
opportunities shaping feminist work today
These themes are intentionally expansive to reflect the diversity of feminist expression and to
encourage dialogue across cultural and political contexts.
Submissions are open to women and nonbinary artists at all career stages, working in any
medium. Artists whose work engages with feminist contemporary issues or future-oriented
feminist visions are especially encouraged to apply.

Submitted work must be original, created by the artist, and produced without the primary use of AI image-generation tools.

Artists are responsible for arranging the shipping of accepted artworks to the gallery.

WMG offers a number of reduced entry fees and fee waivers reserved for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists.
In support of our mission to support the practices of historically under-represented artists and because we never want financial position to be an obstacle of participation, artists may submit requests for discounted entry and fee-waivers to us at [email protected] with the subject "Fee Waiver".

The exhibition will take place at Woman Made Gallery located at 1332 S. Halsted St. Chicago, IL 60607.