About the Open Call

Are you the fearless artist ready to create an immersive art experience? The Ah Haa School for the Arts annual summer fundraiser, the Ah Haa HAHA is a participatory and interactive community event that is a massive, building-wide immersive art installation where each space within the Ah Haa Silverjack building is taken over by a different artist. The HAHA encourages all featured artists and visitors to lose themselves in the creative process (and product). A building-wide exhibition where art is an experience shared by everyone and creativity and excitement collide, HAHA celebrates each artist’s vision, and encourages all visitors to actively engage with the art. Designed to be accessible to participants of all ages, this immersive experience takes place annually over 3 days in July. 2026 event dates are the evenings of Friday, July 17 (for adults), Saturday, July 18 (for adults), and the morning of Sunday, July 19 for kids. Over 2,000 participants visit the HAHA each year. Ah Haa School for the Arts is seeking 8 - 12 artists, artist collectives, performers, designers, and creative thinkers of all backgrounds and abilities to propose work for our annual fundraiser event in 2026! We are committed to creating opportunities for a diverse group of makers to participate. HAHA is committed to supporting the creative freedom of local, national, and international artists. Ah Haa celebrates equity and inclusion and encourages all marginalized folkx to apply. HELPFUL APPLICATION HINTS: Think immersive and interactive! Successful applications completely transform our Ah Haa classrooms, creating experiences that make each room unrecognizable from its normal state and have multiple points of engagement for participants. Please do not propose a mural installation. We love interactive murals, but there are no large blank walls at Ah Haa. Go BIG. More is more at the HAHA. Successful installations play with scale to make a visual impact for the participants! Sustainability! Successful HAHA installations are both environmentally sustainable and capable of serving large groups of people for a prolonged period of time (each HAHA evening lasts for 5 hours. Expect between 10 - 30 people at any given time to be in your installation) Show us your work and submit your brilliant ideas. We want to collaborate with you!

What is Offered

A unique opportunity to engage in an international and national cultural network of participating artists. Creative carte blanche to design and implement an immersive experience within a dedicated space. An all-inclusive budget for the materials, shipping, and production of your installation, determined case by case on experience, size of room, and installation scope from $1,000 - $8,000. Ah Haa will cover all artist travel expenses to and from Telluride for the week of July 13 - 20, 2026. Ah Haa will provide artist accommodations for the week of July 13 – 20, 2026. Experienced volunteer installation support will be provided.

Requirements

All installations must be ADA-compliant and include some interactive element to directly engage visitors. Installations may be generative, include participatory elements, employ actors/performers, or any other interpretation of 'interactive' as imagined by the artist. Priority will be given to submissions that encourage touch, play, and creation by viewers. Artists must attend install and HAHA events throughout the week of July 13 - 20, 2026, as ambassadors for Ah Haa and their creative practices. Eligibility is international.

How to Apply

Applicants must submit installation proposals including timeline, demonstration of interactivity, and proposed budget, along with 5-7 images of existing work, a Letter of Intent, and a CV. Apply through the provided link.