Calling all artists, curators, neighbors,

and public art lovers

It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for! The Open Call for the 2025 Terrain Biennial is now live!

The Terrain Biennial is a grassroots public art festival that brings artists and neighbors together to put public art on the front lawns (and stoops, porches, windows and rooftops, too) of neighborhoods across the world.

October 1 — November 15

Terrain Biennial 2025

DIY

Why DIY?

From crafting to painting, mending to stitching, construction to recycling, artists are resourceful, performing science and alchemy with time and material. DIY is a core value of the Chicagoland art community, with apartment galleries, DIY shows, makerspaces, and lending libraries as key resource hubs for artists.

How to participate

Artists and curators work together with a host to produce public art installations (think sculptures, textiles, projections, performances — you name it!) outside their homes. Artists or curators propose a project at a site, proposals are reviewed by Terrain's team, artists install their projects in September, upload information about their work, and Terrain adds the projects to a virtual Biennial map. This year, you may host yourself at your own home or choose to connect with fellow community members to host your work. All artists and curators must have a host before they propose their project.

To participate, draft a proposal by May 13th. Accepted participants will be notified in July.

Our DIY Toolkit for Artist Projects, matchmaking message board, and Virtual Application Workshop are coming soon. In the meantime, get inspired and check out our website’s archive of past Biennial programs and artist projects!