2025 Mail Art Call For Entry

• Posted on 28 April 2025
• Posted in Call for Entry, Mail Art
• 0

The Underground would like to invite all members of the KCAI community; students, staff, faculty and alumni. to participate in our 5th Annual Mail Art Exhibition!

How to submit

Mail art can be anything; however, for this exhibition, your piece must be no larger than 6 inches high x 11.5 inches long and no thicker than a quarter. It must also be mailed naked as-is— NO ENVELOPES! All mail art will be shown exactly as it is received. Use any medium you choose while being conscious of these limitations. By staying within these parameters, your mail art should not cost you more than $1.46, or two Forever stamps, to send.

For the safety of our mail carriers, please refrain from sending hazardous or perishable items.

You may include your return address, or mail your work anonymously. Send your artwork no later than August 9 to:

Kansas City Art Institute

The Underground

4415 Warwick Blvd.

Kansas City, MO 64111

How your submission will be used

All mail art will be scanned and preserved as a digital artifact as it arrives. Select mail art will be shared on social media.

A physical exhibit of all received artwork will be held on campus from August 18 thru September 28. A closing reception will be held on September 28, 2025, 1 to 4 pm in the KCAI Underground. This will be a chance to celebrate and share your work in person with your peers.

After the exhibition, all artwork will be gathered and added to the Jannes Library’s Artist Files.

What is mail art?

The Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus defines mail art as "works produced by artists, often in postcard format, specifically intended to be mailed to other artists or be displayed in an exhibition.”

Mail art provides an inexpensive and flexible channel of expression for artists which circumvents the art market, museums, and galleries. The mail art philosophy is one of openness and inclusion: a mail art show has no jury, no entry fee, no censorship, and all works are exhibited.

The mail art movement developed out of what eventually became Ray Johnson's New York Correspondence School and the Fluxus movements of the 1960s, though it has since developed into a global movement that continues to the present.

Mail art can be seen as anticipating the social media and memes of the internet.

Here are some archived artworks from previous exhibitions to inspire you:

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What is The Underground?

The Underground at KCAI is located underneath the Tony Jones Studios and The KCAI Gallery. It contains KCAI's Art Supply Store, Print Center, and Mailroom. It is the place to go on campus to shop for art supplies, dorm essentials, and KCAI swag. The Underground can print your zines, large-scale prints, stickers, or business cards. We are also the place to pick up your mail or packages, or to send out your own package or piece of mail anywhere near (inter-campus mail) or far (USPS, UPS, or FedEx).

If you have any questions about this project, The Underground, or how to mail to and from KCAI please reach out to [email protected]