Description

Tokay invites early-career visual artists based in the New York City area to submit their work to A Soft Descent, a group exhibition of contemporary art accompanied by live music. The erosion of third places and personal privacies have created unavoidable infrastructures of surveillance, hyper-commercialization, and fascism across the world. Whether by choice or necessity, many of us now retreat to the subterranean, private, and unpredictable gaps between these infrastructures–we descend into worlds that are not only rigid and mechanical, but also soft in their human hopes and pains. A Soft Descent critically examines the nature of these spaces, their textures, and how we move within them. Focusing on “descending” as intentional labor carrying its own emotional weight, this exhibition will showcase the entanglements between personal and public worlds.

Artists are encouraged to submit pieces which explore any theme(s) or aspect(s) of a “soft descent,” which may include graduality, texture, intimacy, concealment, claustrophobia, or protection, to name a few. We are interested in materials which respond to the show space and the other works exhibited. Artists working in all mediums are welcomed to submit, including multiple entries from differing mediums or works-in-progress. We are committed to prioritizing applications from queer, femme, and BIPOC artists, as well as those who have not been regularly compensated for their work in the past. No application fee is required.

A Soft Descent will be shown at Ziello Gallery during early Autumn 2025. Proceeds from the show will be evenly distributed between each artist shown. The show will be operated by Tokay Art, an independent organization which brings visual art and music to audiences in New York. Tokay’s last project with Ziello Gallery was Hollow Sounds, a survey of contemporary photography held in March of 2025. The show will be curated by Alex Calloway (they/he,) Tokay’s chief curator.

To submit, please complete this application form. Applications will be accepted until 11:59pm on July 22nd, 2025. Selected artists will be contacted in late July/Early August.