Madelaine Corbin, "Hazmatters" (digital image detail)

Surface Design Journal Proposals

Interested in proposing an article for Surface Design Journal? We value the work, viewpoints, and perspectives of our members and greater fiber community. Listed below are our open calls, deadlines, proposal requirements, upcoming themes, and more.

OPEN CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Legacy: Seeds We Sow Ourselves

Spring 2027 Surface Design Journal
Deadline: November 23 by midnight pst

What will we leave behind for the next generation to inherit? Legacies help us strengthen, contextualize, and protect our communities for generations to come. You reap what you sow, and this Journal strives to highlight the makers, teachers, leaders, land tenders, activists, menders, trailblazers, and more who are cultivating rich traditions with an eye toward the future.

This Journal coincides with the Surface Design Association’s 50th Anniversary in 2027 and we look forward to celebrating Legacy in many of its forms as we reflect upon what we’ve accomplished and what is soon to come. 

For Legacy: Seeds We Sow Ourselves, the Journal team seeks work related (but not limited) to… pedagogy, social practice, community engagement, land-based art, political activism, mending (both visible and invisible), objects of labor, and more. 

“If we think of revolution as an ecosystem of transformative change, what are we doing if not composting a dying world?” –AJ Hawkins in Composting a Dying World: Revolution as an Ecosystem of Transformative Change (The Parlor Press, January 2025). 

PROPOSAL FORM

Important dates: 

    • Article Proposal Deadline: November 23, 2026
    • Notification of Proposal Status: Early December 2026
    • Final Article and Images Deadline: January 11, 2027
    • Publication: Mid April 2027

 

GENERAL INFO

  • Please note dates are subject to change
  • Surface Design Journal pays $0.50/word for print
  • All articles will be reviewed for consideration but not guaranteed for publication
  • Be sure to hit submit at the bottom of the proposal form (we cannot see in-progress forms)
  • You will receive a copy of your submission from Google after hitting submit
  • Submissions received after the deadline will not be accepted
  • All submissions must be original, and exclusive to Surface Design Journal—we will not consider articles that have already been published, in any form, in print or online

 

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

  • 2–3 sentence pitch for your proposal
  • 500 words max on what will your proposed article be about
  • 4–6 images that best represent your proposal (please note high resolution / print quality images will be required if your proposal is accepted)

 

WHAT TO EXPECT IF YOUR PROPOSAL GETS ACCEPTED

  • Full article: word count varies depending on department (500–1,200 words)
  • Images: all images must be print quality
  • Captions for each image:  
    • SDA caption requirements for artwork: Name, Title, Year, materials, techniques, dimensions, photo credit. 
    • SDA caption requirements for other photographs: Who, where, year, photo credit. 
  • Bios: 50 words max (for authors and included artists)
  • Any relevant links: (artist website, Instagram handles, Vimeo/YouTube videos)

 

UPCOMING 2027 CALL FOR PROPOSALS 

Hair

Summer 2027 Surface Design Journal

Much like clothing, hair has undergone numerous trends and transformations throughout the years. From Victorian-era hair jewelry to contemporary works like Sonya Clark’s The Hair Craft Project, this Journal will focus on the traditions and techniques of hair as a medium as well as the conceptual implications of how hair is used for self expression and identity by artists today.

  • Proposals Open: Early January 2027

 

SDA’s Annual Exhibition in Print

Fall 2027 Surface Design Journal
  • Theme, Juror, and Café Call for Artwork: Announced in February 2027

 

Indigo: Blues that Shaped the World

Winter 2027 Surface Design Journal

Indigo is in a moment of rediscovery right now. Indigo is a unique plant and dye process quite unlike any other, and the blues one can achieve through the magical process are enchanting. Pairing indigo with resist techniques like shibori, batik, Àdìrẹ, and more one can achieve some truly stunning results. The iconic blue hands of participants post-class is an extremely common image on social media platforms, but many don’t know the long and often troubled history of the dye or  how rare and exclusive it used to be. Japan, India, Nigeria, and Peru are some of the cultures that perfected indigo use, but it also has long histories in Mali, Palestine, Iran, Laos, Indonesia, and Vietnam. 

This Journal will take an international look at who is pushing indigo into new and uncharted places, as well as who is honoring and respecting ancestral tradtions all over the world.

  • Proposals Open: Late June 2027

 

Please reach out to Lauren Sinner, Surface Design Journal’s Interim Editor with any questions.