March Art Challenge: Contemporary in Diversity
Join Us for a Month of Artistic Exploration!
March is here, and with it comes a new opportunity to create, explore, and connect. This month, we’re diving into a theme that speaks to the heart of contemporary art: Diversity.
Our world is a mosaic of identities, cultures, traditions, and perspectives. Art has always played a vital role in representing, challenging, and reshaping these narratives. In March, we invite you to join our Contemporary in Diversity challenge—a month-long journey into the rich, layered expressions of today’s diverse world.
This challenge is designed to push creative boundaries, encourage reflection, and foster conversations about the evolving role of diversity in contemporary art. Whether you're a painter, digital artist, poet, photographer, or mixed-media creator, we want to see your voice in this exploration.
How It Works
The challenge runs from March 1–31
Each week focuses on a specific theme, providing structure for deeper exploration
Daily prompts will serve as inspiration within each weekly theme
Share your work on Substack and Discord using #ARTSTACKDiversity, tag us ARTSTACK please remember to type @ with our name and click our account. From there our account should be highlighted.
Engage in discussions, critiques, and reflections with the ARTSTACK community
Now, let’s dive into what’s in store for March!
Week 1: Identity & Belonging (March 1–7)
Who are we in a global world? How do personal and collective identities form?
Identity is fluid, shaped by experience, culture, and history. This week, we explore how artists express their own identities and the search for belonging in an interconnected world.
Daily Prompts:
March 1: Self-Portrait Beyond the Mirror – Represent your identity without using a literal self-portrait
March 2: Cultural Echoes – How does heritage influence contemporary life?
March 3: The Power of Names – Explore the significance of names in identity
March 4: Duality – The intersections of race, gender, nationality, and more
March 5: Modern Mythologies – Reimagine folklore and personal legends in today’s context
March 6: Unfinished Histories – What stories of identity are still untold?
March 7: Invisible Borders – Language, nationality, and unseen barriers
Community Focus: This week, we’ll have an Abstract Explorations session where artists can share work and discuss how abstraction connects to personal and cultural identity.
Week 2: Cultural Narratives (March 8–14)
How do traditions evolve? What stories shape our perspectives?
Culture is constantly shifting, influenced by migration, generational change, and global interconnectedness. This week, we examine how tradition and storytelling evolve over time.
Daily Prompts:
March 8: Threads of Culture – Textile, patterns, and the fabric of tradition
March 9: Generations in Conversation – A piece inspired by wisdom passed down
March 10: Tradition Reimagined – Modern interpretations of ancestral rituals
March 11: Echoes of the Homeland – The feeling of ‘home’ in contemporary art
March 12: Diverse Voices, One Canvas – Fusion of global influences in a single piece
March 13: Forgotten Symbols – Reviving cultural symbols in modern contexts
March 14: Storytelling Without Words – A visual narrative without text
Engagement Opportunity: We’ll highlight selected works from this week in Collected Visions, our ARTSTACK commonplace book.
Week 3: Diversity in Urban Spaces (March 15–21)
How does contemporary society reflect cultural diversity?
From city streets to public transportation, diversity thrives in urban life. This week is about exploring how contemporary environments shape and reflect cultural intersections.
Daily Prompts:
March 15: City Mosaic – The diverse faces and places of urban life
March 16: Street Conversations – Capturing everyday interactions and human connection
March 17: Subway Stories – Exploring transit as a space of cultural fusion
March 18: Modern Icons – Who are today’s cultural symbols?
March 19: Global Fusion – Blending artistic styles from different cultures
March 20: Voices Unheard – Art that amplifies marginalized communities
March 21: Nightlife Narratives – Diversity in music, dance, and nightlife culture
Community Focus: We’ll discuss the impact of cultural diversity in contemporary abstract art during our next ARTSTACKCLUB Art Room Session.
Week 4: The Future of Diversity (March 22–31)
What does diversity look like in the future? How will it evolve?
Looking ahead, we explore the possibilities of diversity in a changing world—through speculative art, futuristic landscapes, and evolving traditions.
Daily Prompts:
March 22: Intercultural Utopia – A society without borders
March 23: Afrofuturism & Beyond – Diversity in speculative art
March 24: Tech & Identity – How AI and virtual spaces shape identity
March 25: New Narratives – Diversity in the year 2100
March 26: The Body as Canvas – Tattoos, markings, and identity through the body
March 27: Erosion & Renewal – What fades and what remains in cultural identity?
March 28: Breaking Stereotypes – Challenging misconceptions through art
March 29: Rituals of the Future – Inventing a tradition for the next century
March 30: Shapeshifters – Metaphors of adaptation and resilience
March 31: Unity in Difference – Final reflection
ARTMOSITY Feature: Selected works from this challenge will be showcased in a special digital exhibition on ARTMOSITY, highlighting the power of contemporary diversity in art.
How to Participate
1️⃣ Create artwork based on the weekly themes or daily prompts
2️⃣ Share your work on Substack and Discord using #ARTSTACKDiversity, tag us ARTSTACK please remember to type @ with our name and click our account. From there our account should be highlighted.
3️⃣ Engage with the community—give feedback, discuss, and explore new perspectives!
4️⃣ Join our ARTSTACKCLUB sessions for deeper discussions and critiques
We can't wait to see your interpretations of Contemporary in Diversity! Let’s make this March a celebration of voices, stories, and perspectives from all over the world.
Are you in? Let us know in the comments and share this with fellow artists! 🎨
The Poetry Haul Challenge
Poets, word-weavers, and lovers of language—welcome to Week 8 of The Poetry Haul! Each week, we assemble under the rich glow of inspiration, taking on the challenge of shaping ten words into poetry that stirs the soul.
Collected Visions #1: The Language of Mediums
Art is, at its core, an act of transformation. A blank canvas becomes a portal into an artist’s imagination, a lump of clay turns into a vessel of expression, and digital pixels shift to create entire worlds. But beyond the artist’s intent and vision, it is the
March 2: Cultural Echoes – How does heritage influence contemporary life?
Heritage is like an old song stuck in your head—you can leave home, change cities, reinvent yourself entirely, and yet, there it is, playing softly in the background when you least expect it.
I was born in Memphis, Tennessee, a place where history seeps into the sidewalks and barbecue sauce is practically a blood type. I moved away in my twenties, convinced I could shed my Southern roots like an old winter coat. And yet, decades later, I still have the accent, still say “y’all” without irony, and still believe iced tea should be sweet enough to put you in a diabetic coma.
Heritage isn’t just about where you’re from; it’s about the things you carry with you—whether it’s the ability to make small talk with absolutely anyone (a true Southern superpower) or the deeply ingrained understanding that showing up to someone’s house empty-handed is just plain rude. It’s why I still instinctively write thank-you notes on actual stationery instead of sending a text. It’s why I can spot bad biscuits from across the room.
Even in a modern world where everything is streamlined, digitized, and delivered in under 30 minutes, I still feel a certain way about sitting on a front porch, about calling people “darlin’” without needing permission, about knowing deep in my soul that no matter how far I go, I am—and will always be—Southern.
So, does heritage influence contemporary life? Oh, honey. Bless your heart for even asking.
March 16 -
Love Café
As I waited in line to order my drink, my eyes wandered to a newspaper folded over on the counter. The front page headline caught my attention:
“CEO Resigns After ‘Flirtatious’ Comments to Secretary—Company Cites ‘Inappropriate Workplace Behavior’”
Skimming the article, I gathered that the man—an executive with pro-Trump leanings—had made a few offhand remarks to his assistant. Enough, apparently, to cost him his career.
I exhaled through my nose. That tracks.
Then, a few seconds later, I witnessed something that deepened my confusion about Los Angeles.
The café I frequent in Santa Monica is run by a gay man who hires mostly young gay and transgender employees. It’s called Great Café, and true to its name, the coffee and service are great.
As I reached the counter to order, the owner walked in—an hour after opening. One of the young, bubbly baristas had a streak of cream near his lower lip, splashed up from frothing milk. The owner noticed and, in a tone that teetered between teasing and something else, said:
“Ohhhh, what were you two up to in the back before I got here, huh?”
I gasped. In any other workplace, a comment like that from a boss to an employee would be grounds for a sexual harassment lawsuit—or at least some serious HR intervention.
But here?
Both baristas giggled, like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Their reaction wasn’t discomfort. It was delight.
I paid for my cappuccino, still trying to process what I’d just witnessed.
Next to me, a woman cradling a small dog in one arm and her daughter in the other picked up her drink from the counter. She chuckled, unfazed.
“You all are too cute. Bye, friends!”
I stepped outside, the warm cup in my hands.
Whatever the rules are in this town, I’ll never understand them.