INTO LIGHT Project—Drug Addiction, Real People: Real Stories Call For Submissions

• Event Date: Saturday, August 1, 2026–Monday, November 30, 2026

• Special Event
• Online tag
• Exhibit-Related tag

Call for INTO LIGHT Project exhibit submissions!

About INTO LIGHT

Since 2019, the INTO LIGHT Project (external link) has partnered with families across the country who have lost someone to substance use disorder. A team of professional artists creates an original graphite portrait of each person, paired with a professionally written narrative drawn from stories shared by the people who knew them best. The portraits and narratives are displayed together in free public exhibitions—in museums, universities, and community spaces—designed to humanize addiction rather than show each person as a statistic or negative stereotype attributed to the disease. At the close of each exhibition, families are gifted their loved one’s original framed portrait, and every story is permanently preserved through the project’s archival partnership with the University of California, San Francisco. The portraits and narratives are replicated and become part of the Community Traveling Collection that travels around the state.

INTO LIGHT is bringing Drug Addiction: Real People, Real Stories to the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures in Urbana, Illinois opening February 9th, 2027. The exhibition is limited to 30 stories, accepted first-come, first-served, beginning August 1st and closing in November or sooner if all spots fill. There is never a fee to submit.

How to Participate

1. A family shares their loved one’s story (external link) via responses to a questionnaire, and three reference photos.
2. A professional artist creates an original hand-drawn graphite portrait; a professional writer builds a narrative from the family’s memories.
3. The portrait and narrative are displayed together in the public exhibition.
4. Educational programming is held throughout the exhibition.
5. At the close of the exhibition, the family is gifted the original framed portrait.
6. The story and portrait are preserved permanently in the UCSF national archive.
7. Portraits and narratives are reproduced on high-quality aluminum and polycarbonate panels that travel across the state for years to come.
8. Participation is always free—there is no cost at any stage.