What

We invite you to add your voice to our DIY Boards for an exhibition in December at YABHQ!

You'll receive a laser etched mdf board that measures 8.5" x 6.375" x .125". It will arrive in a reusable envelope, in which you can mail your piece back with. Send it back, so we receive it by November 30th, 2020.

We'll have the pieces on display by appointment in our YABHQ Gallery, along with a virtual opening & all works will be available for purchase online.

Choose from the dropdown above

$5 - All inclusive of the board & shipping to you (or pickup at YABHQ)

$9 - All inclusive of the board, shipping to you, & a paid return shipping label (to send back to us)

Why

We've always wanted to be extremely clear. You Are Beautiful is about the fact that every single one of us is incredibly unique & amazing, and that should be celebrated. You be you. Then we look for the commonalities that we share, that can unite & bring us closer together & not feel alone in this world. We're all in this together.

So we offer you to add your voice to the message, and ask you to share what "you are beautiful" means to you. Maybe, it's "beautiful", or maybe it's "courageous" "incredible" "strong" "brave" "essential" or "enough".

We want to hear how you say it.

Timeline

October 8th, 2020 - Entries open to participate
November 30, 2020 - All boards must be received back at YABHQ

December 12, 2020 - Virtual Opening

The 5 Steps to Contribute

1.) You check out with a board.

- Either ONLY shipped to you & you pay return shipping (or drop off at YABHQ).

- Or shipped to you & with an included paid return shipping label back to us.

Keep the envelope! That's for you to return your board with.

Why does it cost anything?

We wish it could be free! The total price includes the cost of the board, the cost of shipping, and the transaction fees of our online store & credit card processing fees. We're breaking even on this cost.

Proceeds from the sale of boards will go to funding a community You Are Beautiful installation, that will be donated to a neighborhood.

*If you checkout with the board & nothing else, shipping is free. If you add other items to your cart, you will be charged shipping for the additional items.

2.) You get creative, and have fun! Do whatever you like to the board, use any media you want! :)

3.) You fill out some information on this google survey. Your display name, your social media handle, and (the hardest part!) the price of your board.

Pricing, it's so hard!

We are suggesting you price your board at a minimum of $20, and can go as high as your work is worth to you. It is a 60/40 split, with you receiving 60% of the sale.

We will send you payment electronically (via Venmo or Paypal) within 30 days of the sale of your piece. Or you may choose to donate the money to our next You Are Beautiful community piece.

4.) You return the piece by November 30th, 2020. (Late entries potentially may not be displayed).

5.) Tell your friends! & join in on December 12th, when we release the work virtually!

Rules

We want you to add your voice, however you see fit! Except for a few exceptions. If you don't follow these guidelines, your board may not be displayed online or in our gallery.

- Please do not add dimension in any direction. (width, length, depth).

- Obviously, nothing negative or hurtful to anyone. (Duh, but we had to say it).

- Boards must arrive at YABHQ by November 30th, 2020. (By mail, or drop off in person).

- You must fill out Google Survey with all applicable information. (We want to make sure we have it all right for you!)

Other things to think about...

- Please keep "you are" legible.

- Your board does NOT have to include additional text. Your answer to "you are" could be image based. (That is totally aok).

- If you so choose to have your board say "you are beautiful", there is the potential that your board could be chosen to be an artist sticker for our monthly sticker club! (With your permission of course).

History

Over the many years of the You Are Beautiful Project, we've been fortunate enough to collaborate with artists from around the world to add their voice to the You Are/I Am prompt. In 2005, we did a series of You Are/I Am postcards & sketch books that were passed from one person to the next around the globe for a year. We exhibited these works at Foundation Gallery & Open End in Chicago, and they then travelled to the MCCLA in San Francisco. The array of responses & interpretations have been astounding & creatively rewarding to us.

We've recently become more and more interested in what "you are beautiful" means to the community that shares this message. We know this is not a superficial comment, but an idea rooted deep within - that we all matter & mean something.

Our Daily Calendar for 2021 starts every single day with the "you are" affirmation. We wrote 365 phrases that all start with "you are". It was incredibly fun & exhausting. It was eye opening how many different ways this simple phrase could be interpreted in.

We're all in this together - Large Tiled Window - Coloring Pages (Download)