The Work of Art · A Literary & Visual Arts Quarterly
The Work of Art Issue 2: Connection
Creating as an Act of Belonging
Summer 2026 · 26 Contributors · 50 Works · Free to Read
The Work of Art is a free quarterly journal of visual art and writing by emerging artists, published by Bee the Change Foundation in San Diego. Issue 2 brings together 26 artists and writers around one theme: connection. Contributors come from the United States, Argentina, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, Ukraine and beyond. Read the full issue below.
Prefer a PDF? Open the full issue as a PDF (48 pages, 5.5 MB). A print edition and an ebook are on the way.
Enjoying this issue? The Work of Art is free to read and free to submit. Issue 2 is the first issue where every contributor was paid, from a $500 honorarium pool.
Donations pay artists and cover the cost of each issue. Bee the Change Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 33-2171196), and gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Support the Publication →About This Issue
Connection tends to live in small things: a porch light left on after the street goes dark, or a necklace that once belonged to someone you miss. When we chose it as the theme for our second issue, more than 250 submissions came in. Many of them took the word somewhere we hadn’t thought to look.
Eleanor Felix drew a neighborhood at night where the porch lights are the only thing still connecting the houses. Pritidipa Das wrote about the objects their family carried across borders through the 1947 Partition of Bengal and the 1971 Liberation War. Lauren Ma wrote about a jade necklace that brought her closer to the grandmother she misses.
We also didn’t expect how much of the issue would be about loss. Some of the connections we hold onto hardest are the ones that outlast the person.
“A poem or a painting isn’t finished until someone else spends time with it. That part is yours.”
Nik Boivin, Editor-in-Chief, from the Editor’s Note
Inside the Issue
Our line for this issue is Creating as an Act of Belonging. The work is arranged in three parts.
I. Reaching
The pull toward someone or something.
II. Holding
The harder work of staying close.
III. What Remains
What we carry after someone is gone.
Contributing Artists & Writers
Issue 2 features 25 works of visual art and 25 pieces of writing by 26 contributors, listed here by last name. Jack Hansen is the cover artist.
An jin kyeong
Painting
The Outer and Inner World · Korea Sharon Flower
Samantha Bernard
Poetry
Second-Hand Smoke
Biankeye Studios
Digital Illustration
Crow’s Feet · Footwork
Nicole Chan
Poetry
Three Plates · Always
Pritidipa Das
Poetry
The Red Alta · What the Basalt Keeps · The Heavy Brass · The Iron Key
Cathleen Davies
Poetry & Fiction
Love Anthem · White Rainbow 2028
Eleanor Felix
Mixed-Media Drawing
Porch Lights
Darla Ferrara
Digital Mixed Media
A Journey Across the Desert · Profile in Azure · Industrial Resonance · Coastal Strata
Pat Fletcher
Poetry
the first sign · and hasten on your second death with gladness
Oleksandra Fomchenko
Resin Wearable Art
The Shattered Impulse Necklace
Kimara Govender
Poetry
Five Seconds
Hamade
Visual Art
Midnight Stare · Red Dancer
Jack Hansen
Digital Art · Cover Artist
The Observer · Your Garden
Jasmine Harrison
Poetry
Take Five: Sensorium
Renee Hernandez
Poetry
Community Splashpad
Yvonne Jayne
Poetry
Crimson
Lauren Ma
Creative Nonfiction
翡翠項鍊 (Jade Necklace)
Marthé McLoud
Poetry
In Her Hands · Funeral Flashes · My Breath Flows Away · Last Dance
James Mellor
Painting & Wire Sculpture
Butterfly Effect · Worth Saving For
N.A. Memela
Poetry
Almost Perfect · Across the Years · The Pursuit of Happiness
Keely O’Brien
Poetry & Photography
The Grosbeak and the Redpoll · Geese with Their Goslings
Olivia Simonson
Creative Nonfiction
Facts
Maria Tsimafeeva Dmitrievna
Digital Art
We Are United
Nicolás Uslé
Painting, Ink & Mixed Media
Friendship · Nest in the Air · Buddha · Symbol · Own Light
Arya Utsa Varma
Poetry
Who’s a Sinner?
Katheryn Zacatenco
Woodblock Print
The Pacifist
Issue Details
Title: The Work of Art, Issue 2: Connection
Edition: No. 2, Summer 2026 (released October 2026)
Publisher: Bee the Change Foundation, a 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit in San Diego, California
Editor-in-Chief: Nik Boivin
Cover: The Observer (detail) by Jack Hansen, digital art
Length: 48 pages
ISSN: 3143-343X (online), 3143-3421 (print)
Price: Free to read online
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Work of Art free to read?
Yes. Every issue is free to read online, and it always will be.
Who publishes The Work of Art?
Bee the Change Foundation, a San Diego 501(c)(3) nonprofit that uses art as a tool for empowerment, representation and social change. The journal comes out four times a year, and each issue is built around one theme.
Are contributors paid?
Yes. Starting with Issue 2, accepted contributors share a $500 honorarium pool. The cover artist receives $50, and the other $450 is split equally among all contributors, including the cover artist.
How can I submit my work?
Submissions are free, and they always will be. Each issue has its own theme and deadline, listed on our submissions page. Read the submission guidelines before you send your work.
Is there a print edition of Issue 2?
A print edition and an ebook are on the way. Join the email list above to hear when they’re ready.
Want to Be in the Next Issue?
The Work of Art is free to submit, with no fees ever, and accepted contributors share a $500 honorarium pool. Visit our submissions page for the current theme and deadline.
New to the journal? Start with Issue 1: Care.