Paper trail
a curated archive
What piece of paper couldn't you throw away?
Paper is thin, light, and ordinary. We write shopping lists on it, tuck notes into books, fold letters into envelopes, and pin recipes to the refrigerator.
Most paper is thrown away.
Some paper stays with us.
PAPER TRAIL is a curated exhibition at Haus Obscura exploring the ordinary pieces of paper we choose to keep and the stories they continue to carry. We're interested in the strange and often powerful ways an everyday object can become connected to a person, a relationship, a place, or a moment that changed us.
We're looking for paper that has been lived with. Not simply something old or sentimental, but something with a story that lingers.
It could be a love letter, a handwritten recipe, a receipt, a child's drawing, a rejection letter, a map, a postcard, a note, a ticket, a document, or something we haven't thought of yet.
The most compelling submissions might mark a turning point, reveal a relationship, capture a coincidence, document a risk, or hold a memory that still feels alive. We're interested in stories that are joyful, funny, strange, heartbreaking, unexpected, or all of the above.
Selected objects will be exhibited alongside their stories at Haus Obscura in East Austin, creating a shared archive of memory, identity, and human connection.
Each selected piece will be photographed and reproduced as an archival print, with its story printed on the reverse. The prints will be collected in a limited-edition Boxed Archive, featuring every piece in the exhibition. The Boxed Archive will be available for purchase during the exhibition.
What We're Looking For
We're less interested in what the paper is than why you couldn't let it go.
Look for the paper that has followed you through moves, relationships, jobs, travels, family changes, beginnings, endings, or unexpected turns. The paper that makes you remember something the moment you see it.
Anonymous submissions are welcome.
Open to the greater Austin community.
Lend us your paper. Share your story.
Dates to know:
Applications to open call due by 8/14
Drop off paper objects at Haus Obscura 8/17-8/20
Opening reception of show 8/28