VALISE Gallery has issued a call for artists for its second annual all-ages, all-Island art exhibit, set to take place in May at the gallery.

This time, though, there is a provocative theme.

The show is titled “The Elephant in the Room, the Snake in the Suitcase … or What is Censorship?”

A call for entries posted on the gallery’s website says the show is an “invitation to participate in a wide-ranging, all-Island conversation about a complex topic.”

Elizabeth Conner, a member of VALISE, said the gallery hopes to cast a wide net for work to be exhibited in the show, including pieces that some Islanders may have self-censored.

The announcement of “The Elephant in the Room” comes on the heels of a recent art controversy on Vashon, when the owner of the Wallflower Building removed several works from a Two Wall Gallery exhibit.

Two Wall Gallery, located in a long hallway between shops in the building, was informally organized and did not pay rent in the building.

Jack Strubbe, who curated the show that the owner objected to, was subsequently  asked to step down as Two Wall’s curator, and the gallery’s future on the Island remains uncertain.

In contrast, VALISE’s upcoming show is open to all Islanders — it won’t be juried, and everyone is welcome to display art and create performances and other live events connected to the show, organizers say.

Two- and three-dimensional artwork, writings, video, performance and music will all be accepted into the show.

To find out more about the philosophy behind the exhibit and to read submission rules, visit the gallery’s website at www.valisegallery.org/May_2011.html.