What We Carry

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– Open Call for Artists

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Deadline: 13 September 2026

Exhibition Dates: 1-30 October  2026

 

SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN!

 

CISTA ARTS invites artists to submit work for 'What We Carry', an online exhibition taking place in September 2026. We welcome submissions from artists working across all visual art disciplines.​

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– Exhibition Theme: 
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What We Carry

 

We carry more than we can see.

 

Across bodies, objects, places and generations, things accumulate: memories, habits, responsibilities, knowledge, histories, attachments, beliefs and traces of experience. Some are deliberately preserved; others remain without our choosing. Some give us a sense of continuity and belonging, while others become burdens we seek to release.

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What We Carry considers carrying as both a physical act and a condition of living. It asks how experiences remain present, how histories move through time, and how people, materials and environments become containers for things that may not be immediately visible.

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The exhibition invites artists to consider what is inherited, accumulated, protected, transferred, concealed or left behind. A body may carry the marks of experience; an object may retain evidence of touch and use; a landscape may hold the consequences of human intervention; a material may contain its own history. Images and technologies, too, carry information, memory and traces of their circulation.

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Through personal, social, material, environmental and imagined perspectives, What We Carry looks at the visible and invisible things that accompany us. It considers not only their weight, but also their capacity to connect us—to places, people, histories and possible futures.

The exhibition welcomes works across all visual art disciplines that engage with carrying in its broadest sense, asking what we hold onto, what we pass on, and what continues with us as we move through the world.

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We look forward to receiving your inspiring contributions.

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– Submission Guidelines

 

Deadline: 13 September 2026

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We are keen to learn about you! Please send us the following information, along with a sample of your work and an up-to-date CV:

• Contact information (full name, email, mobile)

• Details of the artworks (title, size, medium, year, price)

• Artist statement (max 100 words on how your work relates to the theme)

• Short biography (max 100 words, third-person)

• Up to 4 sample images of your work

Please note: Only two artworks per artist will be selected for exhibition.

​Please send your email to info@cistaarts.com and quote ‘What We Carry' in the subject field.

Or apply via CuratorSpace.

 

– Selected Participants Will Receive:​

• Exhibition of your work on the CISTA ARTS online platform.

• The exhibition will launch in October 2026.

• We will publish a professionally produced paperback catalogue of the exhibition in the UK.

• You will receive a complimentary PDF copy of the exhibition catalogue.

• If your work sells, Cista Arts will take no commission.

• Your work will be featured in our daily social media posts titled 'Meet the Artist' during the exhibition.

• The exhibition will be prominently displayed on our homepage during the exhibition period and will later be archived on the 'Past Exhibitions' page.

• We will tag you in our social media posts, and your website or social media account will be linked to your artworks on our exhibition page. This ensures ongoing promotion for all participating artists during and after the exhibition.

• You will receive a certificate of participation.

 

Apply to this exhibition opportunity is free, if your work is accepted, there will be a £30 fee for one accepted artwork and a £50 fee for two accepted artworks. 

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– PARTICIPATION BENEFITS:
Selected artists will have their work exhibited online for the full month on our homepage, included in a professionally produced printed and digital exhibition catalogue, featured in daily social media promotion under our ‘Meet the Artist’ series, and receive a certificate of participation. CISTA ARTS takes no commission on sales.

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For more information, please get in touch with us at info@cistaarts.com