CISTA ARTS invites artists to submit work for Signs of Use, an international online group exhibition exploring the marks left by touch, labour, repetition, habitation and time.

Signs of Use: On Wear, Repetition and the Lives of Things

Exhibition Theme:

Nothing that is used remains unchanged.

Surfaces become worn, objects acquire marks, materials soften, structures are repaired, and spaces gradually record the movements of those who inhabit them.

A crease, stain, scratch, imprint, repair or repeated gesture can become evidence of contact — a record of how something has been handled, inhabited, valued, neglected or transformed.

Signs of Use brings together artists whose work considers what repeated contact leaves behind.

The exhibition looks at wear not simply as damage or deterioration, but as a form of evidence: of labour, routine, intimacy, consumption, care, movement and lived experience.

We are interested in how objects, bodies, materials, images and environments register the effects of use.

These traces may be physical and immediately visible, or subtle and difficult to locate. They may accumulate slowly over years or emerge through a single repeated action.

The exhibition also considers repetition itself: the gestures of making and remaking, maintaining and repairing, working and performing, using and discarding.

What happens when an action is carried out again and again?

How do materials remember contact?

At what point does wear become transformation?

Artists may respond to the theme through personal, social, environmental, political or material perspectives.

Works might engage with domestic objects and everyday spaces, bodily experience, manual and invisible labour, clothing and textiles, architecture, tools, technology, consumption, repair, decay, reuse, ritual, repetition, or the physical processes involved in making an artwork.

We welcome approaches that pay attention to the overlooked and ordinary as much as those that address wider social and cultural questions.

Rather than treating wear as something to conceal, Signs of Use asks what becomes visible when we look closely at the evidence left behind.

What do the things we touch, use, inhabit and repeat reveal about the lives that have passed through them?

Who can apply?

The call is open to artists internationally and at all stages of their careers.

We welcome submissions across a broad range of media, including:

Painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, printmaking, collage, installation, moving image, digital art, sound, performance, mixed media and interdisciplinary practices.

Both existing and newly created works are welcome, provided they engage meaningfully with the exhibition theme.

Dates:

Submission Deadline: 11 October 2026
Exhibition Dates: 1- 30 November 2026

Submission Guidelines:

We are keen to learn about you! Please submit the following:

• 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.

Selected Participants Will Receive:

• Exhibition of your work on the CISTA ARTS online platform (1-30 November 2026)

• Inclusion in a limited edition, professionally produced paperback catalogue (UK-based) + complimentary PDF copy

• No commission taken on sales

• Daily social media features in our Meet the Artist series

• Exhibition placement on our homepage + archived access after close

• Direct links to your website or social media in all features

• Certificate of participation

Participation Fee: 

£30 for one accepted artwork | £50 for two accepted artworks

Applying to this exhibition opportunity is free.

Participation Fee 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.

Digital Exposure and Reach:

• We currently have over 12.2K followers on Instagram, in addition to a Facebook audience and a mailing list of over 2K subscribers.
• Our online exhibitions attract between 1,200–1,800 unique visitors, and our website receives more than 4,000 visits per month.

• Each participating artist will be permanently featured on our Past Exhibitions page, with direct links to their own website or social media for continued exposure.

Exhibition Access:

The exhibition is fully accessible to the public via our official website, with no login or fee required.

Exhibition History:

Since our founding in 2018, CISTA ARTS has organised over 50 solo and group exhibitions, both online and in hybrid formats. 

Our platform is designed to support emerging and mid-career artists across borders, particularly those facing visa and mobility restrictions.

Artist Feedback:

We have received consistently positive reviews from artists who have worked with us, with many praising our professionalism, communication, and the quality of our exhibitions. 

These testimonials can be viewed on our Google Reviews page.

About Us:

Based in London, CISTA ARTS is an independent, artist-led curatorial platform dedicated to inclusive programming, cross-cultural dialogue, and supporting underrepresented voices in contemporary visual art.