Call Description

We invite artists to submit work for an online, virtual exhibit exploring the theme of Community in all its forms—the bonds that connect us, the spaces we share, the tensions we navigate, and the ways we find belonging.

What does community mean to you? Community is both profoundly simple and endlessly complex—it can be a source of strength, identity, comfort, or conflict. It evolves, fractures, and rebuilds. We invite you to explore any aspect of this multifaceted theme.

Connection and Belonging

• The intimate geography of neighborhood life—front porches, corner stores, shared gardens
• Chosen family and the communities we build beyond blood ties
• The quiet moments of recognition between strangers who share common ground

Spaces We Inhabit

• Public spaces where community is made visible: parks, markets, libraries
• Third spaces—the cafes, barbershops, and gathering spots that anchor community life
• Virtual spaces where new forms of community emerge

Boundaries and Bridges

• Who is included and who is excluded? How are community boundaries drawn?
• The borders between communities—geographic, social, ideological
• Moments of bridge-building across difference
• Conflict within communities and the work of repair

Abstract and Non-Representational Approaches

Community need not be depicted literally. We enthusiastically welcome abstract work that engages with this theme through formal means:

• The interplay of multiple elements—how shapes, colors, or textures coexist, overlap, or create tension
• Layers that suggest accumulation, history, or the presence of many voices
• Rhythm and repetition that evoke collective ritual or shared experience
• The relationship between negative space and form—absence and presence, isolation and connection

Abstract work can capture the felt experience of community—its energy, complexity, and emotional resonance—in ways that representational work cannot. We encourage artists working in all modes of abstraction to consider how their formal language might speak to themes of gathering, separation, belonging, or collective experience.

We welcome all interpretations—celebratory, critical, nostalgic, hopeful, ambivalent. Your vision of community, in whatever form it takes, has a place in this conversation.  We want to see what you come up with. All media styles are welcome. Photography? We love it!  Painting with oils or acrylics?  Great. Encaustic and/or Cold Wax?  Beautiful. Pastels, crayons, pencils, or anything else?  We want to see it!!

If your work is selected, it will be displayed on the Sync Gallery website from February 15 through March 20, 2026.  In addition, you will be invited to a virtual reception with the Jury and Members of Sync, where we will discuss our selection criteria and why we thought your art was exceptional.

Application Requirements

Media: Images of all 2D and 3D media accepted (painting, encaustic, cold wax, drawing, pastels, sculpture, photography, fiber arts, mixed media, digital art)

Entry Limit: Up to 4 works per artist

Image Requirements: High-resolution JPEGs (300 dpi minimum, longest side at least 1920px)

Artist Statement: Brief statement (150 words max) describing your work, its connection to the theme, and a short artist's bio.

Also include your contact information, website, title of each work, medium, and dimensions (in inches).

Price of each piece, and that you will contact your Buyers with shipping costs, and shipping policies

All art purchases must be handled by the artist directly (or through each artist's website). 

When a piece sells, please notify llupica77@gmail.com, and we will mark it sold.  We LOVE red dots.

Eligibility Criteria

This call for art for Community, an online exhibition, is open to all visual artists 18 years of age or older working in any medium. Submitted work must be original artwork created by the applicant and may not infringe on any copyright or intellectual property rights. Artists may be at any stage of their career—emerging, mid-career, or established artists are all welcome to apply.

All mediums, and art styles are welcome. Photography? We love it!  Painting with oils or acrylics?  Great. Encaustic and/or Cold Wax?  Beautiful. Pastels, crayons, pencils, or anything else?  Abstract paintings, drawings or sculptures?  Bring it on.  Realism, Abstract Expressionism, Cubism or Surrealism? We want to see it!!