Call for Art: The Aesthetics of Power
Image by Mahwish Chishty
Call for Art: Aesthetics of Power
Curator: Mahwish Chishty
Application Deadline: August 15, 2025
As tools of harm grow more remote, outsourced, and hidden, their impacts continue to rapidly shape our lives. While the mechanisms may be out of sight, their impact remains immediate, shaping the human experience, memories, and the cultural archive. This exhibition invites artists to share their work that respond to that contradiction: a world where power hides in plain sight, but leaves its unmistakable marks.
A.R.C. Gallery invites artists to submit work for The Aesthetics of Power, an exhibition juried by artist Mahwish Chishty. This show looks closely at how aesthetics can be used to express layered, quietly disruptive ideas. We are drawn to work that surprises, that reveals itself slowly, and that occupies the fragile space where beauty unsettles rather than soothes. Submissions should be layered and unexpected: artworks that linger in the uneasy space between attraction and unease.
We are especially interested in work that explores:
Cultural Memory and Erasure
Preservation and re-imagining of cultural symbols and ideals
The manipulation or erasure of tradition
Artistic resistance to the flattening or reframing (?) of cultural heritage
Ornament as Language
Pattern as encoded meaning
Ornament as a shield or a weapon
Meditative aesthetics used in resistance to violence
Craft and Geopolitical Violence
Forms of traditional craft brought into conversation with ominous themes
The intersection of aesthetic tradition and geopolitical critique
Visual languages considered domestic juxtaposed with anonymous institutional and political rhetoric
This is a call for work that suggests more than it states. We’re not looking for easy answers, but are drawn instead to work that lives in complexity. We invite artists to reflect on how aesthetic interpretations carry the weight of history, how beauty might obscure or reveal power, and how what is finely wrought can also bear witness.
Deadline for Submission of Applications: Friday, August 15 at 11:59pm CST
Notification of Acceptance: Will go out by email on Monday, September 1, 2025
Delivery of work to ARC: Thursday & Friday, September 25-26, 2-6pm; Sat, September 27, 12-4pm
Pick-Up Work at Gallery: Sat, October 25, 2:30-4pm
Shipped Work Return Date: Week of October 27
*Pre-Paid FedEx or UPS return label is required
*Do not use the U.S. Postal Service
About the Curator: Mahwish Chishty
Mahwish Chishty merges new media and conceptual art with the rich materials and techniques of South Asian artistic traditions.
With over seventy exhibitions both in the US and internationally, Chishty's work has garnered widespread recognition. She has been awarded numerous residencies, including Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, the Chicago Cultural Center in Chicago, and the Vermont Studio Center in Vermont. Ms.
Chishty also has works in public and private collections including the Foreign Office Islamabad,
Pakistan, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka Shi, Japan, and Imperial War Museum, London, UK. Notably, Chishty is a recipient of the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship.
Chishty is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She holds a BFA with a concentration in miniature painting from the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan, and an MFA in studio arts from the University of Maryland in College Park.
Visit Mahwish @ https://www.mahachishty.com/
Opening Reception, Friday, October 3rd, 5:00-8:00pm
Exhibition dates: October 2-25, 2025
Gallery hours: Thurs – Fri 2-6pm, Sat – Sun 12-4 pm
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
Submission Instructions
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STEP 1: Upload your images
• Decide which images you will submit. Ideally, the art should have been completed in the last 5 years.
• Label each image with: Last name, Item # of the image, Title of work, Medium, size and date. Separate with a dash. Example: daVinci-1-Mona Lisa-30x21x2”-1503. Number the images consecutively.
• Images must be submitted in JPG /JPEG format
• Limit the number of images to the amount you chose to pay for. ARC will only review the number of images you pay for. (standard fee is $40 for 3 images. $10 for each additional image. Students pay $25 for 3 images, with $10 for each additional)
• If you are a student, also upload a photo of your student ID along with your images.
• Please note that images of accepted work will become the property of ARC Gallery and may be used for publicity.
• Upload your images. They will go to a Dropbox file for juror’s review.
• When you are finished uploading files, go to the top of the screen and close this window. It will take you back to the original application form
• Complete the 1st dropdown box: Click on either “standard” or “student” application
• Complete the 2nd dropdown box: Highlight the number of images you are submitting
• Make sure there is a “1” in the Quantity box. (If you click another # it will multiply your fee by that #)
STEP 2: Fill out the application
• Now, click on “Pay Fees”. This will take you to a page where you can enter your application information.
• Check the small box at the top indicating which show you are applying to. (this is easy to miss, but your application will not go forward if you don’t check it).
• Complete: name, email, phone, website (if you have one) and address (be sure to enter your country or it won’t go forward)
• Enter you artist statement. Write a brief statement addressing your work and/or your images. Please limit your statement to under 125 words. Do not include your name (jury is anonymous) and do not try to make it a resume—ie don’t include education details or a history of past shows.
• Click on the box” “I uploaded my images”
• Now enter the label info for each of your images. Each should include: (a) item number; (b) title, (c) dimensions: height x width x depth, (d) mediums / materials, (e) date produced, and (f) price. Make sure you itemize your list to correlate to the #s on the images you submitted.
• Click on the black “pay fees” button at the bottom.
STEP 3: Pay fees
• Click: “sign in”
• Click either: “Apple pay” or “credit card”
• Enter requested information
• Click “continue”
• Review information and click “Purchase”
• Your application will not go through until you have clicked purchase.
• If you have any payment issues, send an email message to the gallery: info@arcgallery.org. We will sort it out for you. (Also we can refund payments that have gone awry, so don’t panic!).
• An email receipt will be sent by ARC Gallery after application and payment is completed
• Submissions will not be reviewed until payments are received
Questions?
Please feel free to email the gallery with any questions. We are here to help. Our email address is: info@arcgallery.org.
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Eligibility
Original works created within the last 5 years. All mediums and materials will be considered in addition to video and performance based arts. No projections or media installations will be accepted for this show due to space limitations. Open to all artists, national and international.
Exhibition and Delivery Requirements
Work must arrive by scheduled dates or will not be hung.
A label must be attached to the back/bottom of each work with name, title, medium and price.
Work must be presented in a manner appropriate to the artwork and be equipped for presentation. If work isn’t shown in the traditional gallery sense; it should still able to be displayed in a professional manner by gallery installers per artist specifications.
Absolutely no Peanuts in shipping boxes!!!!
Work must be able to remain in exhibition through exhibition dates. No work can be retrieved early.
If work is shipped, use either UPS or FedEX and include a prepaid return shipping label with your package.
No work which was not originally selected by juror will be hung.
Sales
Works will be for sale unless noted as NFS (not for sale) on the entry form. ARC will act as a liaison for sales of the artists' work. However, any work sold and paid for via Paypal will have the small fee deducted from the sale amount. ARC will deduct a 20% commission from the selling price of the work in group shows, with the artist retaining 80% after any Paypal fees if applicable. Please price accordingly.
Insurance
ARC exercises professional care when handling submitted work. We do not assume responsibility or liability including but not limited to accidents, damaged work, or forces of nature. Artists who feel their work is fragile should consider carrying their own personal property insurance. Again, the gallery will not assume liability for damage.
Accepted Work: Shipping and Delivery Return
With the exception of hand-delivered and picked-up work, all work shipped to and from the gallery must be paid ahead-of-time by the artist.
ARC will pack and make ready for return all shipped work and schedule the pickup. However, ARC will not make any payment or handle work that has to be dropped off for return. Please enclose A PRE-PAID return shipping label with the work. This should be, and can easily be, obtained online at UPS or FEDEX websites at the time work is being shipped to gallery for exhibition.
Upon close of show, ARC will alert the chosen shipper that the work is ready for pick-up. Any checks for return shipping made out to ARC will not be accepted nor will handwritten Fed Ex shipment labels. All acceptable pre-paid labels will need a barcode for scanning purposes.
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Please feel free to contact the gallery via email (info@ARCgallery.org) should you have any questions re: the exhibition, submitting work, or the prospectus. Email messages are checked daily. If you contact the gallery by phone, please call only during hours when the gallery is open.
ARC Gallery and Educational Foundation
Gallery Hours: Open Thurs & Fri - 2-6pm, Sat & Sun - 12-4pm; Closed Mon-Wed.
1463 W. Chicago Ave 1st floor
Chicago, Illinois 60642
312 877-5760
Before you begin, read our Submission Instructions (PDF) in the Call for Entry you are responding to. Click here to browse Calls for Entry.
Please Note: ARC takes a 20% commission fee on works sold. So please price your work accordingly
STEP 1: Upload your images
Decide which images you will submit. Ideally, the art should have been completed in the last 5 years.
Label each image with: Last name, Item # of the image, Title of work, Medium, size and date. Separate with a dash. Example: daVinci-1-Mona Lisa-30x21x2”-1503. Number the images consecutively.
Images must be submitted in JPG /JPEG format
Limit the number of images to the amount you chose to pay for. ARC will only review the number of images you pay for. (standard fee is $40 for 3 images. $10 for each additional image. Students pay $25 for 3 images, with $10 for each additional)
If you are a student, also upload a photo of your student ID along with your images.
Please note that images of accepted work will become the property of ARC Gallery and may be used for publicity.
Upload your images. They will go to a Dropbox file for juror’s review.
When you are finished uploading files, go to the top of the screen and close this window. It will take you back to the original application form
Complete the 1st dropdown box: Click on either “standard” or “student” application
Complete the 2nd dropdown box: Highlight the number of images you are submitting
Make sure there is a “1” in the Quantity box. (If you click another # it will multiply your fee by that #)
STEP 2: Fill out the application
Now, click on “Pay Fees”. This will take you to a page where you can enter your application information.
Check the small box at the top indicating which show you are applying to. (this is easy to miss, but your application will not go forward if you don’t check it).
Complete: name, email, phone, website (if you have one) and address (be sure to enter your country or it won’t go forward)
Enter you artist statement. Write a brief statement addressing your work and/or your images. Please limit your statement to under 125 words. Do not include your name (jury is anonymous) and do not try to make it a resume—ie don’t include education details or a history of past shows.
Click on the box” “I uploaded my images”
Now enter the label info for each of your images. Each should include: (a) item number; (b) title, (c) dimensions: height x width x depth, (d) mediums / materials, (e) date produced, and (f) price. Make sure you itemize your list to correlate to the #s on the images you submitted.
Click on the black “pay fees” button at the bottom.
STEP 3: Pay fees
Click: “sign in”
Click either: “Apple pay” or “credit card”
Enter requested information
Click “continue”
Review information and click “Purchase”
Your application will not go through until you have clicked purchase.
If you have any payment issues, send an email message to the gallery: info@arcgallery.org. We will sort it out for you. (Also we can refund payments that have gone awry, so don’t panic!).
An email receipt will be sent by ARC Gallery after application and payment is completed
Submissions will not be reviewed until payments are received
Remember: ARC takes a 20% commission fee on works sold. So please price your work accordingly
QUESTIONS: Please feel free to email the gallery with any questions. We are here to help. Our email address is: info@arcgallery.org.
Please note that images of accepted work will become the property of ARC Gallery and may be used for publicity.
