Now Live: Virtual Exhibition on the Theme of Faces

When we all at Women in Arts Network began planning this exhibition, we asked ourselves a simple yet profound question: What theme will allow every artist to bring their truth, their imagination, and their identity to the forefront, no matter their background, medium, or style? After long conversations, shared stories, and thoughtful reflection, one word kept returning to us quietly at first, then insistently, like a familiar heartbeat: Faces. Faces felt right because they belong to every culture, every era, and every person. They are the first language we learn to read and the most unforgettable archive of human experience. They are intimate and public, fragile and resilient, vulnerable and strong.

In choosing this theme, we wanted to offer artists a mirror, a window, and a doorway a chance to reveal who they are, who they’ve met along their journey, and who they are becoming. This exhibition is our invitation to explore not just what we see, but how we see to rediscover the simple act of observation that connects us all.

How Do Faces Become the First Stories We Tell?

Faces hold stories before a single word is spoken. They are the original storytellers, carrying laughter, grief, hope, curiosity, memory, and mystery within the subtle shifts of expression or the stillness of silence. Every face is a conversation a translation of emotion that transcends words. A face can betray or protect, welcome or warn, and sometimes it offers more questions than answers.

To us, faces represent the human condition in its purest form. They remind us that behind every smile there might be sorrow, and behind every gaze lies a universe of memory. Through this exhibition, we wish to uncover those quiet, powerful moments to remind both the artist and the observer that art begins in the act of seeing, and that every face has something profound to say, even in its silence.

This Call Is About More Than Portraits

This open call is not just about portraits it’s about presence. We chose this theme because every face contains its own universe: lines etched by experience, eyes shimmering with unsaid truths, contours shaped by heritage, and surface textures moulded by time. Some faces we remember for a lifetime after only a brief moment. Some disappear in a crowd yet leave a lingering emotion behind.

In this exhibition, “Faces” becomes not only a subject but a vessel for all the layered narratives we carry those spoken aloud and those whispered only in the privacy of our hearts. The concept invites interpretation that is literal, symbolic, emotional, and abstract all at once. Faces can appear as physical forms drawn, painted, sculpted, or photographed or they can emerge in subtler ways: the curve of a brushstroke that hints at a cheekbone, the shadowed suggestion of an eye, or an abstract composition that captures a feeling instead of a form.

Some artists may show faces we recognize strong, tender, fierce, contemplative while others may explore internal faces: identities we wear, versions of ourselves we have shed, or the quiet presence of an inner self rarely seen by the world. In this way, “Faces” becomes an artistic playground a limitless space where imagination stretches beyond the literal toward concepts of identity, emotion, memory, belonging, and transformation.

Whether your faces are literal or abstract, familiar or unfamiliar, we want to witness them come alive through your art. Let your work tell us the stories that eyes hold and silence conceals.

Who Can Apply

This exhibition is open to:

• All women-identifying and non-binary artists, aged 18 and above
• Creators from any country or background, emerging, mid-career, or established
• Artists working in any medium: painting, sculpture, photography, digital art, textile design, collage, or mixed media

Because creativity knows no limits and every story deserves to be seen.

How to Apply

Applying is simple, just three steps:

1. Fill out the application form with your basic details.
2. Indicate whether you’d like to be considered for an Artist Interview in addition to the Virtual Exhibition.
3. Submit your artwork our professional jury will review each submission and select the final pieces to feature in the exhibition, the interview, or both.

If selected, you’ll receive details about the exhibition process, digital catalogue, and your feature announcement.

Submission Fees

• Virtual Exhibition Participation: $3 (1 dollar per image)

• Artist Interview Add-On (Optional): $12

You may choose to participate exclusively in the exhibition or elevate your journey with both: the exhibition and an in-depth artist interview.

Let the World See the Story Behind Your Face

Faces hold our most fragile emotions and our most powerful identities. They reveal who we are, who we have been, and who we hope to become. With this exhibition, we extend a heartfelt invitation to artists: bring us your faces literal or symbolic, remembered or imagined, raw or refined. Bring us your stories in every line, shadow, colour, and contour. Let us witness your truth and let the world witness it too.

This is not just an exhibition theme it is a celebration of visibility, expression, and humanity. We cannot wait to see your faces and the worlds they hold. Because behind every artwork lies a story waiting to be seen.

Through “Faces,” we hope to celebrate the beauty of expression, the depth of emotion, and the courage of self-revelation. Because every face tells a story, and this is your moment to share yours.