Entry deadline: All entries must be submitted by 5.00pm Sunday 27 September 2026

Reflection is not a perfect act. It bends, fragments and shifts. It exists in the space between what is experienced and what is remembered, between what we project and what others perceive.

Inspired by the Cairns Pride theme of Reflections, Surface Tension considers the invisible forces that connect us to one another and the impressions that remain long after an encounter has passed. Through relationships, communities, memories and experiences, we are continually shaped by the people and worlds around us.

Artists are invited to submit work that engages with ideas of reflection, connection, perception and change. Like ripples on water, these influences are rarely static. They overlap, intersect and evolve, creating new patterns of connection and interpretation.

Works may be personal or collective, intimate or expansive, grounded in lived experience or approached through broader conceptual, cultural or creative perspectives.

Surface Tension invites submissions from LGBTIQ+, Sistergirl and Brotherboy artists whose work responds to the Cairns Pride theme of Reflections.

For questions about the exhibition, submissions or eligibility, please contact Andrew Wolfson at andrewswolfson@gmail.com.

Sorry, artworks must not have been previously shown at Tanks Arts Centre. Please select a new artwork.

Conditions For Exhibiting at Tanks Arts Centre

Important Dates

Entry deadline:     All entries must be submitted by 5.00pm Sunday 27 September 2026

Delivery:      All artworks must be delivered to Tank 4, The Tanks Arts Centre 9am and 4pm on Tues 6 October 2026

Collection:    10am - 2pm Sunday 1 November 2026 (The Collection Period)

• This is an exhibition for LGBTIQ+ Sistergirl and Brotherboy artists.

• While all artworks submitted will be considered for the exhibition, the final decision of artworks exhibited in the 2025 Cairns Pride Art Exhibition will be that of the guest curator.

• Artworks must not have been previously shown at Tanks Arts Centre.

• Each item must be delivered ready to hang or install and appropriately identified with a ticket showing the name of the Artist and the title of the Work.

• The Work must remain on display in the Exhibition Venue for the term of the Exhibition.
  

• Tanks Arts Centre is a family friendly venue and Pride Exhibition is a family friendly event. Artworks accepted for display will be suitable for an audience of all ages.

• The role of Tanks Arts Centre in any sale of an item, is that of a sales agent. Tanks Arts Centre will receive and hold the sale proceeds for each item on behalf of the Artist or the agent of the Artist.

• Tanks Arts Centre will not offer an item of the Works for sale at a discount on the sale price unless expressly agreed by the Artist in writing. If the Artist agrees to sell an item of the Works at a discounted price, the discount will be deducted from the Artist’s share of the sale proceeds.

• The Buyer of an item will be required to pay a 15% non‐refundable deposit to secure the purchase of the item. Each Buyer of an item will be required to complete payment before the item may be collected by the Buyer. Should the Buyer fail to complete payment for an item, the item will be made available for collection by the Artist at the close of the Exhibition. Each deposit received for the uncompleted sale of an item may remain the property of Tanks Arts Centre.

• On completion of payment by a Buyer, a tax invoice will be issued by Tanks Arts Centre on behalf of the Featured Artist, or the agent as nominated by the Featured Artist (the “Supplier”). If the supplier does not have an ABN, the supplier must complete and sign an ATO Statement by a Supplier form and return it before payment can be made.

• Processing of sale proceeds may take up to 28 days.

• Tanks Arts Centre will retain from the sale proceeds for an item commission of 20% of the sale price, for which the supplier will be given a tax invoice.

• If an item is not sold during the Exhibition, it must be collected by the Featured Artist, or an agent of the Featured Artist, on 10am - 29m Sunday, 1 November 2026 (The Collection Period)

• Tanks Arts Centre takes no responsibility for theft of or damage to an item during the Exhibition. Each Featured Artist must insure each item whilst the item is on display for the purposes of the Exhibition.

• Tanks Arts Centre is not responsible for an item not collected during the collection period. If any item remains uncollected two months after the end of the collection period Tanks Arts Centre may give written notice to the Featured Artist of its intention to dispose of the item. If the item is not collected within one month after the date of receipt of the notice of intention to dispose of the item, the item becomes the property of Tanks Arts Centre and Tanks Arts Centre may dispose of the item in any way it chooses.
  

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