MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENT Established in 1954, The Art League is a non-profit membership organization that provides member artists with the continual opportunity to have their work judged by esteemed local arts professionals, and to compete to exhibit their work in one of Washington s largest art galleries. The gallery hosts juried shows, solo-artist shows, one student-faculty show, and special exhibitions and fundraisers. Membership is open to all. Who is The Art League? The Art League Gallery, School, and Store employ full-time and part-time staff. However, we could not function without the support and dedication of our hardworking volunteers. Members serve as committee volunteers, and help us execute many of the important functions and events of the organization. Volunteers oversee receiving of the juried shows, assist the judges, hang exhibits, paint the gallery and much more. Our volunteers play a vital role in our organization. The Art League School serves over 10,000 students at its three locations in Old Town Alexandria. The Art league store is located in the Torpedo Factory selling art supplies and materials for members and students. The Art League Hours The Art League s Administrative offices are open Monday Friday, 10:00 am 5:00 pm. The Gallery is open Monday Saturday, 10:00am 6:00 pm, Sunday, 12:00 noon 6:00 pm., and Thursdays until 9:00 pm. The School Office is open 9:30 5:30 Monday Saturday. The Store is open Monday Saturday, 9:15 am 4:00 pm and Tuesday Wednesday, 6:30 7:30 pm during each nine week term. The store is also open outside of term, Monday Saturday, 10:00 am 4:00 pm, and offers extended hours for the first two weeks of each term, Monday Thursday, 6:00 8:00 pm and Sunday, 10:00 am 4:00 pm. The Gallery Monthly Juried Shows Every member is eligible to enter monthly juried shows. Receiving or delivery of artwork takes place from 6:30 8:30 pm on every first Monday and 10:00 am 12:00 noon on the following Tuesday of each month. Members can enter up to two works of art to be juried for each show. All shows are open to artists of all-media; some shows do have a theme. Artwork selected by the juror is installed in a formal gallery setting and ready for public viewing on Wednesday of receiving week. Please check your Tidings newsletter for dates. 1
The Bin Gallery Member artists are eligible to become members of the Bin Gallery once they have been juried into a minimum of three membership shows during the calendar year (July 1 June 30); Art In City Hall now counts towards Bin Gallery eligibility. Newly qualifying members must wait until July to become exhibiting members in the Bin Gallery. It is up to each artist to keep track of the shows in which they have been accepted. Bin Gallery membership is $65 per year for twodimensional artists, and $45 for sculptors and pastelists (artists whose work cannot be displayed in an unframed, shrink-wrapped format). Artists must continue to be juried into three membership shows each year in order to continue exhibiting in the Bin Gallery. Solo Artist Exhibitions Jurying for Solo Artist Exhibitions occurs annually, usually in mid-october. The Art League seeks artists who have a strong, cohesive, and exciting body of work expressing an aesthetic concept for our elite solo artist exhibitions. Our aim, whether to exhibit experimental or traditional works, is to adhere to the highest standards of quality. A panel of three outside judges selects the artists for the solo exhibitions. Interested members are required to attend one of two informational meetings held in late August. Digital submissions will be due in mid- September. See the Tidings or call the Gallery for more information. The Patrons Show The Patrons Show is The Art League s biggest fundraising event of the year. The Patrons Show features over 600 works of art donated by member artists. The number of tickets sold matches the number of works received. On the evening of the drawing, the names of ticket holders are randomly drawn, and at this time the ticket holder may choose the piece of artwork they want to select. The Patrons Show flickr site receives over 40,000 views every year. Members who donate work not only receive an unprecedented amount of exposure for their artwork, but they provide an invaluable service to The Art League. Opening Receptions Opening receptions occur on the second Thursday of each month from 6:30 8:00 pm. Awards are presented at 7:30. We encourage the juror to attend if possible. Member artists are encouraged to attend to view the new show, to meet colleagues, and view the solo artist exhibition. The Art League Library Our well-stocked library of art books is housed in the Gallery and is available for use by our members and currently enrolled students of The Art League School. Books may be borrowed for up to two weeks at no charge. The Art League School Non-credit classes are open to members and non-members. A full selection of day and evening courses are offered in virtually all areas of the fine arts. Our outstanding instructors are well known, highly qualified professional artists. Classes are kept small to ensure individual 2
instruction. Courses are listed online, at www.theartleague.org/school, as well as in the course catalog, and students may register online as well as in-person at the school office. The school office is located on the second floor of the Torpedo Factory. Call 703-683-2323 or visit the website for more information. The Art League Store Art League members and currently enrolled students may purchase supplies in the store. Supply lists for most classes are available in the store, and most materials on the supply lists are kept in stock. Prices are kept as low as possible, covering overhead with no profit intended. Quality products are available and are consistent with our instructor s preferences. Call 703-548-8127 for more information. The Jurying and Receiving Process Receiving for our monthly shows is always on the first Monday of the first full week of the month from 6:30 8:30 pm, and Tuesday from 10:00 am 12:00 noon in the Gallery. Always check the calendar on our website or Tidings for exact dates and themes. Artists must bring in their actual work (slides, deliveries, or digital entries will not be accepted) during this time. No exceptions! Submission of Work Each artist who becomes a member of The Art League may submit work at his/her own risk according to the following guidelines. 1. Up to 2 pieces of work may be submitted to the Gallery ONLY between the hours of 6:30 8:30 pm on the designated Monday evening, and 10:00 am 12:00 pm on the designated Tuesday morning. Entry fees are $5 per piece entered. We cannot hang work over 60 lbs. There is no size limitation, unless otherwise stated. 2. Works must be securely and suitably framed with screw eyes and wires firmly attached to the frame. Work will be eliminated if poorly prepared or still wet. Edges must be finished. No staples or tacks may show on front or sides of gallery wrap canvas works. 3. Works on paper must be matted and any work with a paper mat must have a protective covering of glass or Plexiglas. No clip frames or taped frames are allowed. 4. No copies of paintings or copies of published photographs are acceptable. All work must be original to the artist. 5. All prints must be original and hand pulled by the artist. No commercially reproduced prints are accepted for exhibition in The Art League. 6. Each work must have an entry tag (available during receiving) attached to the back upper left corner, designating the artist's name, phone number, title, medium, price, and month of show. ALL WORKS MUST BE FOR SALE and priced within the artist's usual price range. If an artist prefers not to sell a piece of work, it should not be entered. One should not enter work in a show at a price higher than that of one's other work. Artists should use the time and materials formula if unsure of pricing work. Prices may not be changed after a piece is entered. 7. The Gallery Director will be the sole and FINAL judge of the work s acceptability for jurying. 8. The Gallery may be called after 5:30pm on the day of the judging for information about acceptance or rejection of work. Please remember your assigned receiving numbers, located on your receipt, for efficient service. Because storage space is so limited, we ask 3
that work be picked up as soon as possible. If pieces are too large or too cumbersome to fit into the closet, the artist must pick up the work no later than the Wednesday of show week at 6:00pm. For convenience, the Gallery is open from 5:30 7:30 pm on the Tuesday of receiving week for the earliest pickup of work not selected for the show, as well as during regular business hours. Work left longer than six months will become the property of The Art League and may be donated to the Patrons' Show. Remember, work MUST be signed out at the time of pick-up. A late fee of $1 per day, per piece ($5 maximum) will be assessed beginning two weeks after the Tuesday of Show Week. 9. A work accepted for a show and listed in the program may not be re-entered to any other Art League juried shows, including Art In City Hall. A rejected work, however, may be re-submitted to future shows. Judging of Work A qualified arts professional is invited to judge and to make award selections. He/she is not an Art League member or an Art League instructor. Each show may be expected to reflect the opinions of its judge. Election of a different judge each month assures variety in successive exhibits and a broader opportunity to member artists. No judge is invited back for at least two years to further allow for a broad base of opinion. Exhibition of Work Work selected for Gallery shows hangs for the duration of the show or until sold. NO WORK MAY BE REMOVED UNTIL CLOSE OF SHOW FOR ANY REASON OTHER THAN A SALE. Artists may pick up work from monthly exhibits during receiving for the following month s exhibit. There is absolutely no early pick-up. GUIDELINES FOR THE DEFINITION OF REPRODUCTION FOR VARIOUS MEDIUMS All work exhibited in The Art League Gallery must be original artwork. This includes original prints but excludes reproduction prints. Photographic prints are considered separately under this definition because of the nature of the photographic process. Reproductions of any kind are not allowed. As developing technologies have presented us with new methods of reproduction, it has become necessary to clarify the definitions of original prints vs. reproductions. In determining what is acceptable to exhibit in the gallery, The Art League is bound by the restrictions placed on all studio holders in the Torpedo Factory Art Center (TFAC) regarding original artwork. The city supports the center in its mission to provide studio space where original art is produced and displayed, through a favorable rent structure. According to TFAC rules, commercial reproductions or laser copies may not be sold or displayed in the studios or galleries. Reproduction, in the purest sense, is the use of some process to make an exact copy of another piece of work. Reproductions can be made by many processes including, but not limited to, commercial lithography, photography, xerography, and computer-scanned laser printing. These processes, 4
however, are not exclusively for purposes of reproduction, and the processes themselves are not necessarily ruled out as permissible media. The difficulty in defining reproductions lies in the gray area between a totally exact copy, and a copy so substantially altered that it constitutes a new aesthetic entity. Part of the distinction between the two may lie within the artist: what is the intent of the artist in reproducing the work? Is it to be able to prepare a greater number of pieces to market without the time investment required to create original work? Or is it to provide a springboard from which to develop and create new images? We must charge the individual artist with the responsibility to make this distinction clear. Because The Art League is ultimately responsible for enforcing the standard that will be used to determine which work qualifies as original, we suggest the following format for evaluating questionable pieces. Artwork produced by reproductive technology is acceptable only when it is a) an original creation produced by means of technology having been used as a medium only, or b) if based upon a copy of one's own work, which has been subsequently altered, the aesthetic impact (of the resulting work) must be substantially altered from the original image. Work entered in monthly shows will be required to describe the mediums employed. Media and artistic process must be described specifically on a paper attached to the back of the piece. (A form will be available at receiving, or you may choose to prepare an explanation for your work and attach it prior to the jurying process). The Gallery Director may evaluate works seen and questioned at the time of Receiving. These guidelines, as well as the TFAC guidelines, are on file in The Art League library. REQUIREMENTS FOR FRAMING 1. All work must be framed unless it s gallery wrapped canvas (no staples or tape showing whatsoever). 2. Watercolors, drawings, prints, photographs and anything with a mat must have a glass or Plexiglas covering. 3. Work submitted wet is unacceptable. 4. No staples or tacks can be visible on fronts or sides of canvas paintings. 5. All work must have wire securely attached to the frame with screw eyes. 6. No taped or clip frames are allowed. 7. No tape can be visible on the front, back or sides. 8. The Gallery Director must approve any special framing or hanging requirements. 5
Acceptable and Unacceptable Mediums for Submission into Art League Exhibitions ACCEPTABLE Painting, drawing - original artwork by definition Hand-pulled original prints - e.g., intaglio, lithograph drawn on a plate and pulled by artist, monotype/monoprint, woodcut, linocut, etc. Photography - unique photographed images are acceptable. Photographers are encouraged, but not required, to process or print own work. Digital art, laser prints - work that has been created by digital manipulation, whether initially scanned into or created within the computer. Please note Polaroid transfers may not be reproduced except to be used as a basis for substantially altering the original work. Collage incorporating copies of other images - images must be used as a part of a design created by the artist, and substantially different than any individual incorporated image. UNACCEPTABLE Painting, drawing - not acceptable if it is a copy of any other published artworks or source photographs. Hand-pulled original prints - not acceptable if it is a copy of any other published work. Photography - unaltered reproduction of pre-existing artwork not allowed, i.e., you may not take a photo of your painting and submit it as an original. Digital art, laser prints - unaltered or unsubstantially altered prints of pre-existing artwork not allowed. Photocopies - copies that are used as the basis for a new work of art must be so significantly altered as to substantially change the aesthetic impact of the original piece. Commercial lithography - e.g., 4-color process, not acceptable for The Art League, even if artist oversees/approves printing process and signs and numbers prints. Sale of Work Although in the possession of the Gallery, works of art remain the property of the artist. Upon sale, ownership transfers from the artist to the purchaser. The Gallery sells works of art on a cash, charge, or 30-, 60-, or 90-day payment plan. The Gallery does not negotiate prices and urges the artist to adhere to this policy after work leaves the Gallery. Payment for work sold is disbursed by the 15th of the month following the month of sale and is 60% of the sale price exclusive of sales tax. The 40% commission, which the Gallery retains, is used to defray the cost of maintaining the Gallery. 6
Referrals It is understood that the artist will not undersell the Gallery. Members are expected to remit to the League a percentage of any sales made through the Gallery or through the Gallery s direct contact or referral. All sales handled through the Gallery are subject to a 40% commission. If a client wishes to see additional work by an artist and a studio visit is arranged, a sale is made, and the artist handles the entire process, the artist owes a 10% referral fee to The Art League for works not seen in The Art League Gallery. The Art League absorbs the cost of discounts offered by the Gallery, (i.e. a designer or patron discount). Artist s remuneration shall not be affected. In all cases, The Art League's purpose is in serving the artist to the best of our abilities and resources. We charge only what is necessary, for we are a non-profit service organization and always keep that uppermost in our thought. BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP Eligibility to submit works in monthly shows by highly regarded professionals and seen in our gallery which is visited by over 60,000 people annually; Membership in the Bin Gallery, for a small annual fee, upon acceptance in three shows per membership year; Work is exhibited seven days a week (except holidays) in a professionally staffed gallery. The Gallery is closed when the Torpedo Factory Art Center is closed: New Years Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. Opportunity to compete for a solo show; Exclusive representation is not required; The Art League maintains a website and blog, as well as Facebook, Twitter, and flickr accounts and advertises nationally, as well as locally; The Art League library offers books and periodicals of interest to artists. Artist database maintained with media, subject, specialty, etc. Addresses of purchasers automatically provided; All accepted work displayed on The Art League web site: www.theartleague.org; Artists are encouraged to provide a resume that will be kept in the Gallery for purchasers and potential clients. Referrals are provided by professional staff; The staff serves as a resource for locating technical information and services; Low cost, high quality supplies are available in the Store, along with expert advice, and a reasonably priced shrink-wrap service; The Tidings newsletter is e-mailed monthly to keep our members appraised of League news, classes, workshops, seminars, and other exhibition opportunities; The Art League School is conveniently located, offering classes in all media by skilled professional teachers; The opportunity to volunteer in the gallery or school provides participants with the chance to network with other artists, learn new skills, and be an active part of a dynamic organization. 7
Summary Information We are a unique organization in the scope of our service, and we take special pride in having a well-run, efficient, and thoroughly pleasant place for members and guests alike. We hope this information will give some insight into The Art League and its many services to its members and the public. If you have specific questions, please call the Gallery 703-683-1780, School 703-683-2323, Store 703-548-8127, or the Executive Director (at any of the above numbers) and we will always be glad to help in any way we can. Last update: 4/27/2011 8