The Foyer Gallery Artists’ Association (FGAA) is looking for emerging and established artists to join the Foyer Gallery. We need dynamic, self-directed artists who are committed to hands-on operation of a City sponsored, artist-run centre.
The Foyer Gallery is a 600 square foot glassed- in exhibition space devoted to showcasing the art of local juried artists in a variety of media, style, subject matter and technique. Located in the front foyer of the Nepean Sportsplex, the gallery is open six days a week and exposed to annual traffic of 1.1 million visitors. Throughout the year, an exciting schedule of frequently changing exhibitions feature paintings, 3D works, drawings and photographs by local artists.
The Foyer Gallery is a conventional display space typically showing:
- 2D works e.g. Photography, drawings, paintings, fiber art, sculptured plaques, anything that can be hung against a wall. Weight and size may be a limiting factor.
- 3D works, small to medium size, in glass, pottery, metal, mixed media assemblage, etc…
- handmade jewelry
The Gallery cannot display art video, anything requiring electrical connections, or very large scale 2D or 3D works.
Membership Responsibilities and Benefits
As an artist-run gallery, membership responsibilities include:
- A minimum 1-year commitment with annual dues of $100
- Working alone in the gallery 2-3 times per month. Each shift is 3 hours long. You will be trained to work with the public, carry out all the retail procedures such as writing invoices, processing sales using cash or credit, and to represent and promote the gallery for the benefit of all members of FGAA; and,
- Active participation on the Board and/or its committees such as publicity, finance, and exhibitions.
Benefits of being a member of FG include the opportunity to exhibit your artwork in 8 group shows and one focus show (3-5 artists) annually. After one year of membership, you may apply for a solo show.
Copyright
Copyright of artworks shall remain the property of the artist. The Foyer Gallery will seek copyright permission to reproduce the images for non-profit publicity purposes.
Confidentiality of Information
Information provided by the applicant may be available to The Foyer Gallery committees and members of the jury. Personal information contained therein shall be dealt with on a confidential basis pursuant to the Municipal Freedom and Protection Privacy Act.
The Juried Call for Artists Process
The Foyer Gallery is a City of Ottawa exhibition space in a recreation centre attracting the general public and a large number of families with young children. We cannot display works that deal with violence, sexuality or that make political statements. Works of this nature should not be submitted.
The Juried Review Process will involve:
- Stage 1: a review of your artwork and application in accordance with FGAA objectives and call for artists guidelines ;
- Stage 2: a review of submissions by an independent jury of artists; successful applicants will be notified by email, following the jury process.
- Stage 3: an in-person interview with FGAA members of the Board;
- Following Stage 3, successful applicants will be notified by email and will be informed of their orientation schedule. The annual membership fee will be paid at that time.
- New memberships will begin on July 1st 2024 (orientation sessions in July and August and active duties in September 2024)
- Unsuccessful applicants will be provided written feedback from the jurors on request.
Jury Criteria
It is required that submitted artworks be recent and solely your creation. Your work will be evaluated on technical merit, creativity, visual impact, and viewer engagement. Most importantly, the jury will be looking for your unique artistic voice. Your submission should be a consistent and fully developed body of work, i.e. each piece looks like it was done by the same person, although subject matter may vary. Do not submit a variety of styles, media or techniques. That tells the jury that you lack certainty, discipline and artistic development which are the qualities required to be a gallery artist.
Call for Artists Application Checklist
PLEASE NOTE: Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
Your online submission must include:
1. A $35 non-refundable application fee payable by PayPal or eTransfer to treasurer@foyergallery.com (see application form)
2. Ten JPG images (Pc compatible) representing work completed in the last 2 years.
The quality of your images is paramount. The jury will zoom in to see details, such as brushwork, so make the image file large enough to show detail clearly (but less than 2MB). Images must be in sharp focus with good lighting (i.e. no flash photography), or your submission may be disqualified. If you do not have the ability to photograph your work properly, we recommend local photographer Richard Murphy at Photo Service Ottawa https://sites.google.com/view/photoservicesottawa/artwork-reproduction
The images must be 1000 pixels on the longest side and the size of the file may not exceed 2MB.
- Crop your images to exclude any frames or background objects. If your artwork has an irregular border, or is 3D, please ensure the background is absolutely plain.
- Name and resize your images to the requested size BEFORE starting to complete the application form.
- The names of the images must match the file names in your image list (see #3 below). The artwork size in the file name must be in inches.
Please name your images using the following standard pattern and numbering:
01_FirstName_LastName_Artwork Title_Medium_YearCreated _ArtworkSizeHxWxD.jp
(e.g. 01_Jane_Doe_A view from above_acrylic_2019_24x48x2.jpg).
3. A List of Images (Word or PDF format) indicating the image number (coinciding with the image file name number), title, medium, size in inches Height x Width x Depth (frame excluded), support (canvas, paper, etc.), and year of creation. For your convenience, you can find below a template of the required list in Word format that you may download, complete and upload to the application form.
Please use this template, if possible: IMAGE LIST TEMPLATE
4. A one-page Biography including your Artist Statement (Word or PDF format) focused on artistic accomplishments to date (to be uploaded to the online application form). Your Artist statement should be 100 words or less, preferably regarding the images being submitted. Please use a 12 pt font or larger in your file.
(Renée Phillip’s website has many informative articles that you may find helpful: https://renee-phillips.com/)
Application Deadline
Applications will be accepted over the period of May 1st to May 31st 2024.