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Call to All Artists of the Southern Gulf Islands
ARTS ON THE ISLANDS ​
​2021 Regional Exhibition
​Deadline for Submissions: May 21, 2021

The Southern Gulf Islands Arts Council invites artists from the island communities of Galiano, Mayne, Pender and Saturna to join in a multi-faceted exhibition that will enhance the profile of participating artists while bringing together the region’s creative talent. This inclusive exhibition welcomes emerging and establish artists to showcase their work and, in doing so, celebrate the culture and creativity of these captivating islands. 

This year's Arts on the Islands 2021 art exhbition will include:
  • An online exhibition of all submitted artworks
    The online exhibition will be available for one year and offer participating artists long-term, far-reaching exposure.
  • A printed catalogue of selected artworks
    Every artist will have one artwork selected by a panel of jurors for inclusion in the catalogue. Each participating artist will receive a complimentary copy of the catalogue and more copies will be available for purchase.
  • Awards and prizes
    A panel of three jurors will review the artwork, resulting in three Jurors’ Choice awards and three Awards of Excellence. A People’s Choice winner will be selected by visitors to the online show. Click here to meet the 2021 panel of jurors.
  • A live exhibition next year
    Due to ongoing Covid-19 concerns, the organizers are looking forward to being able to host a live Arts on the Islands exhibition in 2022. That exhibition will feature 2022 submissions as well as selected works from 2020 and 2021.
  • Performance Showcase
    In addition to an online art exhibition, this year Arts on the Islands will feature a showcase of performers. For details, visit our Call to Performers.
The exhibition is being spearheaded by the Mayne Island Branch of the Southern Gulf Islands Arts Council (Arts on Mayne). Technical support for the online submission process and exhibition is being provided by the Federation of Canadian Artists.

Who can participate
  • Artists at all stages of their development are encouraged to participate, from emerging artists to established professionals.
  • Participating artists must live, full-time or part-time, in the Southern Gulf Island communities of Galiano, Mayne, Pender or Saturna and be age 19 and older.
  • There is no fee to participate but artists must have a 2021 membership with the Southern Gulf Islands Arts Council ($20/year). Memberships are available online at www.artsontheislands.org/join.html.

​Types of Artwork
Eligible art forms include:
  • 2-D work: drawing, painting, mixed media, printmaking, photography, digital paintings, etc. 
  • 3-D work: sculpture, ceramics, textiles, etc. (installation artworks are not eligible for inclusion).
  • Multi-media: video and soundscapes
Artists are encouraged to submit at least two pieces and may submit up to three pieces. All work will be included in the online exhibition; one work per artist will be included in the printed catalogue.
  • Artwork must have been created in the past three years and not submitted for last year's Arts on the Islands exhibition.
  • All work must be suitable for viewing by all ages. The organizers reserve the right to exclude work that is deemed inappropriate for the setting and audience.
  • Artwork must be original and may not make substantive use of another artist's work without their permission. 
FOR ARTISTS WORKING IN 2-D & 3-D
(Paintings, drawings, collage, hand-pulled prints, photography, mixed media, textiles, sculpture, ceramics, etc.):

Arts on the Islands is using the online platform hosted by the Federation of Canadian Artists. The submission process is not difficult and support can be provided by contacting [email protected].  
  • Artists may submit only one image of each artwork.
  • ​Photographs of 2D work should be cropped to exclude framing (if it has been framed under glass, glass should be removed before photographing). 
  • 3D work should be well lit and photographed with a neutral background.
  • Images must be saved as jpg files. 
  • Minimum pixels are 1,500 on the longest dimension (width or height), 2,000 pixels are recommended.
  • Maximum file size is 24MB.
For artists unfamiliar with photographing and preparing their work for online submission, information can be found on the Federation of Canadan Artists website:
https://artists.ca/member_resources/information_for_artists/image_requirements_and_photographing_your_work
​Helpful information about photographing your work with a Smartphone can be found here:
Edit photos and video on iPhone or Android (pdf file)
One of our members developed this step by step guild to resizing photos for Mac users:
resizing_guide_for_mac_users.pdf

General information:
  • Artworks can be available for sale or not.
  • The online purchase period will conclude on August 31, 2021. The show will remain online for viewing until June 30, 2022. 
  • Artworks sold through the online exhibition during the purchase period will be subject to a 27.5% commission (17.5% to the Federation of Canadian Artists and 10% to the Southern Gulf Island Arts Council) to help support expenses and administrative fees.
  • Artists are responsible for shipping/delivery of any sold artwork.
  • One work per artist will be selected for the Exhibition Catalogue. Artists will be notified of the work selected by May 27, 2021 and asked for a high-resolution image of their piece plus a brief written artist’s statement and biography (up to 100 words each.
  • Prize winners will be announced on July 1, 2021.
Ready to submit?
Submissions must be uploaded before midnight on May 21st, 2021.
FOR ARTISTS WORKING IN MULTIMEDIA
​Work should be presented in digitized video format. ​Multi-media artists should upload their submissions to a platform such as Vimeo or Youtube and provide the link by email to [email protected] before midnight on May 21, 2021.
  • ​The title of the email should be “Arts on the Islands multimedia submission"
  • The artist’s name, address and contact information should be included in the body of the email.​
Note that the exhibition catalogue will include mutlimedia artists’ bios and statements, still images representing each artist’s work, and a link to view the works online.
​Questions? Contact [email protected]
To view last year's Arts on the Islands exhibition, click here.

​Copyright notice: The Southern Gulf Islands Arts Council respects every artist’s rights to protect their original work. Therefore we observe copyright laws. Artwork submitted for exhibition that makes substantive use, in whole or in part, of the artwork of another artist will not be accepted unless express permission in writing is granted by the original creator or the reference material is within the public domain. Reference material includes but is not limited to photographs, digital images, book or printed material.​