Call to Artists 2023

Call to All Artists of the Southern Gulf Islands
ARTS ON THE ISLANDS
2023 Regional Exhibition
Deadline for Submissions: February 24, 2023

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 2023 art exhibition will include:

Online Exhibition
The online exhibition will include all submitted artworks and offer participating artists far-reaching exposure April 28-June 30, 2023.
Printed Exhibition Catalogue
Every artist will have one artwork selected by the panel of jurors for inclusion in the exhibition catalogue. Each participating artist will receive a copy of the catalogue and more copies will be available for purchase.
Live Exhibition NEW FOR 2023!
ArtSea Gallery in Sidney will host an exhibition of selected works: April 28-May 11, 2023. Arrangements will be made to assist with transporting artwork between each island and the gallery. An Opening Reception will be scheduled April 29 (time: TBA).
Awards
There will be three Jurors’ Choice awards and three Awards of Excellence. A People’s Choice winner will be selected for the online show and by visitors to the ArtSea Gallery show.
Jurors
A panel of three jurors will review all the artwork, resulting in selections for the printed catalogue, the live exhibition at ArtSea Gallery, and the artist awards. Meet the 2023 panel of jurors.

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.
The Exhibition Fee is $20 for up to three artworks. Artists must also have a 2023 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.
Artwork must have been created in the past three years and were not submitted for the previous Arts on the Islands exhibitions that took place in 2020 and 2021.
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.
We respect intellectual property laws. Artwork must be original and may not make substantive use of another artist's work without their permission. This includes source imagery/photographs used for reference.
There is no maximum size limit for artwork in the online exhibition but for artwork to be considered for the Art Sea Gallery show, it must not exceed 36" x 36" x 36".

FOR ARTISTS WORKING IN 2-D & 3-D
(Paintings, drawings, collage, hand-pulled prints, photography, mixed media, textiles, sculpture, ceramics, etc.):

Artists are required submit:
- one or two digital photographs of each 2D artwork
- two digital photographs of 3-D artwork, showing the work from two sides.
- A brief Artist’s Biography (one paragraph)
- A brief Artist's Statement (one sentence)
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 plain, non-textured background.
Images must be saved as jpg files.
Image attachment types: max 10mb; Audio, Video, PDF: max 25mb

For artists unfamiliar with photographing and preparing their work for online submission, helpful information about photographing your work with a Smartphone can be found here:
Edit photos on iPhone or Android (video) using Snapseed app
Edit Photos on IPhone
One of our members developed this step by step guild to resizing photos for Mac users:
resizing_guide_for_mac_users.pdf
Need more help photographing your work? Please reach out to us for assistance at sgiartscouncil@gmail.com.

General Information

Artworks can be for sale or not.
Artworks sold at Art Sea Gallery or during the online exhibition will be subject to a 20% sales commission to help support expenses and administrative fees.
Artists are responsible for shipping/delivery of any sold artwork.
Artists will be notified of the work that has been selected for the printed catalogue by March 6, 2023 and asked to provide a high-resolution image of their piece. The Committee will let artists know by March 13 if their work will be in the Art Sea Gallery show.
Prize winners will be announced during the Opening Reception for the exhibition at Art Sea Gallery (April 29, 2023)
Submissions will be processed through our ArtCall System. This is a new platform, so even if you have submitted to Arts on the Islands in the past, you will need to register here. Your profile image will be used in the online show, so please no avatars.

Ready to submit?
Submissions must be uploaded before midnight on February 24, 2023

Submissions Open January 20, 2023

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 sgiartscouncil@gmail.com before midnight on February 24, 2023.

The title of the email should be “Arts on the Islands multimedia submission"
The artist’s name, address and contact information must be included in the body of the email.
A brief Artists Biography (no longer than 260 characters) and a one-sentence Artist's Statement must be included in the email
A high-resolutiondigital image suitable for the printed exhibition catalogue must be attached to the email.

Note: Multi-media artists will be responsible for installing their work, including providing necessary video/sound equipment, at the ArtSea Gallery exhibition.

KEY DATES
January 20: submissions open
February 24: (midnight) submissions close
March 6: Jury decisions of what work will be in the catalog will be sent out
March 13: Announcements of works to be included in the Art Sea Gallery show will be sent out
April 17-25: Artists hand off their work to each Island Coordinator for delivery to Art Sea Gallery.
April 28-May 11: Arts on the Island Regional Exhibition at Art Sea Gallery (selected works)
April 29: Opening Reception & Announcement of Awards (TBC)

Questions? Contact sgiartscouncil@gmail.com

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.