Artist Opportunities - scroll down to see all current opportunities for artist members
call for art
Strut
a fashion-forward members' exhibition
Registration Deadline: December 20, 2022
Drop off period: January 3 - 5, 2023 or earlier by appointment (sign up for a drop-off time here)
*Options for drop offs before and between the holidays will be communicated closer to the deadline*
Exhibition run: January 12 - February 12, 2023
Reception: January 13, 2023, 6-9 PM
Pick up period: February 23 - 26, 2023
Strut your stuff at ArtsWorcester this coming January! For this non-juried exhibition, all artist members are invited to exhibit one artwork that engages with fashion, textiles, and style. Prizes will be awarded by theo tyson, Penny Vinik Curator of Fashion Arts at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.
Artworks could be wearable or may involve:
// costume or apparel,
// cultural or historical traditions in clothing,
// fashion and trends,
// gender presentation,
// pattern, structure, and texture.
To make room for all, wall-hanging artworks must not exceed 36” in any direction including frame. Artworks that stand on the floor or on a pedestal are limited to 90” in height and 36” at the widest point.
Current ArtsWorcester membership is required for all artists at the time of registration. There is no geographic restriction on membership, but artists (or their proxy) must deliver and pick up all artwork.
This is a non-juried, open members’ exhibition. Each artist member may register one work, and all registrations must be made online. All media are welcome, including but not limited to fine craft, painting, photography, sculpture, digital, and video.
Have a question about the call, or want to share what you’re thinking of submitting? Email alice@artsworcester.org or call the gallery at 508-755-5142.
ArtsWorcester exhibitions are sustained in part by the generous support of the C. Jean and Myles McDonough Charitable Foundation.
Ongoing support comes from Mass Cultural Council.
///// (images left to right) Mikayla Williams, Okay, and!?, digital media, 10" x 10", 2022
Linda Dagnello, Party of One, oil on canvas, 18" x 18", 2021
Stevie Leigh, Weave Me (Into Yr Sin), upcycled denim, upcyled metal buttons, 24" x 27" x 2", 2019
call for art
The Nineteenth Annual College Show
a juried, in-person exhibition
Submission Deadline: December 20, 2022
Notifications: by January 11, 2023
Drop off: January 26 - January 29, 2023, or earlier by appointment
Exhibition Dates: February 9 - April 8, 2023
Opening Reception: February 10, 2023, 6-9 PM
After two years of virtual exhibitions, ArtsWorcester’s College Show returns in-person! The Nineteenth Annual College Show is a juried exhibition open to all undergraduate college students studying or residing in Massachusetts, in any major. The deadline to submit is December 20 at midnight. Notifications will be made by January 11, 2023.
The College Show has no theme. Bring us your favorite piece from your art class or your personal artistic practice, or show off your latest experiment. You do not need to be an art student or in an art class to submit.
Students may submit a maximum of three pieces for consideration, and must complete a separate form for each piece. When submitting more than one piece, please return to the original link to make additional submissions.
Submission is free to students of our institutional partners: Anna Maria College, Assumption University, Clark University, College of the Holy Cross, and Worcester State University. There is a nonrefundable $5 submission fee per submission for students of any other school.
This is a juried exhibition, meaning that the juror will consider all eligible submissions and select certain artworks to be shown at ArtsWorcester. All media are welcome, including but not limited to fine craft, painting, photography, sculpture, digital, and video. Have a question about the call, or want to share what you’re thinking of submitting? Email alice@artsworcester.org or call the gallery at 508-755-5142.
Cash prizes will be awarded and announced at the opening reception. This year’s juror is Ellie Krakow, Assistant Professor of Art and Mazmanian Gallery Director, Framingham State University. Learn more about the juror here.
Students enrolled at Anna Maria, Assumption University, Clark University, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester State University, and QCC: Submit here!
All other MA students: Submit here!
ArtsWorcester exhibitions are sustained in part by the generous support of the C. Jean and Myles McDonough Charitable Foundation.
Ongoing support comes from Mass Cultural Council.
///// Wynne Dromey (Clark University, 2025, Studio Art and Business), Place of Repose, acrylic paint and mixed medium on canvas (recycled paper, food wrappers, trash, etc.), 11" x 14", 2021. Prize winner, The Eighteenth ArtsWorcester College Show, 2021.
call for art
Impact
a members' exhibition in partnership with the Fitchburg Art Museum
Registration Deadline: February 8, 2023
Drop off period: February 16 - 19, 2023 (sign up for a drop-off time here)
Exhibition run: February 25 - April 8, 2023
Reception: March 3, 2023, 6-9 PM
Pick up period: April 13 - 16, 2023
For the eleventh annual Call and Response exhibition, ArtsWorcester and the Fitchburg Art Museum invite artist members to bring one artwork that explores any way humanity and nature impact one another.
The natural world has always inspired artists with its beauty, power, and the raw materials it offers for art-making. Today, in the face of our climate crisis, many artists bear witness to and represent environmental changes in their work–even as others draw from the beautiful ways humans have shaped and utilized the earth.
Artist members are asked to consider humanity’s complex relationship with our environment, along with one (or more) of ten artworks on loan from the Fitchburg Art Museum. These ten artworks explore a range of impacts on the natural world in their themes, subject matter, and materials. View the loan here.
The Fitchburg Art Museum’s curatorial staff will select ten works from Impact by ArtsWorcester artist members to be exhibited at FAM with the loaned works.
Submitted artworks must correlate in some way to 1-3 artworks from the FAM loan. You will be asked to identify the work(s) that inspired your piece when submitting. All media are welcome, including but not limited to fine craft, painting, photography, sculpture, digital, and video.
To make room for all, wall-hanging artworks must not exceed 36” in any direction including frame. Artworks that stand on the floor or on a pedestal are limited to 90” in height and 36” at the widest point.
Current ArtsWorcester membership is required for all artists at the time of registration. There is no geographic restriction on membership, but artists (or their proxy) must deliver and pick up all artwork.
Have a question about the call, or want to share what you’re thinking of submitting? Email alice@artsworcester.org or call the gallery at 508-755-5142.
We thank our friends and partners at the Fitchburg Art Museum for sharing their collection so generously with our artists.
ArtsWorcester exhibitions are sustained in part by the generous support of the C. Jean and Myles McDonough Charitable Foundation.
Ongoing support comes from Mass Cultural Council.
///// Evelyn Rydz (American, b.1979) Gulf Pile, colored pencil and graphite, 2012, 11 ¾” x 16 ¾”, 2013.24. Image courtesy of the Fitchburg Art Museum.
call for proposals
Material Needs Grants 2023-2024
open to artist members in Worcester County
Timeline:
Tuesday, November 29, 2022: Applications open
Tuesday, January 31, 2023: Deadline for proposals, 11:59 PM
Late February, 2023: Notifications
Fall, 2024: Material Needs Grant Exhibition
Click here for an informational packet about the Material Needs Grant.
| Submit your proposal here |
Grant Details
Material Needs Grants, funded by an anonymous donor, support the expenses of supplies and materials for the creation of new art in Worcester County. With this gift, ArtsWorcester is able to distribute grants to local artists between $500 and $1,500. Artists who receive the Material Needs Grant in 2023 will exhibit their work in a group show at ArtsWorcester in 2024.
All eligible proposals are reviewed by a committee of three individuals with experience in the arts. This year’s Material Needs Grants will be awarded by: Jennessa Burks, artist, educator, and activist; Eric Nichols, Assistant Professor, Worcester State University; and Kristina Wilson, Professor of Art History, Clark University.
Proposals are considered for their novelty, innovation, potential impact (on the viewer, your career, and on other artists in the area), and feasibility (can you do it, and can you do it in one calendar year?).
Eligibility
You must have been an artist member of ArtsWorcester for at least one calendar year prior to applying for a Material Needs Grant, and you must reside in Worcester County. We regret that members residing outside of Worcester County are not eligible.
If you have previously received a Material Needs Grant, you must wait three years from the previous application date before applying again.
If you are unsure of your eligibility, contact alice@artsworcester.org.
Expenses Covered
These grants are restricted to expenses for the supplies, materials, and equipment (purchased or rented) needed to make new art. Proposals for any and all kinds of visual art are welcome, including but not limited to painting, photography, fiber, ceramics, sculpture, video, and digital artwork.
Examples of expenses not covered would be studio rental, framing, publicity and promotional costs, insurance or transportation of artwork.
| Submit your proposal here |
You will receive a confirmation email once your submission has been made. If you do not see this email, please contact the gallery to confirm receipt of your submission: alice@artsworcester.org or (508) 755-5142.
Good luck!
Ongoing support comes from Mass Cultural Council.
///// (images clockwise from left) Jennifer Davis Carey, Kente Weavers, vitreous enamel on copper, 14" x 11", 2021; Lisa Foster, Lucy Stone on Yellow, reproduction quilting fabrics and acrylic on canvas, 24" x 30", 2022; Caitlyn Marsh, Broken Ring of Inclination, stoneware, cone 6 oxidation, resist, 11" x 13" x 8", 2021. Three of nine funded artists in the 2021-2022 Material Needs cohort.
Online availability of professional development resources for artists has exploded in the last few years. Our Artists' Resource Page is a curated guide to the best free advice and training available, with a specific eye to the needs of emerging artists.
For larger, more strategic questions that artists members have as their careers advance, Artists' Roundtable events will provide opportunities to hear from practitioners, experts, and fellow members, and to get answers to individual questions.
most recent:
Approaching Galleries
Saturday, May 21, 2022, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
ArtsWorcester, 44 Portland Street
(Registration closed)
Gallery representation is a goal for many artists, but one clouded by mystery and intimidation. Three experienced gallerists familiar with ArtsWorcester will break down the benefits of gallery representation, how to identify the right galleries for your work, and what you need to approach them. This is an open discussion about galleries; it is not a portfolio review.
We will hear from:
Arlette Kayafas, Gallery Kayafas, Boston, MA
Kate Rasche, George Marshall Store Gallery, York, ME
Tamar Russell Brown, Gallery Sitka, Shirley, MA
and leave lots of time for your questions. Then we’ll adjourn to the galleries for refreshments and more conversation.
Artists' Roundtables are free to current ArtsWorcester members, but may be limited in number of participants. If you have questions about your membership status, please call the gallery at 508-755-5142.
We thank the Melvin S. Cutler Charitable Foundation for for their support of artists' professional development.
call for proposals
Member-Curated Exhibitions
Rolling deadline
ArtsWorcester invites proposals for Member-Curated Exhibitions. Proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis. Member-Curated shows offer experienced artists an opportunity for artists to use their curatorial skills and gain independent, hands-on experience producing an exhibition. Located in ArtsWorcester’s Central Corridor, these shows include at least 3-4 artist members’ work, chosen by one curator. The curator may include their own artwork in the proposal.
Curators are responsible for communicating with participating artists, collecting, delivering, and retrieving artwork, providing an exhibition statement, and installing the exhibition in the Central Corridor. ArtsWorcester staff will be available for input on layout and to train the curator on the Arakawa hanging system.
Successful proposals should clearly state a curatorial vision for the space and the artists to be included. Curators should have experience working with ArtsWorcester and must demonstrate 6 their capacity to fulfill this leadership role. Proposals are welcome on a rolling basis, and will be evaluated by ArtsWorcester staff and volunteers.
All work must be wall-hanging and may not extend more than 12” from the wall. Artworks are hung on a secured Arakawa hanging system (track and wire) and D-rings. This space cannot accommodate free-standing or pedestal artwork. Further questions about what type of artwork is feasible in this space may be directed to alice@artsworcester.org.