Submission Form Guidelines & Project Information 2015 Background Cheshire Open Studios is an exciting and successful event that has taken place annually for seventeen years. Over the years the event includes between 40 - 80 Cheshire based artists and craft makers opening their studios as individuals or ingroups, over a series of weekends and coming together for a yearly exhibition. In 2015 Cheshire Open Studios celebrates its 18th birthday in September 2015 and is one of the major events in the region's art calendar. This initiative is designed to support professional & semi-professional artists, craft makers and artisans who often work in isolation; enabling networking and mutual support and an opportunity to engage with their audiences whilst also raising awareness of the artists and the artistic community in Cheshire. The event attracts visitors locally, regionally, nationally & internationally and is visited by people of all ages. The project attempts to address the lack of contemporary galleries for local artists within Cheshire by helping to promote local artists in their own spaces and encouraging new opportunities for residencies, commissions, selling, exhibiting and teaching. Participants benefit from a boost to their profile through high quality publicity including a brochure or printed publications, website and social media networking. “Open Studio and Art Trail events have become increasingly important to artists who wish to raise their profile and gain valuable feedback from their visitors.” (Dorset Art Weeks) We would be pleased to see more participation by experimental, conceptual or emerging artists and recent graduates. There is no selection process for participants of Cheshire Open Studios however you must be a professional or semi-professional artist, craftsperson or artisan. Cheshire Open Studios is a self-funding, not-for-profit, voluntary artist led project, run by a voluntary steering group and project coordinator. As of 2012 the Project Coordinator is Midge whom you can contact on 07808944550 or email info@cheshireopentstudios.org.uk. PLEASE ENSURE YOU READ ALL THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT BEFORE APPLYING ALSO NOTE THERE ARE A FEW CHANGES FOR THIS YEAR! If you require a large print version of this application please contact Midge on 07808944550 Mon-Fri 10 am to 4pm or email info@cheshireopenstudios.org.uk 1 Main Points for 2015 Here are some of the main changes for this year. More information about each is provided in the remainder of this document. 1. Open Studios days will be between 10th – 18th OCTOBER 2015. 2. Open Exhibition – 9th – 18th October. Entry is open to all artists whether participating in the open studios event or not. Both Open Studio Artists & Exhibition Only entries are included for the exhibition. Both the Exhibition Entry & Artist Application forms must be completed and returned by all participating artists. “Exhibition only” Artists may be subject to selection by the gallery or steering group. Acceptance of work from all artists may also be subject to gallery selection process however every effort is made to ensure all open studio artists are represented in the exhibition. 3. Entry deadline date i.e. 15th September by email, 21st September for postal entries. 4. Open Studio membership levels are reduced to two main levels i.e. "Open Studio Artist" or "Exhibition only". Group entries continue to be supported with standard & premium open studio memberships. Open Studio Artist entry is also open to any artist whom can open or share a studio in Cheshire e.g. guest artists from outside the region are welcome to participate provided the studio space they will be using during the event is based in Cheshire (please see Essential Requirements section in this document). 5. Please note new address for postal applications should now go to Cheshire Open Studios, c/o River View, Leighs Brow, Barnton, Northwich, CW8 4HT. 6. There will be no brochure for distribution for this year only i.e. will be advertised using leaflets & posters which will be provided prior to and during the exhibition opening. 7. Last year we managed to offer some prizes for exhibitors e.g. Gallery Choice Award, Mayors Choice Award, Steering Group Choice Award, Visitor’s Choice Award etc. We are hoping to be able to do the same again this year with the added support from some sponsors. It is early days yet for us to confirm exactly what these prizes will be but we will keep you updated nearer the exhibition date. 8. Submission and Entry Deadline: Midnight Tuesday on 15th September 2015 by email, 21st September for postal entries. 2 Artist Participation / Membership fees For 2015 we have two main membership levels i.e. Open Studio Artists & Exhibition Only. Open Studios Artists are those that will open their studios to the public, Exhibition Only are those that only want to participate in the open annual exhibition. Exhibition Only: £10 per work – max of 2 works (individual artist only) This buys you entry of work subject to selection into the exhibition, a listing in the leaflet and website that will include the following information: Up to 3 images on the website with short artist bio Name of individual, contact telephone number, e-mail address & website link. Open Studios Artist - Standard Membership: £10 per work – max of 2 works per artist + £5 open studio entry fee Suitable for: Individual artist or small group of up to 3 This buys you automatic entry into the exhibition, 1 space in the leaflet including: 1 listing in the leaflet/brochure Up to 3 or more images (6 max) for the website with name of individual or group & short description Contact telephone number, e-mail address, website/social media link & address and directions of studio with Google interactive mapping. Open Studios Artist - Group Membership: £10 per work – max of 2 works per artist + £10 open studio entry fee Suitable for: Groups > 3 This buys you automatic entry into the exhibition, 1 space in the leaflet including: 1 listing in the leaflet/brochure Up to 6 or more images (9 max) for the group as a whole or 3 images per group member for the website with name of each group member & short description for each artist or for the group as a whole Contact telephone number, e-mail address, website/social media link for each group member & address and directions of studio with Google interactive mapping for the group as a whole. Please note: GROUP studios applying for membership please note that only 1 contact phone number and e-mail address will appear in print as the main contact for the group. Each artist within a group can have their own space/profile on the website with at least 3 or more images each which are to be emailed to info@cheshireopenstudios.org.uk with their application entry form. Please ensure completion of the additional artist information sheet at the end of the application form for each artist in the group providing all relevant information & images clearly labelled to go onto the website. PLEASE NOTE: All images sent with your application must be good quality JPEG files (i.e. 300 dpi or better). Please do not send images embedded in WORD or PDF documents as this adds to our workload and in some case provides poor quality images for publication & website usage. It is preferred that all images are emailed as attachments either individually or in a zip file. 3 Essential Requirements If you would like to participate as an Open Studio Artist the criteria is as follows. YOU MUST: be a practising professional or semi-professional contemporary artist or craft maker / artisan making original works, not solely a commercial outlet (i.e. not a gift shop, commercial gallery or an amateur artist). For 2015 applications are also open to local community galleries (supporting local artists) or studio spaces within commercial outlets. Your studio that will be open to the public must be within the ceremonial county of Cheshire i.e. Cheshire East, West & Chester, Halton (Runcorn) or Warrington. See map below or for further clarification of boundaries please see this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire. 1. Cheshire West and Chester (Unitary) 2. Cheshire East (Unitary) 3. Warrington (Unitary) 4. Halton (Unitary) attend meetings (roughly one or two main meetings will be held during the project) and play an active role in making sure that the entire event is publicised in your local area. (Leafleting houses, shops, businesses etc using leaflets, posters, brochures that will be distributed to artists prior to the main event). have public liability insurance during the period your studio is open to the public (explained in the additional notes section). Submit a minimum of one or more (i.e. as requested in the exhibition entry form) pieces of work to the exhibition / event be present at your workspace and available in person to the public on your advertised open days between the stated opening hours: 10am – 5pm be prepared to welcome and interact with members of the public who visit your studio, talk about your work and answer questions. 4 have examples of work in your studio for visitors to view. Your open days can be a great marketing and selling opportunity (but you are under no obligation to sell). have the tools of your trade available to view in your studio, e.g. clay, printing press, sketchbook, test pieces, work in progress etc. be based in an accessible studio/workspace suitable for public visits. have (or be willing to share) a studio/workspace within the districts of Cheshire. pay a participation fee as explained above to take part in the project (fee explained in additional notes section). This must be paid along with your application entry. Open Studio Artists that are recent graduates (i.e. since 2011) are exempt from the open studio entry fee but not the exhibition entry fee. complete and return risk assessment when requested for your studio before your open weekends and take necessary action as indicated on the assessment. A Checklist will be issued at a later date prior to your opening dates. complete and return the provided artists’ & visitor feedback questionnaires at the end of the event within one month for evaluation purposes. Information about feedback forms will be provided at a later date. Project Dates COS will take place over 2 weekends depending on artist availability. Open Studio Artists studios will be grouped geographically when listed in the leaflet/brochure and must open for 1 compulsory weekend and on the dates you specify on your application form. Artists can open their studios for additional days and if you would like to be open on other days during the event week (i.e. can be open additional days). This opportunity is detailed on the submission form. These dates will be advertised, so you will have to be open if you have agreed to be. There is no Christmas date planned for this year. However if you would like to open your studio in the run up to Christmas just let us know the dates by entering them onto the form and we can add them to the website for you. 5 EVENT SCHEDULE EVENT Submission Deadline DATES All entries to be received by midnight on Tuesday 15th September 2015 by email or 21st September by post First draft for review by artists – 23rd September 2015 Leaflet schedule Final proof signed off 25th September Delivery to Cheshire Open Studios – 30th September (tbc) Distribution to artists to commence on or after 30th September (tbc) Handing in Days 7 & 8th October Venue: Charles Roe House, Macclesfield Exhibition / Event(s) Dates: 9th to 18th October Arrangements can be made for those that are unable to make handing in/collection dates if agreed with the organisers beforehand. Please state this on the exhibition form. Open studios weekends: 10 & 11 October 2015 17 & 18 October 2015 The project could run over 2 weekends depending upon the availability of those wishing to participate Open Extra days: Additional dates between 11 – 17th October are also available for artists to open their studios or a Christmas opening is permitted (please clearly specify which dates on application entry form) On the application form please also indicate if you can open more than one weekend to aid groupings by location. Artists participating in the open studios MUST submit at least one piece of work for the exhibition to ensure you are represented with the group as a whole. Work submitted for the exhibition will have to remain at the venue during the whole exhibition i.e. cannot be removed until the exhibition ends. If you are away during the exhibition dates arrangements should/could be made with other artists in your area or the Project Coordinator or Exhibition Curator to deliver/collect your work for the exhibition. Such arrangements can and should be indicated on the application form. 6 Submission and Deadline: Midnight, Tuesday 15th September 2015 via email & 21st September for postal entries only Artist Checklist - Please enclose with your application: Completed ‘Submission Form’ & images 6 (individual) to 9 images (for large groups at least one picture per artist must be submitted) – preferably jpegs, prints, or photos of recent work that you would be happy to be used in the event publicity. If you have participated in previous years since 2012 and have provided 3 or more images previously then at least 1-3 new images are needed. Old images can be replaced or removed by email request. Images of all work for the exhibition & website MUST be clearly labelled and named to match the title of the work along with the artist name. stamped self-addressed envelope if you would like your images returned (if sending by post) cheque for exhibition & open studio entry fees made out to ‘Cheshire Open Studios’ for the total participation fee (i.e. including exhibition & open studio entry fee if applicable) Proof (copy) of your public liability insurance If all of the above items are not included, your application will not be processed and you will not be permitted to participate. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Midge by email at the email below. Send your submission to: info@cheshireopenstudios.org.uk or post to Cheshire Open Studios, c/o River View, Leighs Brow, Barnton, Northwich, CW8 4HT. Any questions please email or telephone: Midge on 07808944550( 10am to 5pm Mon to Fri only) 7 Important Notes for Participants Notes and General Information (please ensure that you read all of this section) The overall contribution of artists (that have participated previously) to the project will be taken into account when the next years applications are made. If artists do not fulfil their obligations, as detailed in the essential requirements, this could affect acceptance of future submissions. Please type or write clearly as information on the submission form will be collated and sent directly to the printers & website designer. Each artist or art group wishing to participate should complete a submission form including additional artist information sheets for each artist in the group, providing all the necessary information requested and to be included in printed publications & website. Cheshire Open Studios takes no responsibility for missing or incomplete information – we are solely dependent on the information you provide to be correct and complete during the submission & printed publications review process before it goes to final print. Digital Submission Cheshire Open Studios would be very pleased to accept digital submissions with the form and images on CD or email as this saves the project time and money! Contact details Artists’ full studio address and telephone number will be printed in the brochure and on the website as they are designed to be helpful guides for visitors. If you wish to participate you will need to be happy to have your contact details published publicly. If for any reason you wish certain details not to be published please state this on your application form and provide suitable alternatives where information is mandatory. Images Photographs/digital prints will be returned, but will be needed for some weeks for publicity purposes. Please write your name on all images/jpegs/cds and rename electronic image files to match the name given in the submission form. All images used will be credited on publicity. If you are sending jpegs they should be 300dpi (We would prefer to have high quality jpegs / tiffs if possible, as this saves us scanning costs and time.) Some of the images you send will be used in printed publications and on the website – please send images you would like to represent your work. We will not remove defects from an image however may adjust images to improve display quality if necessary. If it is not sharp or the print quality is poor it will not reproduce or display well when printed and on the website. Studio Location & Description Examples of location and description: Upstairs room, with kiln and workbench, test pieces and finished work on show. Temporary share with another participating artist in hall, sketch books, photos, paints, work in progress and finished pieces displayed. 8 Not everybody who wishes to take part has a suitable studio space. Your studio space can be a temporary one, but it must be set up as a studio (not just an exhibition) with the ‘tools of your trade’ to hand. If you would be happy to have another artist share your studio, or you are an artist in need of suitable studio space please fill the relevant section on the form. We will do our best to match up those who need space with those who have it, but may not be possible to fulfil all requests. Artists and artist groups can only be advertised as being open from one venue. Disabled access Please clearly state whether your studio would be accessible to people with a disability (i.e. wheelchair access) and whether you would personally be able to accommodate anyone with a disability. We recommend disabled visitors phone you before visiting. Please note that disabled access is not a criterion for participation. For wheelchair access it is recommended that the unobstructed opening width of exterior doors is 800mm wide and an internal door is 750mm. Door widths less than this may prove difficult to access. Workshops/Talks/Demonstrations A symbol can be put in the project publicity to show that you can do workshops, talks and or demonstrations. Some artists have been approached by schools and groups after the event to run workshops, demonstrations etc – so this can be a useful advert. As we now manage our own website that is a Wordpress blog it is possible to register and add details of your own workshops for free. Alternatively you can email us at info@cheshireopenstudios.org.uk with relevant information to be placed on the website. Contact Midge for more details. Appointments If you would be happy to be contacted by visitors throughout the year by appointment please tick the relevant box. We will put a symbol in the publicity to show this. Artist statements Be aware that statements need to be helpful to the general public they are not for an art gallery brochure. Statements should be clear and easily understood by the non-arts community. Describe the main influences for your work and your techniques. Statements may be edited to fit into printed publications. Statements for the website has no limitation however to keep it concise you can send us up to an A4 page of text or use the Artist Additional Information form at the end of the submission form. For groups please complete one Artist Additional Information form for each artist in your group. You are also encouraged to submit an image of your studio, you working in your studio or a profile picture to be used on the website via email. Please send these images separately as email attachments i.e not embedded in Word or PDF documents. Please see our website for examples of artist or group profiles at www.cheshireopenstudios.org.uk. 9 Opening your studio Public perception of the project is very important to its continuation and growth. If your studio is advertised as open it MUST be open on the dates allocated to you. Please check the dates that you are available to open your studio in person. If there is a weekend that you cannot open please note this in the space provided and only circle additional dates if you are sure you can be there in person. It is recommended that you select more than one weekend that you will be willing to open as this will make the weekend groupings by location easier. Studio Directions Good directions to your studio are essential. Please keep them brief (about 25 words) and include at least one main road name/number. Be aware that people will be using your directions with a road map and could be approaching from any direction. Also visitors may not be familiar with your area. Instructions using local landmarks can be a great help to direct people from major roads. If in doubt check possible routes using Google maps. Please state any parking restrictions if they apply. Public liability The project requires that Open studios participants have public liability insurance for the period of time their studio is open to the value of £2 million or more. All artists including those exhibiting only will need to ensure their work is fully insured to its full value for the exhibition. If you have your own insurance please photocopy or scan your insurance certificate and send it in with your application form. If you don't have your own public liability insurance you will need to obtain your own. No group insurance will be provided this year. Many of our artists subscribe to: a) SAA at http://www.saa.co.uk/support/insurance.php b) A-N at: http://www.a-n.co.uk/air/article/460147/437352 If you take up A-N membership especially to participate please let us know. If you do several events/workshops a year it is well worth subscribing to one of these. If part of a group working together or you may or may not be covered, please check your existing insurance policies otherwise group insurance could be obtained via SAA or Zurich. If you have any questions relating to this matter please contact us. Collective Responsibility Without a considerable amount of voluntary work done by Cheshire Open Studios participants each year there would be no project. All participants are expected to help to distribute the printed materials e.g. leaflets & brochures and assist in publicising the project locally, online and on social media networks. The more artists that publicised the event in their area the better the footfall to the event as a whole! 10 Artists are also required to help in other ways (e.g. Exhibition, advertising & promoting online etc) and your participation is very much needed in order for the project to be a successful one! Volunteering can give artists the chance to make friends, network and work cooperatively with like-minded people. The steering group does a lot of voluntary work behind the scenes to ensure the smooth running of the project. They meet every 6-8 weeks or so to discuss various matters as they arise e.g. reviewing marketing & media design, making financial decisions, developing new ideas & related events, future planning and coordinating publicity, marketing & advertising. If you would be interested in either becoming a steering group member, a weekend group coordinator or assisting with other tasks, i.e. Helping with the exhibition, delivering brochures/leaflets/posters, organising group meetings, helping with mailshots, providing publicity or online marketing support please tick the relevant boxes on the application form. Please let us know if you have relevant experience or useful contacts in a particular area. For more information on vacant roles at the end of this document. Membership Fees Is this value for money? Considering the cost of advertising many artists have stated that COS has been great value for money and have more often than not recovered well above this cost by taking part in the event. On average in previous years, individual artists have made between £300 £8000 in sales, commissions & workshops during their open weekends which is an extremely good return on investment! Your membership fee is a valuable contribution of which 100% goes towards funding the event and your promotion as an artist e.g. Your own section in 15,000 leaflets/brochures that will be distributed throughout Cheshire & the UK and your advertisement on our website, Facebook and Twitter pages which help promote you worldwide throughout the year and beyond. COS is a not for profit organisation run by volunteers so primarily the majority of fees collected contribute towards the funding and running of the project and promoting the event to benefit all of its participants each year. This is a non-refundable fee. We hope it will show a commitment on behalf of the artists to take part wholeheartedly in the project and deter artists from withdrawing from the project once publicity material has been produced. Those who graduated from a full 2 or 3 year art / design course (degree/HND etc) from 2010 onwards will benefit from a reduction in their entry fees. Your participation fee must be sent with your application. 11 Figuring out what to pay £10 per exhibition entry per work + Artist Open Studios Membership fee + Standard membership £5 (individual or small group up to 3) or + Premium membership £10 (more than 3) For example: Open Studios Artist: Individual entering 2 works = £25 Open Studios Artists: Group of 3 entering just one work each = £35 Open Studios Artists: Group > 3 (e.g. 4) entering just one work each = £50 Those participating in the Exhibition must pay the full fee for all works being entered with their application i.e. £10 for one work, £20 for two etc Exhibition Any exhibition venue booked may have its own selection procedure. We would however request that each artist that is participating in the open studios event is represented in the exhibition. Thus at least one piece of work per artist must be submitted … so time to get creating! If we have space for more we will notify you accordingly. Please read the next section ‘General Conditions of Exhibiting’. A further T&C for the gallery has been issued along with the exhibition entry form which also needs to be read. Selection Although there is no selection for open studio artists to participate, work may still be declined if the work is considered offensive or obligations have not been fulfilled as participants in previous years (as detailed in ‘essential requirements’). Due to the exhibition being open to all Cheshire based artists this year participation in the exhibition may be subject to selection for “exhibition only” artists by the COS steering group & exhibition venue. 12 General Conditions of Exhibiting Please read the attached "Conditions for Exhibiting" guidelines & Exhibition entry form for full details. PLEASE NOTE: It is recommended that all work submitted for the exhibition is removed from online catalogues & websites to avoid conflict of sales and untimely removal of work from the exhibition. If work is sold via another source during the exhibition it cannot be removed until the exhibition is finished. Additional Promotions for 2015 - Marketing Materials & Events For this year we will continue testing the water with additional promotional events and looking at building resources for better marketing & advertising in the future along with fun events in the various local areas to promote COS and improve accessibility to the studios. Hence for this year we would encourage some of the following: a) Organise a car share scheme. b) Artists sharing/using spaces or holding open studio weekends in local community galleries, pop up or other gallery / art spaces c) We may have an opportunity for artists to share a space in mid-Cheshire during the event week for an additional small contribution/fee. Please indicate if you would like to consider any of these options or require to share a space on your application form. If you are interested in participating or helping out with any of these please indicate this as appropriate on the submission form. We will contact you after we have collated all the applications to discuss details and make the necessary arrangements. 13 Quotes from past participants ‘The interest in the process of etching and how it came about was great and the sales were good!’ 'It [COS] has given me new confidence in my work, and it was lovely to receive compliments!' ‘despite not making direct sales it is still worth participating as it reminds people of my existence. Raising awareness leads to future commissions’ ‘brochure well designed, people keep them, was approached last week by a gallery person using last years brochure, I've been approached by galleries and individuals who have found me via the website’ 'I do think viewing work in a domestic environment reinforces the notion that art isn't just for museums or galleries but part of every day life. We had loads of people attending......many of whom commented that they didn't go to contemporary art venues, because 'they're not for us'. 'Open Studios was a super experience and I met some fab people, students, children and feel they got a lot out of their visit. I know I did.' 'It was interesting to meet people and to hear their views and watch their reactions, very valuable feedback indeed.' '...my first year was very successful, mainly because I shared a venue..' 'I thought it was great this year. It reminded me of why I do what I do!' ‘great catching up with people.’ ‘This was my first event and whilst I was wound up like a coiled spring beforehand I really enjoyed it.’ ‘it was a really satisfying event’ Many thanks for all the hard work of the artists who volunteer each year to be on the steering group and the promotional work done by all of the artists who participate. Thanks also to Cheshire East, West and Chester councils for the assistance & support provided by them. 14 Project Coordinator, Steering Group & other roles for 2014 Benefits of being a Steering Group member include: a) Gaining a behind the scenes experience of running a regional/countywide annual art event b) An opportunity to play an active role in organising the project as a whole and promoting the arts in the region. c) Steering group members will also receive a discretionary discount on their membership fee (e.g. 10% or part waiver) plus all approved travel expenses (receipts must be submitted for each claim). The table below show some of the roles within the steering group and indicates areas where we have positions vacant. If you are interested in any of these please indicate this on your submission form or contact Midge directly by email. Currently our Steering Group consists of 5-6 members (was 8 in 2013) as due to personal circumstances some members are unable to continue through to 2015. Hence we have a few more positions vacant and request expression of interest from those who would like to be part of the steering group or would like to contribute some of your time to supporting the arts on a yearly basis. We most urgently require a permanent or longer term Treasurer & Exhibition Curator. Project Coordinator Midge (a.k.a. B. Mullally) 07808944550 Vice Coordinator/Chairperson Bernice Tackley Media Marketing Coordinator Lead & other positions vacant – ideal role for a photographer or IT capable people! David Chamberlin (temp) Lead Position vacant Midge (a.k.a. B. Mullally) (temp) Bernice Tackley Christine Redstone Helen Davies (temp) David Chamberlin (temp) Position vacant Bernice (acting Treasurer until replacement found) Bernice Tackley & Midge (temp) cosignatories Positions vacant Bernice, Midge & Julie Hamer (temporarily) Position vacant – volunteers needed Midge, Christine & Bernice (temp) Julie Hamer, Midge – to assist Research & Funding Treasurer Admin/Secretary & Communications Publications Exhibition/Curator(s) Exhibition Hospitality Bernice Tackley & Helen Davies (to be confirmed) 15 Other volunteers needed Online & Social Media Marketing & Promotion (inc. Website) Advertising & Marketing Event organisers/volunteers David Chamberlin Midge – temporarily Position vacant – assistant needed with editing/writing skills Positions vacant – proactive volunteers needed All artists are expected to assist with leaflet/poster/brochure distribution & advertising in their local areas & social media marketing Midge (temp) David Chamberlin Bernice Tackley (advisory role) Helen Davies (advisory role) Christine Redstone (advisory role) TBC – approx 4 or 5 positions vacant, event organisers / volunteers needed for future years i.e. 2 16