Information for artists

The following information was made available for artists to read before submitting their expression of interest for participation in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Open Studios 2012 program.

We have left it here on our website for members to refer to during the course of the program.

Categories

Members may choose to apply to participate in one of the following two categories:

  • Individual artist – open to individuals working on their own from a private studio.
  • Shared studio – open to two artists working within the same studio space.

Please note that artists who normally share a studio space may elect to register as either individual artists or as a shared studio. However, individual artists may not 'share' with another artist solely for the purposes of this program.

Workshops

Opportunities are also available for artists who do not have their own studio space to present workshops during the open studios program – please contact Art4Place for further details.

Requirements

Members who would like to participate in the open studios program must meet our requirements for selection before they can submit an expression of interest.

Workplace health & safety

Each studio must undergo a workplace health & safety audit before it will be considered for inclusion in the open studios program.

Our auditors will visit your studio and gallery to inspect it.

You will be required to be available for a half-day, sometime between 6 February and 19 February 2012. You will be contacted (after your application is received) to arrange a suitable inspection time.

Application assessment

After the health & safety audit, your application will be reviewed by a panel of industry specialists and peers (independent from ACI).

The focus will be on your capacity to provide studio visitors with an engaging experience and an insight into art making in your chosen genre.

Details the panel will look at include:

  • your expression of interest, including the promotional copy
  • results of health & safety audit
  • access to studio/workshop venue
  • quality & standard of work
  • adequate body of work
  • program preparedness.

This review will determine whether or not you are accepted into the open studios program. The assessment panel's decision is final.

Costs

If your application review is successful and you are chosen to participate in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Open Studios 2012 program, you will be invoiced for the following.

All invoices must be paid online using either PayPal or direct deposit (cash or cheques will not be accepted) by the due date 21 March 2012.

Promotional fee – $200

Payment of this fee entitles you to:

  • a single page on the ACI website (promotional text & images, location map)
  • listing & photo in a printed brochure with detailed map
  • participation in one of the pre-event exhibitions
  • other pre-event promotional opportunities
  • promotion during the program schedule
  • a maximum of 6 street signs.

This fee has two parts:

  • $150 – your contribution towards promotional and marketing costs
  • $50 – deposit for your street signs.

Your $50 deposit will be refunded at the end of October 2012 after return of all signs and provision of feedback.

Insurance cover – TBA

All studios participating in the open studios program must have public liability and product insurance cover to a minimum of $10M.

Those studios that do not have their own insurance may negotiate with ACI to be part of a group insurance deal for the period 15 September to 7 October 2012.

The fee for this service will depend on the number of studios involved. Please contact us for more information.

Exhibitions & promotional opportunities

A number of promotional opportunities will be available for participating artists during the pre-event period.

Each artist will be required to participate in at least one of the exhibitions. You will be expected to submit a few pieces of work from which one piece will be selected for display.

Further details will be posted as they become available.

Supporting material

Your online application must be supported by the following material. You must post this supporting material, before the closing date 5 February 2012, to the following address:

ACI SCHOS 2012
c/o m'khala stephens
PO Box 1297
Maleny Qld 4552

All digital files should be saved on a single USB stick, CD-ROM or DVD.
Please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope to enable us to return this to you.

Please note that emailed supporting files will not be accepted.

Insurance details

If you are providing your own public liability and product insurance, you must send us a copy of the current insurance certificate. This can be provided as a photocopy, printed hardcopy or PDF file.

If you do not have your own insurance, ACI can provide cover for the period 15 September to 7 October 2012 (see 'costs' above).

Alternatively, you may arrange to take out your own public liability insurance with an insurance company. If you do so, please include a copy of the cover note with your supporting material. You will also need to send a copy of your insurance certificate to ACI before 21 March 2012.

Promotional images

You must supply a minimum of 5 (maximum of 20) professional-quality photographs of each artist at work in their studio and/or their finished art works. A minimum of 10 (maximum of 40) photos will be required for a shared studio.

Each photo must be supplied as a digital image at a size of 4 megapixels or larger.

If you are not able to take your own high-quality photographs, you will need to engage the services of a professional photographer and pay the associated costs. ACI is not able to cover the cost of this.

If you are selected to participate in our 2012 open studios program, you will be asked to sign a copyright licence agreement to permit use of these photos in promotional publications, including (but not limited to) the ACI website, brochures, posters and advertising.

Supporting images

You must also supply a minimum of 3 (maximum of 10) supporting photographs of your studio, workspace, gallery/display area and local surroundings.

These images will help us assess and judge your expression of interest. They will not be used for promotional purposes and do not necessarily need to be of professional quality.

Deadlines

During the application, review and acceptance process the following deadlines will apply.

5 February 2012 – applications close for expressions of interest.
Late applications will not be accepted.

19 February 2012 – workplace health & safety audits completed.
All new applicants will require a site visit.
Previously approved artists may require a site visit.

26 February 2012 – review of applications completed.
The review panel will have the final say as to which artists are accepted into the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Open Studios 2012 program.

7 March 2012 – all applicants notified of review outcome.
If you are selected for inclusion in our program, you will be required to complete and return a copyright license agreement and a participating artist agreement with full payment by the due date.

21 March 2012 – invoice payment due date, copyright license agreement and a participating artist agreement both signed and returned to ACI.

1 May 2012 – webpage and brochure drafts distributed to artists for approval.

6 May 2012 – final day for artist approval of webpage and brochure content.
No changes will be accepted after this date.