Show Rules andGuidelines

This document provides rules and definition of terms to clarify the application and selection processes for WCAS shows.

Rules

1. Only original work may be shown or offered for sale at any West Carleton Arts Society event.

2. All work must be the work of the artist.

3. Work must follow the Guidelines (below) for the type of work being shown or offered for sale.

4. At Expressions of Art, WCAS’s annual Fine Art Show and Sale, reproductions may be offered for sale, but may not be hung for display. They should be clearly identified as being reproductions, with the exception that

note cards, gift tags and small posters (8” by 10” or smaller) which are reproductions do not need to be identified as such.

5. Acceptance into any WCAS show is at the sole discretion of the event’s Selection Committeeand is final on all matters pertaining to the integrity, suitability and acceptability of any work displayed at the Show.

6. Due to the family-oriented nature of the visitors to WCAS shows, each event’s Show Committee, upon consultation with the WCAS executive, reserves the right to ask artists to remove work which it deems to be offensive to the intended audience.

Guidelines & definitions

Work to be shown and/or offered for sale at WCAS events will fall into one of three categories: Fine Art, Photography, or Fine Craft.

  1. Fine Art

  1. In order to distinguish between original works of art and art reproductions, the Show Committee has defined an original work of art as follows:

An original work of art is a work in any medium, created directly by the artist from raw materials without any intervening commercially procured process(es), intended as a communication between the artist and his audience and which inextricably and unavoidably expresses the artist’s personality.

Some notes are necessary to complete this definition:

Raw materials are those which are used in the process of creating the work, and which become part of the work. They are not normally themselves the product of another artist’s work.

Commercially procured processes include services provided by hired print shops, out-sourced screen printers, commercial photography labs and so on.

Intervening means involved during the creation of the final work, not in creating the raw materials to be used in the work, or in displaying the finished work (for example, framing, which is done after the work is completed and is independent of it).

  1. Types of Fine Art
  1. Two-dimensional work

Original works which do not exist in multiples, regardless of medium (media), are considered either Paintings or Drawings, at the discretion of the artist.

Works which do exist in multiples, such as silkscreen prints, or hand-printed etchings, which follow accepted industry practice regarding grouping into editions, signing and numbering, and so on, and are made by the artist, are considered Fine art printsand as such, original works of art.

Other works which do exist in multiples, such as giclée prints or prints, produced by any commercial process, are considered Reproductions. They must be clearly identified as such.

Small works such as notecards, gift tags, and posters (no larger than 8” x 10”), which exist in multiples, are also considered Reproductions, but do not need to be identified as such.

2. Three-dimensional work

  • Three dimensional works such as sculptures, which exist in multiples, are expected to follow industry practice regarding editioning and numbering.

2. Photography

Works created using primarily photographic processes are Photographs.

Photographs which exist in multiples are expected to follow industry practice as to editioning, numbering and signing.

Works created using only or mainly computerized processes are called Digital Prints. They should be editioned, numbered and signed as for Photographs.

Photographs or Digital Prints which are not printed using archival materials should be identified as such.

3. Fine Craft

Works displayed or offered for sale which do not fall into the categories of Fine Art or Photography, will be considered Craft. Items created with the intention of communicating with an audience and which display a significant alteration of the raw material(s) used to create them, may be considered Fine Craft.

Craft usually refers to hand-made items, created either from raw materials (eg clay, yarns or fibres) or found or re-cycled objects such as glass or metal items, old frames, chairs, or clothes.

Works may be functional or decorative. Those intended to be functional should follow accepted practice for the material(s) used such as the use of food-safe glazes, non-toxic fibres and so on. Any deviations from this should be made clear to the purchaser.

No commercial molds, kits, or patterns may be used to produce the items.