Jurying for both the Burnsville and Spruce Pine Gallery gift shops will be in September.

All artists who wish to submit work for this process must complete all of the following steps in order to be considered for jurying into our gift shops:

1. Review this criteria [printer-friendly PDF version available here]:

• Artist must be a member of TRAC and reside in Mitchell or Yancey County.
• Work must be original. Replication of other artist’s work or strong resemblance to other artist’s work is discouraged.
• Work must be handmade (not from kits or patterns).
• Work that has commercially manufactured elements must also show strong handmade elements. The item’s overall appearance should be “hand-made” as apposed to machine-made.
• Work must be professional, well crafted and ready for display.
• Work must be of a size that is reasonable for the gift shops and should be durable enough to withstand handling.
• Work must be within the price points that are saleable in both gift shops.
• New artists can only be accepted if and when the specific gift shop has available display space. (There may be a limit to the number of artists accepted based on numbers, space and media)
• The jury will consider whether or not the work is unique and in a medium not offered elsewhere in downtown locations.
• Criteria may include the following: elements of design, differences from work currently represented in the gift shops, display requirements and limitations.
• All required support items must accompany the application: Application/Resume/Artist Statement/Signed Contract/Original Artwork (minimum of 2 pieces, maximum of 5)

2. Complete this application [PDF]. [Rich-Text version]

3. Sign and submit this contract [PDF].

The deadline for Jury materials is Saturday, September 6, 2008. The Jury committee meets on Wednesday, September 10, and the artists who have submitted their work will be notified of the decision within 10 days.

All materials for jurying should be delivered to the Burnsville gallery.

Questions? Call 828-765-0520, Tues.-Sat. from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. or send an e-mail to kathryn@toeriverarts.org.