Gallery Artist Application Form
Gallery Artist Membership
The South Shore Art Center offers a special category of membership for exhibiting artists. Gallery Artist membership provides an opportunity to participate in a vibrant arts community while benefiting from increased exposure, referrals, sales, and workshop opportunities.
Through this program, Gallery Artists also contribute to the Art Center’s mission of serving the expanding cultural needs of the South Shore and surrounding Boston area.
Qualifications for Gallery Artist Membership
A Gallery Artist member must be a professional, consistently working artist with a substantial and recent body of work large enough to support a frequent exhibition schedule.
Gallery Artist submissions are open to all genres and media.
Applicants should demonstrate:
● A sustained and professional commitment to their artistic practice
● A cohesive body of recent work
● A recognizable and developed artistic direction
● Sufficient depth of work to support ongoing exhibitions
● Professional presentation and craftsmanship
● A body of work demonstrating consistency while also showing artistic breadth and development
Work completed in a class or workshop is not appropriate for portfolio review
Application Process
Gallery Artist Submission Deadline: Oct. 28, 2026
Applicants should prepare a portfolio that presents a strong and cohesive representation of their current artistic practice. Including:
1. Original Artwork — 6–8 Pieces
The selected works should:
- Represent a cohesive body of work
- Be recent and representative of the applicant’s current practice
- Demonstrate consistency in artistic quality and vision
- Present a clear sense of the artist’s individual voice
- Be professionally presented whenever possible
Although framing and pedestals are not mandatory for the critique, professional presentation is strongly encouraged.
The physical portfolio should be curated carefully. Rather than submitting unrelated individual pieces, applicants should select works that communicate a unified artistic direction while demonstrating the strength of the overall practice.
2. Additional Digital Portfolio
- Applicants should also provide a Dropbox or Google Drive folder containing up to 12 additional images that are NOT included in the 6-8 original works submitted for review.
- These digital images can be used to show an additional series or body of work, different compositions or approaches, range within the artist’s medium, or recent work not included in the physical portfolio.
- Please email the Dropbox or Google Drive folder to: ssmith@ssac.org
- The additional images may be used to help the jury understand the larger scope of the applicant’s artistic practice.
- All digital files must be clearly and consistently named using the following format: LastName_TitleofWork_Year_Medium_Size
Example:
Smith_AbstractComposition_2026_Oil_24x30
Consistent file naming helps ensure that all submitted materials can be properly identified and reviewed.
3. Resume & Artist Statement
- Artist Resume / CV – A current professional resume or curriculum vitae outlining relevant artistic experience, including exhibitions, education, awards, collections, publications, residencies, teaching, or other significant professional accomplishments.
- Artist Statement- A concise artist statement describing the ideas, concepts, materials, processes, and/or experiences that inform the applicant’s work.
All submitted portfolios and materials will be provided to the jurying panel for the gallery artist membership review on November 2nd.
Application Fee is $35.
Organization
South Shore Art Center is a non-profit educational institution governed by a volunteer board of directors. The membership incorporated in 1958, and a copy of the bylaws is available on request. The Art Center serves as a focal point for the arts on the South Shore of Boston and draws its members and potential buyers from the entire New England area. Since 1987 the Art Center has been housed in a two-story modernist facility designed by Vcevold Strekalovsky. The building is located in a high-traffic area of Cohasset Center and consists on the ground floor of an entranceway gallery and gift counter, a reception area and office, the Bancroft Gallery and the Dillon Gallery, with classroom studios and student gallery on the second floor. Satellite locations for exhibiting artists include the South Shore Conservatory in Hingham and the Paul Pratt Memorial Library in Cohasset.
Privileges & Responsibilities
Membership as a Gallery Artist entails the opportunity to exhibit in group shows in the Dillon Gallery or solo shows at a satellite location on a rotating schedule and referral of buyers to the Artist as appropriate. These opportunities are in addition to all privileges of individual membership. The Artist will pay the annual dues designated for Gallery Artists, which currently are $60 per year. Gallery Artists are encouraged to donate a minimum of ten hours per year to the Art Center.
Art Sales
Gallery Artists receive 60% of the sale price of works sold in Art Center galleries or satellite locations – the Paul Pratt Memorial Library in Cohasset and the South Shore Conservatory in Hingham. Gallery Artists pay to the Art Center, as a commission, 15% of the price of any work sold to a buyer when the sale occurs primarily as a result of a referral from the staff or Board of Directors.