Paint & Write the Town Call to Artists

Official “Paint & Write the Town” Call to Artists & Exhibition

Presented by Artists in Action & Elsinore Fine Art Gallery

Salem, Oregon

About Paint & Write the Town:

Paint & Write the Town is AiA’s signature and most popular summertime event. Artists of all skill levels, working in any medium, meet to create art that’s interpretive or inspired by of one or more of the scheduled, inspiring locations in the Salem area. Works can be created "en plein air", in the studio or a combination. The art and/or poetry must be inspired by these locations and should be painted or created on location as much as possible. Poets of the Mid-Valley Poetry Society and others may join in to write poems about the sites. The event culminates with a juried exhibition with cash awards in the fall. See a link to the schedule at the bottom of the page.

Artists in Action is pleased to announce that 2024’s Paint & Write the Town Exhibition of Art & Poems will be held during the month of October at the Elsinore Framing and Fine Art Gallery. We are looking forward to displaying the original works created during AiA's summertime en plein air event in Elsinore Framing and Art Gallery.

Registration/Entry Submission for this Call opens Saturday, June 1, 2024, via this site which is powered by ArtCall.org. Once registered, artists may enter up to three works of art until the deadline: Wednesday, September 18 at 11:00 pm. The resulting artwork will be exhibited at Salem’s Elsinore Framing & Fine Art Gallery, 444 Ferry St SE, and their website during the month of October. The exhibition opens with an Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony on Friday, October 4. Complete call details are below.

Awards, which will include a ribbon and a monetary reward, will be presented for First, Second and Third Place as well as up to three (3) Honorable Mentions.
Additional awards may be presented.
Award winners will be announced online at opening reception, the AiA Website and social media.
This event will also feature a People’s Choice awards to be determined and announced once the exhibition has concluded.

Artist Eligibility:

Paint & Write the Town is open to all Oregon visual artists. AiA membership is NOT required to participate.
You must to be able to deliver and pick up your artwork in Salem, OR. Shipments cannot be accepted.

Registration/Entry Fees:

The Registration/Entry Fees collected by AiA are used for the judge stipend, monetary awards, ribbons and administrative expenses.
Participants may submit up to three (3) works for consideration into the juried exhibition.
AiA Members in good standing: $30
Poets: $10
Artist, non-member: $40
Students (up to age 25): $20
Registration/Entry Fee must be paid using debit or credit card during the online registration and art entry submission process (on this site)
If you want to pay by check, you will need to submit the check well before AUG 14th to allow time to send you a coupon code (via email) so that no further payment will be required to proceed with registration and adding entries in ArtCall. Please include your email address with your check in order to receive the discount code. Send checks to Artists In Action, PO BOX 2684, Salem, OR 97308.
Please select appropriate entry fee as submissions will be cross-referenced with our active member list.
Consider becoming an AiA Member if you’re not one already. If you’re unsure of your membership status, please contact us at aia@artistsinaction.org.

Call / Exhibition Requirements:

To be considered for the exhibition, the work must be inspired by the location events for Paint & Write the Town. While this can be widely open to interpretation, art and poems that clearly represents one of these concepts will be considered for awards.
All mediums and styles of visual art will be considered including poems, painting, collage, textiles, sculpture, photography, mixed media, etc.
If submitted for this call, artwork must be available for exhibition for the full duration of the show.
Artwork or poems that has been previously shown in any other AiA exhibit may NOT be submitted.
Art must meet professional presentation standards; NO frame damage, dirty mats or unpainted/unfinished edges.
2D Art must be ready to hang using a wire which must not be visible; sawtooth hangers or other single fastening devices are not allowed.
Poem submissions will be printed and mounted by AiA.
Non-framed artwork on wrapped canvas or cradled panels is acceptable, providing the sides are finished.
Non-framed artwork professionally equipped with wall stand-off blocks or hanging apparatus is acceptable.
If a multi-surface artwork (such as a diptych/triptych) is intended to be viewed as one piece, then photograph, price and submit the work as one entry.
Artists wishing to display 3D artwork may provide their own secure stand, if desired, or one will be provided by the gallery.
Art must have an ID label affixed to the back with artist name, artwork title and contact info.
Please note: AiA reserves the right not to hang art that does not meet above criteria.

Submitting Entries & Deadline:

All registrations, entry submissions and fee payments must be done using the ArtCall platform (this site).
Registration begins Saturday, June 1, 2024. You may begin the registration and payment process prior to submitting your art entries, up to three (3), which can be done one at a time, or all at the same time.
NOTE: You may log back into the ArtCall site any time to add, delete, change and/or edit your entries up until the deadline.
When submitting each entry, you'll need to provide: Title, Physical Dimensions (incl. frame), Medium and Sale Price (if not for sale, enter "0.00"), and attach one high quality JPG, PNG, GIF image of the art piece and PDF, DOC, or TXT for your poem.
The deadline to submit art entries is Wednesday, September 18 by 11:00 pm. (But don't wait until the last day!)
You may log back into the ArtCall site any time to add, delete, change and/or edit your entries up until the deadline.
Auto-generated emails will be sent to you via the ArtCall platform confirming your registration and upon submission of EACH entry.
On Saturday, September 21 auto-generated emails will be sent to you via the ArtCall platform for EACH entry with notification of its acceptance or non-acceptance into the Spring Fling exhibit.
Check your spam/junk folder if you do not see the above messages come through. If you cannot find a notification email pertaining to a specific entry, please contact us at aia@artistsinaction.org for status info.

About ArtCall:

AiA manages its Calls to Artists using the ArtCall platform. ArtCall.org is a distinctly separate site from the AiA website and requires registering for an ArtCall account to participate. You only need to register once; then simply log in for all future AiA calls.
Please note, each "official" Call has its own unique web address (URL) which is your starting point to view the call details and participate.
Using ArtCall provides an easy way for artists to pay the entry fee and submit images and descriptions of their art and provides AiA agents with an effective way to manage all aspects of the call including fee payments and jury process.
If you’re not familiar with using the ArtCall interface, the helpful how-to-videos (use menu link) are a good place to start.
Those who need assistance with submitting their work in digital format and/or using this site may contact us at aia@artistsinaction.org. Please be specific in your message.

Image Submission Requirements (Artwork Photos):

Your artwork photo(s) must be the highest possible quality! Consider this: your art will be juried into the exhibit solely by a jury review of the photo AND the photo will be used to show your art in the online gallery and the event video.
Use good lighting. When capturing make sure the object is square in the viewfinder and that the desired image fills the viewfinder.
Be sure your subject is in sharp focus. No blurry images!
For 2D art consider removing the frame, glass and mat to avoid glare and reflection distractions.
If a multi-surface artwork (such as a diptych/triptych) is intended to be viewed as one piece, then photograph, price and submit the work as one entry.
For 3D work, use a solid colored background and get close to the object.
Use image editing software or an on-line image editing tool such as PicResize.com to ensure your submission images meeting the following requirements:
Images must be in JPG, PNG, or GIF for images and PDF, DOC & TXT format for poems and be a maximum of 4mb.
Images must have dimensions between 960px – 1920px on the longest side. The higher the resolution, the better the quality.
You DO NOT need to name your files in any specific way.

Poetry Submission Requirements:

All original brief written poetry will be considered.
Poetry must be submitted in PDF format, formatted and ready to print.
AiA will print and mount the poetry for the show.

Art Delivery & Retrieval:

Drop off accepted artwork during regular business hours Monday, September 23 thru Tuesday, September 24 (Fri 9:00-6:00, Sat 10:00–5:00) at Elsinore Framing & Fine Art Gallery, 444 Ferry St SE, Salem, OR 97301
Pick up unsold artwork from Elsinore Gallery on Wednesday-Thursday, November 1–2, 10:00-5:00.

Jurying, Judging & Awards:

Jurying in/out of the exhibit will be done by an AiA jury panel.
Jurying and judging critiques will consider general art and design principles in addition to the award category.
Judging for award designations will be done in person, at the gallery in Salem, by a qualified, unaffiliated artist.
Award winners will be announced during the opening reception, the AiA and Elsinore Gallery websites and social media.
Awards, which will include a ribbon and a monetary reward, will be presented for First, Second and Third Place as well as up to three (3) Honorable Mentions.
Additional awards may be presented.
Award winners will be announced online at opening reception, the AiA Website and social media.
This event will also feature two People’s Choice awards (one for the artwork and another for the poetry to be determined and announced once the exhibition has concluded).

Exhibition / Reception / Commission Fee:

The exhibit will hosted by Elsinore Framing & Fine Art Gallery, 444 Ferry St SE, Salem, OR 97301. Masks, distancing required.
On Friday, October 4, an Opening Night Reception will be held from 3:00-6:00 with the Awards Ceremony at 4:30 pm.
All works that are available for sale will be subject to a 40% gallery commission when sold.
Visitors to the gallery may cast their ballot for People's Choice. The gallery's virtual online exhibit will also feature the ability to cast a ballot for People's Choice. All artwork will be available for voting for this public-bestowed award.
The exhibition will run thru Thursday, October 31.
An event/award presentation will be produced and posted to the AIA website and social media.
Once the exhibition has concluded, an online gallery of all artwork that was displayed will be published on the AiA website for one year.

Terms & Conditions:

By registering and submitting works into this exhibition, you agree to the above terms and conditions. Furthermore, you consent to your name and artwork images being displayed on the AiA and Elsinore websites as well as videos, print and online materials and/or social media platforms, for the sole purpose of promoting the AiA organization and its artists. Of course, you retain the copyright to your artwork. You will be given credit for artwork used wherever possible.

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