BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Canal Street Art Gallery’s mission is to provide an open space where all creative voices may be heard. Since 2017, the gallery has published quarterly open calls for entries, allowing spaces in group shows for all artists to have the chance to exhibit their artwork. Last year, its focus shifted to offering ongoing solo show opportunities, now open to all artists, not just those who are represented.
In the art world, representation means that a gallery or art dealer provides professional services to promote and sell an artist’s work, and to grow their career. This often translates to networking, or getting to know the “right” people. Canal Street Art Gallery says that its version of artist representation is made “by artists, for artists,” and wishes to democratize the system, which often seems to exclude many. Artists hire the gallery with a yearly promotional agreement and a signing fee, which breaks down to an affordable monthly charge. The gallery also charges what it considers to be a very low commission on sales, along with affordable exhibition fees. Represented artists at Canal Street Art Gallery each have the opportunity for a solo show, included once per year. Additional solo shows may be scheduled at half off exhibition fees. Further promotion and sales come from the artist’s page on the gallery’s website, as well as a personal viewing room presenting headshots and quotes from the artist, along with pictures and videos of their artwork.
This year, Canal Street Art Gallery returns to “taking the show on the road” through its Touring Exhibitions Program. This program exhibited most recently at Atlantic Gallery in New York City, bringing 15 local artists’ work to the internationally known art neighborhood of Chelsea, in Manhattan. Now in its fourth year, the program is currently focusing on galleries, art centers, and museums located in New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Louisiana. Titles for this year’s exhibition concepts are “Made It,” “See It,” “Reconciliation,” “View,” “Working,” “Like it or Not?” and “Saturation”. This program is only offered to represented artists, due to the necessity to plan one to three years ahead.
Canal Street Art Gallery’s Touring Exhibitions offer numerous ways for audiences to engage, such as the Community Art Table, Tell Your Truth stickers, a working artist platform, and emoji reaction stickers. Additional supporting elements include show catalogs, take-home brochures, and wall information, each with unique takes on learning about the artist and their art. Some of these include artists writing “recipes” for art in the show, visual documentation of the artists working in their studios, and deepening the audience’s understanding of living life as an artist.
To learn more and submit to become a represented artist at Canal Street Art Gallery, go to www.canalstreetartgallery.com/exhibition-opportunities. Canal Street Art Gallery is located at 23 Canal Street, in historic downtown Bellows Falls, Vt., and is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; and the third Friday of every month, until 7 p.m. For more information about Canal Street Art Gallery, go to www.canalstreetartgallery.com, call 802-289-0104, or email artinfo@canalstreetartgallery.com.