NATIONAL ARTISTS PROGRAM
A.I.R. Gallery’s National Artists Program was founded in 1981 to expand A.I.R.'s feminist mission to communities outside of New York City. The National Members form a network of care, support, and opportunity through collaboration and the forging of alliances.
During the program, artists will exhibit annually in a curated group show and can apply without fees to juried exhibitions at A.I.R. All National Artists are represented on the gallery website, have access to the gallery's extensive mailing list, and have the opportunity to be involved in artist-led events.
Applicants must live in the United States but outside of New York City, must not have been an A.I.R National Artist for the past two years, and be willing to commit for four-years. More information on dues, responsibilities, and rates can be found on our website here.
Applications must include both personal and professional references, artist statement, resume, and either 10 hi-res images of work or three 5 minute videos.
Learn more about our current and past National Members here.
ELIGIBILITY
- This program is open to all women and non-binary artists.
- Artists must live outside of New York City, but within the United States.
- Artists must not have been an A.I.R.National Artist Program member for the previous 2 years.
BENEFITS
- Exhibition opportunities: Every member in the program exhibits annually in a curated group show. In recent years, curators of the National Artists Annual Exhibition have included: Suzanne Altmann, Rocio Aranda-Alvarado, Judith Tolnick Champa, Jill Conner, Charlotta Kotik, Catherine Morris, Barbara O’Brien, and Lesley Wright
- Juried Exhibitions: In addition to the curated National Members Exhibition, artists may apply without fee to the following juried exhibitions: the Biennial exhibition series, and the Currents exhibition series.
- Solo Show: after two years a National Artist can apply to the Exhibition Committee for a solo show.
- Representation on the A.I.R. Gallery website.
- Opportunities for artist led events (i.e. Artist talks, panel discussions etc.)
- Access to fiscal sponsorship when requested for grants and donations requiring 501(c)(3) status.
- Access to the AIR mailing list. Currently this reaches 8,000 people.
- Support in looking for local funding sources for their membership.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- The membership is a four-year commitment to the program. The artist may choose to continue for 1 additional two-year term extension (totaling 6 years).
- Membership dues of $1,440 per year, payable in two $720 segments, each, paid on September 15th and January 1st.
- Shared expenses of yearly exhibition catalogue, announcements, press, postage, opening reception and photography.
- National Artists are encouraged to organize additional programs or projects using the gallery space and to provide resources or exhibition opportunities in their own regions.
- Artists may submit professional activities outside the gallery for publication in the gallery’s NEWS page.
ONLINE APPLICATION PROCEDURE
It is FREE to apply! Applications must include the following:
- Contact information
- Affiliations
- References (personal and professional)
- Education
- Artist Statement
- Resume
- 10 images OR three 5-minute videos (see guidelines below)
- Completed image list including file name, title of artwork, year, medium, and dimensions: H” x W” x D”, in that order
IMAGE FORMAT GUIDELINES
Digital still images: Images must be submitted online and meet the specifications below.
- JPEGs are the only format accepted.
- Must be set at 72dpi.
- Longest side of image must be 1000 pixels.
- Oriented properly (i.e. top of image is up).
- Applications will not be reviewed if images are not formatted and titled correctly.
VIDEO FORMAT GUIDELINES
Upload a 5-minute video to youtube.com. Copy and paste the URL of the uploaded video into the field provided in the online application.
- Video links may not exceed 5 minutes in length.
- Videos may be a 5-minute clip of a full video. Please indicate that, if so.
APPLICATION REVIEW
The A.I.R. staff initially reviews applications to ascertain whether the applicant meets the eligibility requirements of the National Artist Program. In July the selection panel will conduct a review of applications considering the following criteria:
- Ambition shown in the execution of artwork presented, work demonstrating intellectual rigor and innovative approaches to materials and concepts. Concepts shown from a variety of perspectives; political, social and art historical.