Exhibiting with Art in the Workplace

Our program is run by volunteers. Over the years, we’ve learned a lot about what we need from our artists to be able to successfully mount our exhibits. Please review this entire page before submitting work or exhibiting with us. Thank you!

Hamilton Area

Our program is for artists from the Hamilton and surrounding area. Please do not submit work for our exhibits if you live outside our area. We’ve put a lot of thought into what constitutes the Hamilton Area for Art in the Workplace. The following surrounding municipalities and anything even further out are excluded: Mississagua, Brampton, Cambridge, Kitchener-Waterloo, St Catherines and Niagara Falls. If you live beyond the 401 or Hwy 24, that’s too far. Submissions from artists from inside those limits will be considered.

Call For Entry

Our calls for entry go up on this website three times a year starting immediately after the opening for an exhibit. Each call for entry is open for about 6 weeks. Ideally, we would like to have somewhere between 250 and 300 works submitted from about 150 artists. Our jury then accepts around 200 works into each of our exhibits. We will not accept any work with a value exceeding $2,000.

Pick-Up & Drop-Off

We schedule our drop-off and pick-up events well ahead of time. Please note those times on your calendar. We cannot accept work at other times, and we insist that you pick-up your work at the scheduled time.

Gallery Ready

PLEASE READ UPDATED HANGING INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY:

When you drop-off your artwork with us, it needs to be “Gallery Ready”. AWP exhibits strive to offer professional gallery appeal for new and experienced artists. We care about presenting your work well - and safely.

These changes speak for work that has been damaged as a result of poor hanging apparatus. We simply cannot control the daily activity in a busy public building.

We will no longer accept work that does not meet the following requirements.

Two-dimensional pieces (paintings, photography):

  • Works in frames must have a braided picture hanging wire securely attached to the back of the work with screws and D-rings. The wire needs to have enough slack that it is easy for us to use a hand behind the work to guide it onto a standard picture hook. The top of the wire when pulled up should be at least 4 cm or 1.5 inches from the top of the frame so that the hanging hardware is not visible when your work is on the wall. D-rings are preferred - your piece hangs flat and does not stick out from the wall.

  • Very large works (more than 1.5 meters or 5 feet wide) can be hung with just D-rings directly onto an anchored screw at each edge. Very heavy works can be installed using a French cleat (you supply the hardware).

  • Alligator clips are only acceptable for very small and light works. By very small, we mean less than 25 cm or 10” in height and by very light, we mean less than 100 grams or just a few ounces.

There will be exceptions to the above - quilts and rugs or odd shaped or multi-part works. For these, we ask you to work out how we will be able to install the work easily and securely. It should be clear to our volunteer installers how hang your piece appropriately.

If you are confident that your plan will be acceptable, you can give us those instructions at drop off.

If you are a new exhibitor or have questions, please contact us prior to drop off, so we may best assist you.

Labeling your work:

Your work will be moved several times - drop off, curating, installation, and take-down.

  • Clearly include the following information:

    • Your full name (the one used with your entry).

    • Your phone number.

  • This label must be securely attached to the back of your work. If it is on the wire, make sure it will not interfere with hanging the work or be visible when the work is on the wall.

Please see photo at top to clarify both hanging and labeling instructions.

Thank you!

Looking forward to seeing you at drop off.

Please refer to our Rules and Conditions page for additional information. You must agree to and abide by these to exhibit with us.