Elected membership process

Spring 2022 Application process for Elected membership

Applications will be accepted for elected membership from February 1st to March 31, 2022. 

Please read the information below for 2022. 

The Society of Canadian Artists call for Elected membership opens February 1st and closes on March 31, 2022. Successful applicants will be notified by April 25th. Elected membership is open to all professional artists who are either:
1) A Canadian-born citizen living in Canada, or are temporarily or permanently living outside of Canada.
2) Born outside of Canada but have become a Permanent Resident and currently reside in Canada. 

The following is provided at this time for your information only, and is subject to change.

Important Dates and information

  • Application Window: February 1, 2022 to  March 31, 2022
  • Application Jury Fee $75 (non-refundable, subject to change), payable through PayPal
  • Your application must include images of 10 works that have been completed in the past 3 years
  • Your CV must include all the required sections included below.
  • The application for Elected membership is to be submitted in English

The Jurying Process

Elected membership is a juried process.  Your work and experience will be adjudicated by five Elected members from  across Canada who represent a wide variety of experience, medium and style. 

Jurying Criteria - Artistic works

Applications for Elected membership will have their work assessed on the following criteria

  • Demonstrates technical excellence in the chosen medium(s)
  • The work submitted has an overall cohesiveness and displays consistency in thought & style
  • Has a uniqueness or originality in style or subject matter.
  • Is well composed, commands good use of design elements and has an area(s) of dominance
  • Good use of color, value, shape, form, and contrast
  • Has an impact that evokes a reaction or commands the viewers’ attention
The decisions of the jurors is final and cannot be contested.  

Jurying Criteria - Curriculum vitae (CV)

Your artistic experience and background are given as much consideration during the jurying process as your body of work.  As part of the submission process you will be required to submit your CV which must contain the follow 11 point sections. Save the file named as: firstname_lastname_CV.pdf

NOTE: YOUR CV MUST BE PREPARED AND SUBMITTED IN ENGLISH

  1. Professional Development: Include art education, training, major workshops attended, etc.
  2. Memberships & Affiliations: include only those art associations that were obtained through the process of jury or election.
  3. Exhibitions: limit information to last 10 years
  4. Galleries, Public/Private collections: List galleries you’re are associated with, and any major corporate or public collections that have collected your work.
  5. Awards, Public Recognition & Other Accomplishments: limit award information to the last 10 years, other artistic accomplishments that have not been noted elsewhere on this application.
  6. Publications: list any publications your work has been featured in, written articles, books, etc
  7. Contributions to the Artistic Community: Include art related professional experience such as teaching, instructing workshops, volunteerism, jurying experience.
  8. Personal contribution to the SCA: A brief statement on how you would, if accepted ans an Elected member, personally voluntarily contribute to the work of the SCA. If possible, list specific areas of expertise you may have such as workshop coordination, exhibition coordination, website knowledge, etc.
  9. Biography and Artists Statement/Vision: Keep the two separate. Combined maximum of 400 words. Include a vision of where your work is and where you want it to be in the future.
  10. Motivation for becoming a member of the SCA: A brief statement on your reasons for applying for Elected membership, including how you heard about the Society of Canadian Artists.
  11. Introduction Statement & Image: Should your application be successful, this statement will be included in the SCA newsletter, the SCA website, and a slide show introducing newly Elected members at the SCA Annual General Meeting. Also, please indicate which one of your 10 images you would like included with this statement. 

entry conditions and image specifications

Applicants must verify that their submitted work meets the following conditions and ensure their image files meet the specifications as noted.

  • All work must have been completed with the last three (3) years.
  • All work must NOT be copies or derivatives based in any way on other copyrighted or published paintings, photographs or other artistic works.
  • Digital files must be in JPG format and be PC/MAC compatible. When opened, only the image of the artwork should show (cropped with no frame, no mat board or extraneous background showing).
  • Image files should have a recommended with of 1920 pixels but no smaller than 1200px or larger than 2400px, saved at the highest possible quality.
  • The file size should be in the range of 1.0MB to 2.5 MB, depending on the amount of detail.
  • The image files should be named in this format:
    Number_FirstName_LastName_Title_Medium_Size.jpg. 
    Example: 01_John_Smith_Waterfall_OilOnPanel_20x16.jpg

Submission Process

The Society of Canadian Artists uses a 3rd party online submission system called EntryThingy.

When you proceed to the submission section below, you will enter your submission on their site. 

You will need to have, or create, an account on EntryThingy in order to submit your entry. Also note that EntryThingy is an English-only site.

The SCA call for entry you want to submit to will be called “Spring 2022 Call for Elected Membership“.

Notification

Jury results are typically available within a month of the application deadline.  However, because our jurors are from across Canada, there could potentially be a short delay.

Should your application be successful, your annual membership fee for current year of $105 (subject to change) is due immediately upon notification.

If you have any questions regarding the application process please send an email to [email protected] 

Questions??

If you have any questions regarding the application process please send an email to our 2022 Elected jury coordinator, Bob Shackles at [email protected].

Need a bit more Help?

Two of our members are available to mentor you in the process of photographing your artwork or how to prepare an effective application. 

Application Preparation

Andrew Sookrah SCA-Hon

Andrew Cheddi Sookrah is available to provide assistance to anyone wishing to apply for membership to the SCA, his guidance will include a review of selected works (with feedback solely on how to best meet requirements for application, i.e. consistency, and not on quality of work), clarity of images, etc., and a clarification if needed, of the requirements.

Contact Andrew at [email protected]

Photographing your artwork

jack gilbert sca

On photographing artwork: I can offer help in shooting and submitting your artwork.
At a minimum you will require a semi professional digital camera, perhaps lights specifically designed for photography, a tripod, possibly a polarizing filter, and a cable release.
If you then intend to self edit your photos please advise me of your computer and the post editing software you intend to use. Alternatively you may have to take your photos to a professional lab for processing.

Contact Jack at [email protected]

Submission Checklist

Before proceeding to our submission page on EntryThingy please use this checklist to ensure your have everything ready.

  • Your English language 11 point CV, saved in PDF format, named as outlined above.
  • 10 images of your best work, in JPG format, following the size and naming convention outlined above
  • Your credit card or PayPal account to pay your non-refundable $75 jury fee. 

A link to the Application form will be available on February 1st, 2022.

Ready to Apply?

If you have all your information in hand and are ready to apply or want to return to your application in progress, select the Apply Now button.