Don’t ask, don’t get
Returning to group exhibitions, art organizations and grant applications
Over the last few years, I’ve been very focused on executing big projects, leaving little time for anything else. I spent 2022 to 2024 working on my solo exhibit, “The Extraordinary, Ordinary Nature of Interabled Love,” and then my focus shifted to illustrating “The Perfect Ride” in 2025.
I was able to do this thanks to a string of grants from Canada Council for the Arts and Calgary Arts Development, but I’m well aware that a successful grant run like this isn’t the norm.
Thus far, 2026 has been all about returning to the hustle.
Group Exhibitions
I haven’t been part of a group exhibition in years, and my view of their function has shifted over time.
The way I see it, there are two main reasons to be in group exhibitions:
to sell paintings
to get one’s name out
I can probably count on one hand the number of paintings that I’ve sold at group exhibitions. Not because my paintings don’t sell—because they do—it’s just that most people don’t go to an art exhibition with shopping specifically in mind.
One of the exceptions is an event like the Calgary Stampede, where people come from all over to take in the sights and maybe pick up a souvenir or two from their time here. A while back, I applied to be part of the Mini Masters group exhibition that’s part of the Stampede’s larger art show.
It’s the first time I’ve ever applied to the Stampede and, unfortunately, I found out over the weekend that I wasn’t accepted. I was a bit surprised, but perhaps my example pieces weren’t Western-y enough for their tastes.
When it comes to the “getting my name out” type of exhibitions, I have learned over the years to be much more selective about what I apply to. Sadly, many group exhibitions prey on emerging artists with promises of exposure. In my experience, exposure alone doesn’t pay my mortgage; if I’m paying to apply and ship my paintings, I can actually lose money on the endeavour.
Ideally, what one wants is to be paid to exhibit one’s work. This might sound like a pipe dream, but they’re known as CARFAC fees, and reputable galleries will pay them.
One such gallery is Tangled Art + Disability in Toronto. Tangled is Canada’s only gallery that focuses on disabled artists, and I was invited to participate in a group show with 13 other artists, opening September 18th.
The show checks all the right boxes in what I now look for in a group exhibition:
ideally, a new geographic area where I haven’t exhibited before
a focused audience that will appreciate my work for what it is
Sadly, I won’t be attending the exhibit in person. Since my broken leg and lengthy hospitalization, I don’t feel confident that I can fly safely. My sister, however, lives in Toronto, so she’s promised to check it out and report back.
The other group exhibition I applied to is a rotating exhibition in Airdrie, a town about a 30min drive north of Calgary, called In Plain Sight. They were looking for art that “emerges from attentive observation and quiet contemplation of the everyday, its surroundings and the objects within.”
I rarely encounter a Call for Artists that aligns so precisely with my artist practice that I couldn’t resist applying. It’s also the first time that my application to a group exhibit included an oil painting, and I was pushing hard last week to get this piece far enough along that I could submit it.
I likely won’t hear back until next month about whether I’ve been accepted, so fingers crossed.
Art Organizations
Like exhibitions, I’ve learned to be a lot more selective about the art organizations that I choose to join. Since these often have an associated cost, it’s important that they have benefits beyond exposure that I believe I’m going to use.
I’m happy to report that I’m now a Juried Member of The Alberta Society of Artists (ASA). Juried Members must be professional artists who have submitted a completed application and portfolio to an ASA blind jury process and have been successfully juried in.
I decided upon this particular organization to help grow my local artist network, something that has been a slow process because of COVID and then my time in the hospital. I’m also particularly interested in the Travelling Exhibition Program (TREX) that ASA administers for the southwest region of the province. I would love for the next chapter of my “Extraordinary, Ordinary” exhibit to include touring it outside Calgary, so I will be on the lookout for opportunities to do that.
Applying for grants
The next grants I will be applying for won’t be for new creative projects, but to support the CreativiTEA for Grown Ups workshop series that we launched earlier this year. We’ve had two successful workshops thus far, with our third coming up in April.
It was important to me to pilot the CreativiTEA format to demonstrate that there was demand for these workshops. CreativiTEAs aren’t the standard skills-oriented, art-making workshop, given that our goals also include self-discovery and using creativity for wellness.
The response to the workshops thus far has been very encouraging, and now we need an injection of funds to ensure that we can keep ticket prices low while making the endeavour sustainable for everyone contributing to the success of the CreativiTEA workshops.
I haven’t applied for a community-oriented grant before, but I’m hopeful that I can apply all the things I’ve learned from my past grant applications to this next one.
In any case, with so much going on, it’s time to hustle, hustle, hustle!
Speaking of CreativiTEAs…
Have you got your tickets to our next workshop? It’s Sunday, April 12th, 1-3pm at Atelier Artista (4th floor), cSPACE Marda Loop. We’re going to be digging into our Inner Critics and Wild Childs, which promises to be a lot of good creative fun.
I am so glad to hear about your entry into some new shows. That is great news!