Many people enjoy our shows. We get to exhibit our work, our family and friends congratulate us, PVAC benefits from the effort, and the public can appreciate what our artwork has to say. It takes a lot of work to put a show together. Here at PVAC we rely greatly on our board and key members to complete all the tasks necessary, as well as trying to involve every member willing to help. This essay will outline the process for future shows.
First of all, the dates and a venue must be chosen. The show chairperson confers with the PVAC Board and reaches out to the venue’s staff to book the dates. For our Spring Members Show we have established a relationship with the Mennonite Heritage Center which will set aside a month for us each year. The set-up day, registration day, judging, labeling and re-arranging day are usually Thursday through Saturday in late March. We do consider the dates of other area shows, particularly Meadowood, as we put these dates on our calendar about 6 months in advance. Another consideration in the Spring is Easter, which caused our 2026 Reception to be held in the third week of the show.
To involve as many members as possible in the planning of the show, we use our Wild Apricot system to announce the dates as early as possible. I like to list all the tasks that need to be done and find people to do those tasks. Using SignUpGenius allows me to list the tasks with a description and the dates that they are due. We had a very good response this year with over twenty members signing up to help with the show. However, the easy tasks filled first, leaving the hard tasks for our board members.
The tedious and very important tasks include producing the prospectus (also known as Call for Entry). This document gives every artist the exact dates for the show, outlines the guidelines, lists the award categories, and lets them know who the show judge will be. We do use a template from previous years, but it is very important that we check and double check our drafts of this document to get it right. Sometimes we must put out the prospectus before we have secured a judge.
Finding a judge is a matter of asking around for names of respected artists, teachers and curators, then contacting them to find out if they are willing to judge our show. We offer a stipend to the judge for their time. We ask them for their biographical information, have them commit to the judging date, and ask them to sign all the award certificates, give us a written review of the show and attend the Members Show Reception.
More tedious and important tasks include managing the registrations and producing the show program and labels for the artwork. We do online registration and payment in advance on our Wild Apricot/website system. This helps us to get an advance look at how popular the show will be. On drop-off day we allow in-person registration for the convenience of our members. One thing we learned this year was that people who did the online registration did not print out their registration which included their temporary labels. We had to make a lot of extra copies of the label section of the registration form because of this. Our webmaster, treasurer, and membership chair sit at the registration table to make sure every artist gives us all the information (and payment) we need for the show. Next year we will highlight the importance of each artist printing out the registration form/labels. We will also simplify the temporary labels.
Oh the labels!!! We tried to explain the best way to attach the temporary labels to your artwork, but it just doesn't make sense until you’ve worked drop-off day and see how many different ways people interpret the instructions. The temporary label should be attached to the back of the artwork so that it can be seen from the front. It should be like a little flag that sticks out from the upper right corner of the artwork, so when we hang it on the wall, we can see your name and the name and price of the artwork.
At the end of drop-off day, a complete list of artists and all their artwork is compiled on a spreadsheet. From that spreadsheet the show labels and show program are produced. This is the most tedious task, done the last several years by our president, Colleen Algeo. She uses graphic arts software for the program. Labels are done with a merge from the spreadsheet to a label sheet. It would be really nice to have another person with the knowledge to do these tasks, because what if Colleen gets asked to babysit her grandchildren?
Another task is establishing the list of awards. This year, we put out a call to establish a new award in honor of Dave Thomas who did many of the tedious tasks outlined above for many years. We had many generous contributions made in Dave’s memory and in honor of other former PVAC members and patrons. We add up all the award contributions and the entry fees and subtract our show expenses to come up with the total amount of awards. We list the named awards and their amounts, then divide up the rest of the money for the PVAC awards and put them into categories. The judge is given a judge’s sheet that lists the awards from top to lowest monetary amounts.
On judging day, we try to get a PVAC member who does not have artwork in the show to assist the judge. As the judge considers all the artwork, the assistant records the judge’s decisions and helps to make sure that only one prize goes to each person. After judging, the assistant and a couple other members rearrange the artwork to put award winners in featured spots in the gallery. Then they put the permanent labels up (and flip the temporary label flag to the back of the artwork.) Finally, the award ribbons are placed with the artwork.
The show reception is a happy day where everyone gets to admire the show. Volunteers are tasked with setting up a refreshment table and greeting guests. Flowers are placed around the gallery. Attendees are given the show program and asked to sign the guest book. People’s Choice Award ballots are handed out, and a basket is filled with ballots. A couple trusted individuals are asked to count the ballots before the awards ceremony.
The treasurer has written checks to all the award winners. A volunteer has printed out award certificates, and the judge and PVAC president have signed them. The president and show chairperson, along with a photographer stand at the front of the room to get the ceremony rolling. All the winning artists are given their awards and regaled with applause. We remember those who have passed and recognize the efforts of everyone who makes PVAC exhibits the important community events that they are.
All of the artists are expected to pick up their artwork on the day we strike the show. It’s a simple matter of making sure all the artwork gets picked up. If there have been sales, arrangements are made for the artist to get paid and for the new owner to receive the artwork.
This summarizes in words how we manage a PVAC Art Show. The total time and effort, emails and phone calls, to-do lists and downloads from the show chairperson, board members and other key volunteers is impossible to calculate. But it’s worth all the hard work. We are an outstanding organization with many talented artists who are happy to contribute. Enjoy the show!
