Paint Creek Center for the Arts is now accepting submissions for our first exhibition of 2025, The Reality Show, scheduled to open on Friday, March 28.

In a time when reality television, social media, and spam emails can shape our perceptions of everyday life, how do we know what’s real?

This spring, Paint Creek Center for the Arts invites you to tune in to The Reality Show. Whether you’re capturing your own reality through life’s simple pleasures, struggles, and monotonies, interpreting the reality of someone else, or exposing pop culture’s simulated perfection, we invite artists ages 16 and older to submit their artwork showcasing and defining what reality means in the modern world. 

Submissions for the show are due February 2, 2025. Late applications or applications submitted in any other manner besides the Jotform application page will not be accepted.

For questions, please reach out to Julia Felts at [email protected].

Schedule

Deadline to Apply: February 2, 2025

Acceptance Announced: February 14, 2025

Opening Reception: Friday, March 28 from 4pm – 7pm

Show Dates: Through April 17, 2025

Entry Requirements

1. The Reality Show is open to Michigan resident artists, ages 16 and older.
2. All entries must be original hand-crafted work, designed and executed by the accepted artist. Kit work or commercial reproductions of any kind are not allowed.
3. Limit three (3) entries per artist.
4. Accepted mediums: most 2d and 3d mediums including, but not limited to, ceramic, collage, digital, drawing, fiber and fabric, metal, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, woodworking, sculpture, glass. PCCA lacks audio/visual equipment in the gallery space, so no video work will be considered for this exhibit.
5. Submissions must be submitted through the online application form to be considered. PCCA will not accept walk-ins or deliveries of artwork for consideration.
6. There is no application fee for PCCA members. Contact Julia Felts at [email protected] for your entry code.
   1. 1. Membership does not guarantee or play a factor in acceptance. All pieces are juried according to the same standards and either accepted or rejected based on how well they score.
7. Non-members can apply for a flat fee of $10 (regardless of how many pieces you submit).

Membership with PCCA begins at $30 per year for individuals. Click here if you’d like to become a member.

Submitting Your Work

Artwork must be submitted through the online submission form (see below for link) no later than 11:59PM on February 2, 2025, to be considered. Late applications or applications submitted in any other manner will not be accepted.

Whenever possible, art files should be titled with your last name and the name of the work to avoid confusion when work is digitally archived. (example: instead of: “IMG4427.jpeg” manually name the file “YourLastName_YourArtworkTitle.jpeg”)

The following must be provided for each piece submitted for consideration. PCCA will not review artwork missing this information.

• Your/Artist Name
• Title of work
• Medium
• Artwork Dimensions in inches listed with width, height, and (if 3-dimensional) depth.
• If your artwork is framed, please include the final framed size in inches with width and height.
• Year work was created.
• Brief statement about the work

Selection Process

Submissions will be juried by PCCA’s current exhibition committee members. Committee members review all entries via slideshow and submit their individual scores for each piece. Artwork is randomly presented in the slideshow, with the following information displayed alongside the image: title, size, medium, artist statement about the work. Once all scores have been submitted, the highest scoring artwork will be accepted for display.

Artwork that does not meet the Exhibit Submission Requirements will not be accepted into the exhibit. Artwork that scores an average of two (2) or lower is automatically declined for display.

Artists whose work is accepted into the exhibit will receive an email with an artist packet (contract, inventory sheet) and a list of accepted artwork on February 14, 2025. Artist names will also be featured on the exhibition web page, along with the monitor outside the gallery entrance.

If your work is accepted, you will receive an acceptance letter (email body) along with an artist packet that includes a contract for display and exhibit inventory sheet. These documents must be completed and returned to PCCA no later than the time of artwork delivery.

All accepted works must arrive to PCCA between March 3 and March 16. Work that does not arrive by the deadline will not be included in the exhibition.

Artists must bring only the accepted artwork to the gallery for the exhibition. PCCA will not accept or display any work that was not part of the jury process for selection or was not accepted into the exhibit.

Accepted artwork must be ready for display at the time of art drop off. PCCA follows a strict NO WET WORK policy for exhibitions. Wet paintings or clay, frames without hanging wire, broken hanging wire, broken frames, etc., will not be accepted by PCCA staff. Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns about displaying your accepted artwork.

Sales

All artists may choose whether or not to list their work for sale during the exhibition. This decision, along with the price that you determine for your piece, will not effect the selection process.

If your artwork is listed for sale, you must complete a Michigan w9, if one has not previously been completed, for PCCA to issue payment. PCCA will follow up directly if your artwork sells.

PCCA keeps a 30% commission on pieces sold by our members, and a 40% commission on pieces sold by non-members. Membership dues are non-refundable and must be purchased prior to the opening reception. Membership commission rates will not be retroactively applied when a membership is purchased after a sale has already been made. Click here to purchase a membership today.

Unsold artwork will be available for pick up by the artist or an artist’s representative beginning April 21 – 27. Any work that is not claimed 30 days after the final day of the exhibition may be considered abandoned and become the property of PCCA.

Opening Reception

Our opening receptions serve as an opportunity for artists to invite friends and family, while socializing with other art enthusiasts in our community. The opening reception for The Reality Show will take place on Friday, March 28 from 4pm – 7pm. PCCA staff will make brief announcements at 6pm.

Attendance is free to the public. PCCA will provide light refreshments. Featured artists will receive a nametag to wear during the exhibition.

Attendees can purchase any of the art listed for sale during the opening reception and throughout the duration of the show. Find a PCCA staff member in the building to notify them that you’d like to make a purchase.

Parking is available but limited along Pine Street outside of PCCA. Free parking is also available at Rochester Municipal Park, a short walk north of our building. Parking at the deck at 4th Street and Walnut is free for the first hour and $1.25 for each additional hour. ATTENDEES OF THE RECEPTION SHOULD NOT park in the lots of neighboring businesses, or on the lawn at PCCA.