YOUR CHOICES – 2013 Vermont Crafts Council Fees and Services

MEMBERSHIP CHOICES

A. Membership is open to individuals, businesses, galleries, and organizations that maintain residence in Vermont and are visual arts related. Each member will have a separate web page on the VCC Web Site, which enjoys about 800 page views a day.

The member fee is $60, unchanged for the past nine years.

Membership benefits include a page with a THUMBNAIL IMAGE on our website (more picture options below), discounted fee for the Spring Marketing Conference and the opportunity to register for our two Open Studio Weekends (non-members may not participate in OSW).

B. ADDITIONAL LISTINGS -You may add a listing for an additional $20. Each listing will have its own page on the VCC Web Site and must be related in one of the following ways to the first listing.

One Crafts/Arts Business with more than one site.

Crafts/Arts business with separate gallery listing.

Craftsperson/Artist working in two media.

Two Crafts/Arts businesses, same address.

Organization with educational AND gallery identities.

OUR WEBSITE

Our website has two main functions. It provides information about our members to the public, and provides information, application forms and payment options (including PayPal) to those wishing to become members or participants in Open Studio Weekend or to attend our annual Spring Marketing Conference.

HOW IT WORKS

We organize member pages by media or type and visitors to the site can view this information by region. We suggest that you visit the site to see what we mean.

On your member page are your business name, address, phone, product information, and links to your e-mail, your blog, and website (link must go to your own arts site). Your business will appear in ONE of these categories: Metal, Clay, Fiber, Glass, Wood, Fine Arts, Paper, Other Media, Shops and Galleries, Education, or Craft/Art Show Producers. Your business name will also function as a link to your member page in an alphabetical list by business name at the bottom of the category page.

PICTURE OPTIONS ON OUR WEBSITE -

A. THUMBNAIL – no additional charge. A thumbnail (small) image loads (ONLY) in the picture part of the gallery section of your media category with your business name shown beneath it. Clicking on this image will take you to your member page.

B. ONE IMAGE ENHANCED PAGE $55. One image, caption and 100 words of text appear on your member page. A thumbnail version of this image also appears in the gallery section of the website. When people click on the thumbnail in order to find out more about you or your work, this opens your member page, which has a large picture, caption and text.

C. FIVE IMAGE ENHANCED PAGE $100. Five images, captions and 100 words of text appear on your member page. A thumbnail of EACH of the images will also load in the gallery section. Clicking on any of the thumbnail images will open your member page where all five larger images, captions and text will be shown. These fees above are annual fees.

Resources for Participants | Application | Paypal for Membership | VCC Membership Form

OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND SYNOPSIS - HOW IT WORKS

Open Studio Weekend takes place Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend, or the Saturday and Sunday of the first weekend in October. Vermont visual artists and craftspeople, galleries, educational sites, may participate. Authenticity and quality are at the heart of the event.

Participants agree to open their studios to the public for the weekend, create an educational element to their event, and distribute promotional materials of their own and the Vermont Studio Tour Guide.

We produce and distribute the Vermont Studio Guide, buy general advertising for the event and provide training. We host three professional development opportunities in order to support OSW participants and to serve as material distribution (maps, posters and signs) days. The Open Studio Seminar is free to participants, though our Spring Arts Marketing Conference bears a fee. Both are held in April. The second Open Studio Seminar is held prior to the Fall Open Studio Weekend.

During the period before Open Studio Weekend, we put up maps and directions to participating sites in a separate part of our website. County maps and directions are available on the site as pdfs. If you click a county, a new page opens with images of work in a gallery section and directions to your site underneath. Your listing here is also linked to your member page.

Everyone who participates in Open Studio and pays a fee will be listed in this part of the website (but if you are showing at a hub site and don't pay us to be listed, you won't be here or on the Vermont Studio Tour map).

OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND – CHOICES & FEES

Where will you be during Open Studio Weekend?

1. At your own studio/site. $95.

2. A guest exhibitor in a hub site or in someone else's studio. NEW IN 2013 - $95.

Everyone registered for Open Studio Weekend will get their own number and spot on the map and pay the same fee.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

a. You cannot "guest" at a site that has not paid the site fee for Open Studio or one that is not arts related. Example: at a farmer's market, in a restaurant, in a library. More than one guest can show at the same site.

b. As a participant, you are responsible for getting Open Studio maps, posters and signs from someone in your area or from one of the distribution days described above. We do not mail materials except under special circumstances (Irene, for one).

c. You are expected to spend additional funds on promotion tailored to your individual need for promotion. This is why our fee has been kept so low.

d. Clusters of studios in an area draw visitors to that area. Do your part and encourage artists in your area to become part of this great event!!