Chatham Artists Guild

Creating community among artists. Connecting artists to the community.

Membership in the Guild

Thank-you to those who applied to the Chatham Artists Guild for 2022. The application period ended on October 31st, 2021. Full information about applying to the Guild is included below for those interested, but applications will not be received again until September 1st of 2022.

 Any questions?  Please Email us. 

Why Join the Guild?

  • Connect with other members in a supportive community of active Chatham County artists, with the objective of developing and sharing knowledge, skills, resources, and sales/exhibition opportunities. 
  • Maintain your own personal artist’s page on the Guild website, including studio videos, a gallery of up to 25 images of your work, social media connections and contact information, plus the opportunity for an online sales portal.
  • Submit news items/media/features for the bi-monthly CAG newsletter distributed to more than 1100 subscribers.
  • Participate in the annual studio tour and other Guild exhibition opportunities.

Who Can Apply for Membership?

  • Application for Guild membership is open to professional working artists and craftspeople 18 years of age or older.
  • The applicant has a working studio located within Chatham County.

Responsibilities of Membership

  • Make a meaningful contribution to the Guild purpose and mission.
  • Attend Guild all-member meetings (three annually).
  • Pay annual membership dues.
  • Maintain the integrity and currency of all information, images, and videos on your artist’s profile page on the Guild website.
  • Actively participate in Guild activities (new members may wish to “get to know” the Guild before committing to the studio tour and exhibitions).
  • Make a meaningful contribution to the Guild’s purpose and mission.
  • Promote the Guild whenever possible in customer communication and correspondence.
  • At some point during your membership, serve on the Guild Board for a three-year term.
  • While the Tour is the centerpiece of the Chatham Artists Guild, the Guild’s primary purpose is to serve the Chatham County community and its artists, and a member of the Guild need not participate in the Tour as long as they remain actively involved in the Guild’s non-Tour activities and exhibitions. 

New Member Jury Selection Criteria

  • New members are juried into the Guild by a committee of Guild members.
  • Applications are juried blind – the images of your work and your artist’s statement are reviewed, but the names are hidden from the jurors during the selection process.  
  • Specific criteria when viewing images of the applicant’s work are:
    • Quality: The artist demonstrates the ability to make high-quality artwork.
    • Technical proficiency: the artist displays skill in the chosen medium.
    • Consistency: the artist has a consistent and coherent body of work.
    • Originality: The artist’s work demonstrates creativity and originality.
    • Presentation: the artist has submitted high-quality digital images.  A professional image is evenly lit and shows the work to its best advantage without background distractions or unnecessary display props. 

The Application Process

  1. The new membership application period runs from September 1 to October 31. To begin the application process after September 1, 2022, click the button below and pay the $20 application fee online through this website via PayPal or credit card.
  2. Once the application fee is received you will be sent an email with a link to the application form.  Complete and submit the form.
  3. The jury committee will meet shortly after the October 31, 2022 application deadline to conduct the selection process.
  4. If your membership is approved, you will receive an email with instructions for paying your annual dues.  Annual membership dues are $60 for working members and $120 for non-working members.  “Working members” are those who commit volunteer hours on a Guild committee or other Guild service – 10 hours or more per year if not on the studio tour, and 24 hours or more if on tour. “Non-working member” are those who choose not to volunteer for Guild services.  Membership is from January to January.  
  5. Your artist profile will be published upon payment of dues. You will receive instructions on how to login to the website, access your profile page, edit the text, upload additional images, and add video links. Once logged into the website, you will also have access to useful information available on the member resources page.
  6. You will receive a notice announcing the January All-Members Meeting in late December or early January. It is important for all guild members to participate in this gathering. For new members, it is an opportunity to ask questions about the Guild and to get to know other artist-members. 
  7. Studio tour fees can be paid anytime between January 1st, 2022 and the April 1st deadline. For those members who intend to be on the tour, the fee is $225 for working members serving a minimum of 24 volunteer hours per year, or $425 for non-working members. Fees collected from studio tour participants are used for designing and printing the tour brochure and for other tour publicity. Tour dates are traditionally the first two weekends in December. 

Any questions?  Email us.  We look forward to seeing your work!