Information for Prospective Members

Gallery House is a community of artists whose cooperative gallery has flourished for more than fifty years in the Palo Alto area through the efforts and contribution of its 30 some members. For the right to show their work, they contribute their share of the costs and work of operating the gallery. Admission to membership is by peer review. Several times a year there is a jurying for prospective members.

The gallery’s commission is 30% on sales and rentals. The dues are currently $90 per month.  And, we also pay a $90 assessment fee each January to cover the costs of group shows, etc. There are also a few additional fees detailed below.  Artists are required to staff or pay for staffing a total of 17 times a year.  Members also serve on hanging committees, etc.

Shows change about every four weeks with one large gallery room featuring the work of two or three artists nine months of the year and gallery-wide group shows the other three. The rest of the gallery space is devoted to a group show and at least one piece of each member’s work is displayed every month. In addition, there is cubby space for additional inventory of work that is not on display. A new member is eligible for a feature show after six months of membership but may join the queue for a show immediately upon becoming a member. While the gallery provides some help with publicity and receptions and plenty of advice, most of the work and costs of having a feature show falls upon the artists.

To be considered for membership, your work must fit the gallery. This tends to exclude plaza scale sculpture. Work that requires power, water, gas, or is significantly hazardous must also be excluded.  On the Friday or Saturday before a Sunday jurying, leave five pieces of work in each medium for which you wish to be considered at the gallery.

All work must be presented in a professional manner—matted, framed, glassed as appropriate to the medium.  Be sure to fill out the jury form and to clearly identify your work on the back with name, address, phone number and e-mail.

There is a $20 non-refundable fee for jurying each medium. We will notify you of the result as soon as we can. Please pick up your work by Tuesday after the jurying.  Members show only the media for which they have been juried. When they take up a new medium, they must pass jury before exhibiting it.  For example, painting and photography are distinguished as different media. Membership carries rights and recognition with it.  It also carries the obligations discussed below.

Gallery House Membership Requirements

1. Pay monthly dues of $90 + a $90 assessment in January for group show expenses, etc.

2. Staff the gallery one day a month (12 times) + 4 extra shifts spread throughout the year + 1 extra shift during the Holiday season when we have extended hours = 17 total shifts per calendar year.

 There are some jobs that can take the place of some staffing. Only a handful of regular, monthly jobs earn staffing credit; credit is awarded based on the number of hours the job takes. In general, six hours of job = one staffing credit.  Jobs include chair, newsletter editor, minute’s secretary, and staffing-coordinator. The staffing obligation can be satisfied by paying a member or one of our auxiliary staffers to substitute for $50 per shift.                      

3. Help with hanging group shows about 3 times a year.  This is done on Sunday mornings       at 10 a.m.

4. Assist with various tasks occasionally. We are a co-operative gallery, and as such, require members to help with such things as refurbishing our space, being on a group show committee, etc. Such occasional jobs, or any one-time task for the gallery, do not earn staffing credit; these are part of our normal gallery obligations. 

5. Keep a supply of half-sheets with an artist’s statement at the gallery, as well as business cards.  We also require images of your work    for the website as well as our Artists’ Books.  These should be updated regularly. For the web, the photos can be 400 pixels on the long side, 72 dpi.   For the artists’ notebooks, photos need to be 300 dpi. 

6. Give us your Social Security number so that the bookkeeper can pay you when you make a sale.  No one can be a member of Gallery House who is not   legally eligible to earn money in the U.S.

7.  Attend general meetings, now held on Sunday mornings about once a month, and gallery receptions, usually on Friday or Saturday evenings also about once a month, whenever possible.  While much gallery communication happens by e-mail, significant decisions are usually made at meetings.

Fee Summary
As of the date you become a member you will owe the gallery:

$90.00 dues (monthly)
$90.00 assessment fee or less ($90 per year pro-rated per month)
$15.00 initiation fee (one time)
$25.00 self-insurance fee (one time)
$20.00 key deposit (one time, to be returned to you on return of the keys)

All costs generated by preparations for a feature show are the responsibility of the featured exhibitors (i.e. printing, reception costs, etc.).

Much more information can be found on our website, www.galleryhouse2.com.