Delaware Valley Art League

Click here to download a PDF of the 2023-2024 Official Policies and Procedures

 

 

DELAWARE VALLEY ART LEAGUE

OFFICIAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

 

Membership:

• Membership applications are available online and at all General Meetings.

 

• DVAL Membership is open to persons 18 years of age and older with 2 possible categories:  Associate or Full.

 

• All members (including Associate Members) are eligible to attend meetings, workshops, Plein Aire events, hold office, serve on committees and vote regardless of membership status.

 

• Full Members are eligible to submit work to all DVAL sponsored shows, juried and non-juried, and participate in DVAL Art Sales.  They may also link their website to the DVAL Website under Member Gallery.

 

• All new members are designated Associate Members (A).  To become a Full Member (F) an artist must successfully pass the DVAL Internal Review Process.

 

• Friend of DVAL is a special status given to professional working artists who have formed a relationship with DVAL due to their past experiences either as a Juror or Guest Artist.  This artist must be an active, paid member of DVAL, have an art related degree, teaching experience and exhibit regionally/nationally.  These artists are not required to submit work to the Internal Review for jurying.  However, the Internal Review Committee will determine if an artist qualifies for this distinction after full review of their resume. 

 

• To be reinstated after an absence of 5 years or more,  a former member must reapply as a new member (Associate Member) regardless of former status and must successfully pass the DVAL Internal Review Process to become a Full Member.

 

• There is a $25 joiner Fee and a $40 dues charge for the first-year membership.

 

• Joiner/Membership fees are not refundable.

 

• Renewal membership payments are $40 for returning members, and $20 for Board Members, if paid by the due date of January 31st.

 

• Returning members who pay dues after January 31st incur a late fee of $10.

 

Volunteerism:

• As a volunteer run organization, all members are expected to volunteer whatever time they can during the course of the year. 

 

• All members are encouraged to consider accepting a Board Position as openings occur.  Training is provided by the outgoing Director and is ongoing as long as required.

 

• Active Board Members receive discounts on membership fees, entry fees and are eligible for half-price fees for the 2024 May Luncheon. 

 

• Those members whose work is chosen for a Special Exhibition/Art Sale must agree to help with that show in order to participate.  Details will be outlined in the prospectus for each event.

 

• Full Members who support DVAL events by volunteering their time may be invited to participate in the Annual Board Invitational Exhibition held each summer at the facility Penn Medicine in Valley Forge. 

 

Internal Review:

• In order to achieve Full Membership status new members must have their work reviewed by the DVAL Internal Review Committee.

 

• The Internal Review Committee meets twice a year in April and November.

 

• The Internal Review Committee will not review any work that does not conform to outlined requirements which are based on DVAL Official Policies and Procedures.  These requirements are posted on the DVAL Website and are sent to individual candidates well in advance of their scheduled review.

 

• There are no limits to the number of times an Associate Member may submit work to the Internal Review Committee, as long as their work continues to conform to outlined requirements.

 

• Joiner/Membership fees will not be refunded if an Associate Member’s work fails to pass the Internal Review.

 

• If an Associate Member’s work passes the Internal Review they are immediately considered a Full Member with all the privileges that Full Membership affords.

 

Operational:

• Each Director shall submit an annual budget and year-end report in April.  The Treasurer uses this information to prepare the Organization’s Annual Budget which is voted on at the Planning Board Meeting.

 

• The DVAL Treasurer shall provide the Board with a full accounting of incoming and outgoing funds each month.

 

• Board approval is necessary before paying any expenses not included in the approved Committee Budgets.  The monthly board report will reflect the annual budget in comparison with actual expenses.

 

• Due to liability concerns the Board has voted not to rent out DVAL owned equipment.

 

• In order to protect the interests of DVAL, signed Contracts and Exhibition Agreements shall be secured for all exhibition venues, facility rentals (meeting/workshop/art sale venues), jurors and guest artists.  Blank forms are available from the Administrative Secretary.

 

Community Outreach:

• DVAL does not accept advertising from any outside group, art related or not, on its Website unless it is a paid-in-full DVAL Sponsor.

 

• Due to the large number of requests, DVAL does not post non-DVAL events/opportunities on its Website.  However, members are invited to place flyers, post cards, etc. of such events/opportunities on the Membership/Welcoming table at DVAL Membership Meetings. 

 

• In honor of its 75th anniversary, DVAL has established the annual “Delaware Valley Art League Painting Prize”.  This $500 prize, to be awarded each spring beginning in 2023,  is open to all Bachelor of Fine Arts students attending the Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA).

 

Workshops:

• Workshops are held on a Tuesday the week after the Membership Meetings (except November, when the workshop is held on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving) and run from 10:00am to 3:00pm.

 

• The current Workshop fee is $40 for members.  Non-members may also attend for $50.

 

• Workshop fees are not refundable unless the Workshop Director receives an advance notice and a replacement can be found.

 

• The Honorarium for Guest Artists is $600.  $150 is paid at the Membership Meeting at the time of the demonstration and the remaining $450 is paid at the Workshop.  Any change to the Honorarium requires Board Approval.

 

• If less than 5 participants sign up for a workshop, the Guest Artist will be notified, and the workshop will be cancelled.

 

• When a workshop is cancelled, the Guest Artist does not receive the remaining $450 of the Honorarium.

 

• DVAL does not pay travel expenses for Guest Artists.

 

• The Guest Artist will not be paid if they do not fulfill their obligations (no show for any reason).

 

Nominations & Elections:

• The Vice President shall appoint and preside over the Nominating Committee.  This committee shall consist of at least 3 board members and shall be convened no later than January of each year.

 

• In the absence of a Vice President, the President shall choose a member of the Board of Directors to preside over the Nominating Committee.

 

• DVAL Officers/Directors shall be limited to holding one board position per term. 

 

• A candidate for the Presidency shall have served on the Board of Directors. 

 

• Officers/Directors shall have been a member in good standing of DVAL for at least one year.  If the necessity arises, the Board can make an exception in order to fill an office with an otherwise qualified candidate.

 

• After one term (two years) all Officers/Directors shall inform the Board, in writing, of their plans to remain or step down from their current Board Positions, no later than January. If they choose not to continue in their positions, it will be announced as open. 

 

• When Officers/Directors have served their two terms (four years) the position will be announced as open.  The current Board Member may stay in that position only if no one steps up to replace them.

 

• The Nomination Committee shall research potential candidates for open positions.  It is at this time that the general membership has the opportunity to step forward and put their name in nomination for an office.  All  potential candidates are then presented to the board for discussion and vote.  This can be done by personal contact, announcements at meetings, on the website, or by email.

 

• Once the slate has been voted on by the Board of Directors, it shall be presented to the membership via Email (MailChimp) for a vote.  The vote is tallied, and the results reported to the Membership.

 

• The Installation of Officers/Directors shall take place at the Annual Luncheon held in May, which marks the beginning of the new term.

 

• All outgoing Officers and Directors are honored at the annual May Luncheon and, in lieu of gifts, receive a certificate of appreciation, and a note thanking them for their service. 

 

Exhibitions:

• Entry fees are never refunded.

 

• Only Full Members and “Friend of DVAL’ may exhibit work in a juried and non-juried show and participate in Art Sales.

 

• Exhibitors must submit original work for all shows.  Reproductions of any type will be rejected by the Exhibition Committee.

 

• No artificial intelligence or digitally generated work, photographs or sculpture are accepted in any DVAL Exhibition or Art Sale.

 

• Any additional charges incurred by any Exhibition Venue must have Board approval (such as hanging systems etc.).

 

• Not-For-Sale (NFS) works are permitted at DVAL permanent venues but are not accepted at Art Sales (unless otherwise noted). 

 

• All work to be juried must have the DVAL entry label attached to the back, upper left corner for identification purposes.

 

• Each member is able to enter 2 pieces of work to be juried (unless otherwise noted).

 

• If members are permitted to enter more than one piece at Special Exhibitions/Events an additional fee may be charged for each piece submitted.  This will be clearly stated in the event prospectus.

 

• The number of entries for DVAL Special Exhibitions/Events is determined in advance by the Board and will depend on the size of the exhibition.  It will be clearly stated in the prospectus if members are permitted to submit only one or more pieces of work.  Artists will be notified when paintings, if any, are accepted by the juror.

 

• The Board determines if a show is to have a theme.  If a theme is chosen, it will clearly be stated in the event prospectus.

 

• All work must be signed in at the show by the artist (or their representative) at delivery and signed out by the artist (or their representative) when picking up work at the end of the exhibition.

 

• If the weather prohibits delivery or pick up of paintings, the exhibitors will be notified by the Exhibition Committee by email or phone.

 

• Prices may not be changed once a piece is hung.

 

• Paintings may not be removed or substituted before the end of the exhibition unless sold.

 

• No painting may be moved, once hung, by anyone other than the Exhibition Committee of that venue.

 

• It is the Exhibition Committees responsibility to ensure that no volunteer/member receives preferential treatment concerning where their work is hung.

 

• All work depicting nudity will be rejected by the Exhibition Committee, at all DVAL Exhibitions/Events.

 

The Jury Process:

• All work will be juried by an outside professional juror pre-determined by the Juror Procurement Chairperson. 

 

• Exhibition Jurors may not be DVAL Members.

 

• The Exhibition Juror Honorarium is $200.  Any change to the Honorarium requires board approval.

 

• Jurors work is no longer accepted in the show that they jury.

 

• No work may be submitted to the jury process for the same venue where it has previously been shown.  It may, however, be re-entered for jury process in another DVAL Show, at another venue.

            

• Jurors will select paintings for a show based solely on merit.  No painting will be selected to fill any quota for a desired type of painting or the total number of paintings to be hung.

 

• While the Exhibition Director/Coordinator may inform the juror of the approximate number of paintings the venue can comfortably hang, neither the Exhibition Coordinator/Committee may inform the Juror how many pieces to select, offer opinions on which paintings should get into the show or which should win prizes.

 

• Attempting to sway judges opinions will result in immediate expulsion from the Organization.

 

• Work is to be delivered to the Newtown Square Presbyterian Church Social Hall (lower level) for jurying between 9:30 and 12:30pm the day of the scheduled jury.  

 

• The membership has advance notice of when the jury process will begin.  Once the doors to the jury room are closed (at 12:30pm) no more entries will be accepted.   

 

• The jury process takes place during the membership meeting and may run longer than the meeting.

 

• Members may view delivered work prior to commencement of the jury process ONLY if they are not interfering with the work of the Exhibition Committee.

 

• Only the Exhibition Director and Exhibition Coordinator (or an alternate designated by the Exhibition Director) may be present during the jury process.

 

• All DVAL Members, including Exhibition Committee Members, may not contact the juror to discuss exhibition entries before, during or after the jury process.  Doing so will result in immediate expulsion from the organization.

 

Fines:

• Members who insist on entering the jury room prior to the completion of the jury process to retrieve their paintings will be fined $20.

 

• If a painting is juried into a show and is not delivered or hung in that show the artist will be fined $20 and will be prohibited from exhibiting at the next juried show at that venue.

 

• If an artist is unable to deliver or pick up their work at specified times they are responsible for arranging a substitute in their absence.  They will be fined $20 for failure to do so.  In addition, they will be prohibited from entering the next show at that particular venue.

 

• If an artist brings a painting to a show that deviates from the one juried in, it will be rejected at delivery by the Exhibition Committee, the artist will be fined $20 and will be prohibited from exhibiting at the next juried show at that venue.

 

• All fines will be collected by the Treasurer once the Exhibition Director identifies the need.  All fines will be deposited in a special account established to fund the current DVAL outreach project.

  

Framing Requirements: 

It is the responsibility of the Exhibition Committee to examine all work prior to the jury process.Artists whose work does not conform to DVAL framing requirements will be given the opportunity to correct the problem before it is hung (If the problem corrected when delivered to the show venue, the Exhibition Committee has the authority to reject the piece and it will not be hung in that show.

 

•  All work must be properly framed unless using gallery wrapped canvases.

 

• Gallery wrapped canvases (1 ½” edges) must have clean or painted edges.

 

• Frames must be damage free, both front and back.

 

• The wire must be strong enough to support the work and allow hanging.

 

• Dirty or unsightly mats are not acceptable.

 

• Acid free foam core or Masonite backing only.  Cardboard or other non-acid free material is not acceptable (please note - oil paintings traditionally do not have backing material).

 

• Glass or Plexiglass must be clean, without scratches or cracks.

• Screw eyes and zig-zag hooks are not acceptable.  D-rings only.

 

• Labels with the Artist’s name, title of painting and medium must be secured to the upper left corner on the back of each work for identification purposes.

 

Sales:

• Unless otherwise noted, paintings which are sold are not required to stay the duration of the show and may be replaced with a non-juried painting.  The label for the replacement painting will reflect that this is a non-juried piece. 

 

• When a painting is sold the artist must notify the Exhibition Director/Coordinator and provide the DVAL Mailing List Coordinator with the purchaser’s contact information for DVAL records. 

 

• Unless otherwise noted, all arrangements of sales and delivery to purchaser will be made by the artist and must conform to the schedule provided by the exhibition facility.

 

• Any changes in policies and procedures for special exhibitions/events will be outlined in the prospectus for that event. 

 

Liability:

• All paintings in DVAL Exhibitions/Events will be carefully handled; however, DVAL will not be responsible for loss or damage except that which occurs during the process of hanging DVAL Shows. Damage payments are not to exceed $150 regardless of the cost to repair or replace the damaged piece.

 

• There will be no reimbursement for damage or loss of works that are not picked up either when the Jury Process or The Exhibition have ended.

 

• All artists participating in DVAL shows (regardless of the size of their work) are now required to acknowledge that they have read and understand DVAL policy as it relates to loss or damage of paintings.  The liability policy will be posted at the entry sign-in table.

 

Prizes and Awards:

•  The following prizes will be awarded at shows of 40 pieces or less:

First Place Catherine Brogan Founders Award ($150)

One Honorary Mention Award ($50)

Two (2) Memorial Awards ($50 each).

 

• The following prizes will be awarded at shows of 40 pieces or more:

First Place Catherine Brogan Founders Award ($150)

2nd Place ($100)

3rd Place ($75)

One Honorary Mention ($50)

Four (4) Memorial Awards ($50 each)

 

• The Purchase Prize is no longer available.

 

• A member may only be awarded one prize per show.