Members’ Open: Small Works

Each year, we present the Members’ Open Small Works exhibition during the holiday season as an opportunity for shoppers to bring home a piece of original artwork created by a Provincetown artist.

Unlike in our other exhibitions, we invite you to bring your new piece home with you upon purchase, instead of waiting for the conclusion of the exhibition.

PAAM mounts upwards of 5 members’ open and juried exhibitions annually in which participants display their work alongside some of America’s most noteworthy artists. These exhibitions represent the work of PAAM’s contemporary artist-members, many of whom live on Cape Cod either full-time or for part of the year. While the work varies greatly in media and approach, each artist-member joins a long roster of distinguished artists who have studied, taught, and exhibited at PAAM over the past 100 years. There is no submission fee for members’ exhibitions, but membership must be up to date.

OPEN EXHIBITIONS

In the 1970’s, the PAAM membership voted to present “open” exhibitions, allowing any and all members to exhibit their work in PAAM’s galleries throughout the year. Members’ Open Exhibitions represent an eclectic and extensive body of work displayed in salon style – that is, works that are stacked and tend to blanket the walls, versus the minimalist presentation most often seen in contemporary art galleries and museums. This practice was begun in Paris, France in the 19th century, where work was hung floor to ceiling and great paintings rubbed shoulders with the work of new and evolving artists.

Artist Guidelines

SUBMITTING WORK

Drop-Off Day is Tuesday, November 19 from 12-4pm. This is also Drop-Off Day for the Members’ Juried exhibition, read details about that show here.

There is no theme for this exhibition. Artwork must not exceed 20″ (including the frame), and be dry and equipped with a hanging device upon arrival.

Membership must be valid through January, 2025–anyone can join or renew online here or at Drop-Off. Our Membership List is updated the morning of Drop-Off, so if you need to renew on that day it’s typically best for you to take care of that at Drop-Off instead of online.

You can submit your Artwork Receipt online beginning November 1–it will save you the time of filling out the receipt at Drop-Off. We’ll remove the online Artwork Receipt the morning of Drop-Off Day, so if you miss that window you can just fill out a receipt when you’re here.

Dropping Off Early: If you can’t make it on Drop-Off Day, you may drop off the prior week when the Museum is open: Friday-Sunday from 12-5pm. Due to the quick installation turn-over we cannot accommodate late submissions, so consider 11/19 your absolute deadline.

SHIPPING WORK

Shipped works must arrive by Tuesday, November 19. Please either submit the online Artwork Receipt (available November 1) or include a printed copy in your packaging.

PICKING UP WORK

Pick-Up Day is Tuesday, January 14 from 12-4pm.

We are happy to ship your piece back to you, please fill out the Return Shipping Form (published in January) to begin the process. We use USPS, and charge a $15 handling fee in addition to the cost of shipping, which includes insurance determined by the price you list for your piece. PAAM cannot ascertain the shipping costs prior to packaging and weighing the artwork for return. 

Alternatively, you can send us a prepaid label from your preferred shipper (FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc.) and a check for the $15 handling fee, or simply send us a blank check that we will fill out when we have determined your shipping charges.