Guild Artist’s Benefits and Obligations
The Arts Guild of Sonoma is a nonprofit artists’ collective in which every member fully participates in the business of running our gallery. Founded in 1977, we are one of California’s oldest, continuously operating artists’ cooperatives.
Artist Membership Benefits
Artist members in the Arts Guild of Sonoma enjoy these benefits:
Show your artwork in the gallery at least six months a year
Display images of your artwork on our website and link to your personal website
Display images of your artwork on the Guild’s Facebook page and link to your personal Facebook page
Display images of your artwork for sale in our new online store
Display your business cards in the gallery
Sell your matted prints from art bins in the gallery
Sell your greeting cards from card racks in the gallery
Sell your small artwork (less than $100) from the “Small Works” display case in the gallery
Display your artist’s binder in the gallery for buyers’ reference
Teach art workshops/classes for children, teens, and adults
Mentoring program to assist you through your first 2 months of membership
Artist Membership Responsibilities
The Arts Guild of Sonoma is a nonprofit public benefit corporation, supported and maintained by our Artist members. Each Artist member has a responsibility to fully participate in the business of our gallery. Please consider all of the following information when deciding whether membership in the Guild is a good fit for you.
Annual Contract
Exhibiting Artist members are required to sign a contract for the months they intend to exhibit work with the Arts Guild for a minimum of six months per year. Annual contracts are due within four weeks of receipt of the contract.
Annual Membership Fee of $120
An annual gallery fee of $120 must be paid by January 15th for each year in which you show your work in the gallery. For members joining later in the year, the fee will be pro-rated from the month you are able to exhibit your work and is payable when you sign a contract to be an exhibiting artist in the Guild.
Exhibiting Fees
Artists pay fees for each month their work is exhibited, payable the day the show is installed, as follows:
2-D half-space $70 – 4 ft. wide wall space limited to 42″ of actual art within the space
2-D full-space $140 – 8 ft. wide wall space limited to 7′ of actual art within the 8’ space
3-D space $70 - floor or pedestal surface
Print Bins $21 Quarterly
Card Racks $15 Quarterly
Small Artworks Display $21 Quarterly
Gallery Commissions on Sales
Artwork sold in the gallery is subject to a 20% commission.
The maximum consignment fee for exhibiting member artworks whose price is over $6,000 is 25% or the artist’s regular gallery consignment fee whichever is less.
A credit card service charge of 2% is paid by the artist.
Gallery Hours
Exhibiting artists work in the gallery and perform required operational duties (e.g., recording sales, ) during the months that they exhibit, as follows:
4 hours for one half space in the Gallery
8 hours for a full space in the Gallery
2 hours for one space in the Foyer
When an Exhibiting Artist cannot fulfill their gallery hours obligation, he/she can arrange for the hours to be worked. Other exhibiting Guild artists may substitute for your hours. Cost: usually $20/hour to be negotiated between you and the member working your hours.
Gallery/Guild Jobs
Exhibiting Artists are assigned a gallery/Guild job which they are responsible for performing regularly throughout the year, regardless of the months in which they exhibit and separate from their exhibition-related gallery commitments. All jobs are critical to the Guild’s operation.
We attempt to match you with a job that works with your skillset. The following are some of the Guild jobs, although they are not all available at all times:
Jobs include:
Officer of the Guild
Guild Board of Directors
Application Committee
Monthly Opening Receptions – coordinating, setting up, or clean-up
Annual Fundraiser Committee
Events Committee
Public Relations & Marketing
Maintenance (e.g., cleaning, lighting, painting)
Grants and Donations
Questions? Please contact either Screening Committee Co-Chair, Gail Duffley or artist Nancy Martin.
Our gallery is located just off the historic Sonoma Plaza, a year-round tourist destination for visitors from all over the world. Through our prime venue, we continuously expose our artist members’ works to new viewers. We also host monthly gallery receptions to provide valuable opportunities for our artist members to meet and engage with prospective buyers and local art patrons.
Over the years, hundreds of artists of diverse ages, careers, and artistic backgrounds and working in various media have participated in the Guild. Many current members are award-winning artists, and many show their work throughout the U.S. We welcome new artists to join our creative family, live our purpose, and develop and grow within our artistic community.