Preparing Work
for Exhibition

  • Work should arrive at the galleries ready for hanging (unless the work is an object intended for display on a shelf or pedestal). This means framed and wired across the back.

  • Your framed work should be labeled on the back with your name and the title of the piece.

  • If you’re unsure about what kind of frame to use, keep it simple. A narrow, black, wood or aluminum (Nielsen) frame with a white overmat look great in 99.99% of cases.

  • If you use a ready-made frame, be sure the hanging points on the back are attached to the sides of the frame, not to a cardboard or chipboard backing.

 

Packaging and Shipping

  • Do not use packing peanuts/pellets of any type (including biodegradable), or allow your pack/ship facility to use peanuts or pellets.

  • We plan to return your work in the same box, and with the same packing materials, we receive it in. Please keep this in mind when packaging it up! If we have to use knives, scissors, or machetes to gain access to your actual piece, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to use the same packaging materials when we pack it back up, and that will cause delays in the return of your work (and will make us grumpy).

  • We recommend FedEx “Framed Art Boxes” for easy, safe packing and shipping. You buy the box in addition to paying shipping, but the box can be reused many times (and STCF will always return shipped work in its original packaging unless the packaging arrives destroyed or heavily damaged). We’re not affiliated with FedEx in any way, but in our experience, their Art Box is a win-win for artists and galleries. Info here: https://www.fedex.com/en-us/shipping/packing-boxes/services.html#specialtyboxes

  • Include a pre-paid, self-addressed return shipping label inside the box with your work. Yes, your work might sell during the show; but if it doesn’t, it will be much harder to get a pre-paid label once your packaged work has left your hands.

  • Do not use packing peanuts/pellets

  • Be sure to include the following with your work before sealing up your package:

    • Signed insurance agreement (unless you emailed a scanned copy)

    • Pre-paid, self-addressed label for return shipping (this is not optional if you want the work back)

    • Your artist statement and/or CV if you’d like it made available to gallery visitors

  • Did we mention no peanuts?

 

International Shipping

 

In addition to the steps listed above, if you are shipping work from outside the USA, please state the following on any customs/declaration form(s):
Artwork on temporary loan for gallery exhibition. To be returned to sender.

We understand there are additional challenges involved when shipping internationally. If you are unable to obtain a pre-paid return label prior to shipping your work, please do the following:

  • Make note of the package dimensions and weight of your outgoing shipment. These will be needed when it comes time to ship the work back, and it’s easiest to get them off the shipping label/documents before the package leaves your hands.

  • During September, while your work is on exhibit, let your gallery contact know the options and associated costs for return shipping. Options can vary greatly depending on where you live. Decide in advance how you’ll pay the return shipping costs and communicate this to your gallery contact.

  • Be patient :-)

 

Or…Leave it all to the Pros!

We encourage international artists, in particular, to consider having their selected work professionally printed and framed in the USA by STCF sponsors Panopticon Imaging or Digital Silver Imaging. Details on these labs’ services (and STCF discounts!) will be sent to artists whose work is selected for exhibition.