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Guild Membership

Membership in The Guild of Artists and Artisans is open to all that apply, regardless of state or country of residence. There are three categories of membership:

• Exhibiting Member
• Artist Member
• Friends of the Guild

All memberships in the Guild are renewed annually on December 1.The Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair is reserved for members only.  All other Guild art fairs are open to member and non-members and conduct annual juries to determine participation.

Annual Membership Fees

Exhibiting Membership - $70

Joint Exhibiting Membership - $120
Artist Membership - $45

Joint Artist Membership - $60
Friends of the Guild - $45

JOINT MEMBERSHIP POLICY

PURPOSE:  The Joint Membership Policy has been established to allow two artists that work together to create one body of work to be able to exhibit that work in Guild shows.  

ELIGIBILITY:  Exhibiting and/or Associate members, who established a joint membership, must have a designated primary and a secondary member.  The joint members pay one membership fee, have one booth space in art fairs, and are allowed one vote in Guild elections.

RESTRICTIONS: Joint Membership may be held by no more than two artists who collaboratively create and exhibit the same artwork.  Studio assistants, apprentices, administrative or clerical assistants DO NOT qualify for Joint Membership status.  To change the secondary member to primary member status, the secondary member must have been on record as the secondary member for the current year and the previous five years without interruption.  Primary member can only be replaced by the secondary member in case of death, permanent disability or permanent retirement (motion #4 BOD minutes 4/01).  The secondary member can be changed once a year, with written notification to The Guild.  Joint members may not serve on the Board concurrently.

MEMBERSHIP CUSTODY:  A Joint Membership is a single membership and will always be treated as such.  The primary member holds 51 percent of the membership and always retains ownership of the membership and in the case of joint exhibiting membership retains the booth space.  The second artist holds 49 percent of the membership, and is known as the secondary member.  Joint Exhibiting Memberships and Joint Associate Memberships (according to bylaws), are allowed only one vote in Guild elections.

ART FAIR PARTICIPATION:  A Joint Membership's collaborative work must pass the jury process to be eligible for art fair participation.  Art Fair booths will be registered in the Primary member’s name only.  Both the Primary Member and secondary member must be present in the SAF booth no less than 60 percent of each day of the fair (per Rule #4).  A booth held by a Joint Membership may additionally register as a booth sharer, subject to regulations governing booth sharing.

JOINT MEMBERSHIP DISSOLUTION:  If the partnership dissolves, or is in any way altered, whereby the collaborative artwork is no longer created and exhibited by the same two individuals, the membership will revert to the Primary Member.  In the event that the partnership dissolves, the Primary Member must re-jury to be eligible for art fair participation.  Written notice of dissolution, signed by both the Primary and Secondary Members, will serve as an official request to amend the membership file.  The primary member may establish a new Joint Membership.  It takes both Primary and Secondary Members agreeing signatures to change the primary or the secondary member.  Secondary Members, who have individual artwork, have the option to hold membership in addition to the joint membership.  If the secondary member selects a single membership in addition to the joint membership, he or she would be required to pay the appropriate membership fee and would have one vote in Guild elections per The Guild bylaws.

DEATH OF PRIMARY MEMBERS:  In the event of the Primary Member’s death, the membership will revert to the Secondary Member upon presentation of a legible photocopy of a death certificate.  The Secondary Member must then re-jury to be eligible for art fair presentation.  The Secondary Member may establish a new joint membership; each individual circumstance must be approved by The Guild; The Guild’s decisions are final.

To apply, please complete the application form and return it to:

Membership
The Guild of Artists and Artisans
118 N. Fourth Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1402

The above document is an Adobe PDF. You may need to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view it.

Exhibiting Membership

New members cannot join The Guild as Exhibiting members. The highly prized Exhibiting Membership status is based on seniority. Only 425 exhibiting memberships are available. Exhibiting status is used only in the allocation of Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair booths. Exhibiting Member status guarantees a space in the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair as long at the Exhibiting Member continues to pass the Standards Review. Exhibiting status is highly prized by the membership; there is no guarantee when that status will become available.

Artist Membership

New members join the guild as Artist members and receive the benefits of membership which include discounts on application and booth fees for non-Summer Art Fair events, the opportunity to jury for the Summer Art Fair, and serve on the Guild's board of directors and committees. In years where booth spaces remain available after all eligible members holding tenured memberships have been offered spaces for that exhibit year, Artist Members will be tapped to fill the fair.  They will be selected through a jury process and invited to exhibit based on their jury scores and medium.  The Artist Members must jury annually to be eligible for the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair.

Friends of the Guild

Individuals who support The Guild's mission but do not wish to participate in Guild art fairs may join as Friends of the Guild. Friends of the Guild do not have voting rights; they do not receive a waitlist number.

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