Submission Guidelines for the 2025 Holiday Show
This guide will walk you through the intake process and explain drop-off and pick-up for the Holiday Show at KAA. Our yearly tradition at the KAA is to transform our gallery into a Holiday Bazaar. All Exhibiting Members are welcome to submit fine art and artisan handmade gifts to be sold in the gallery. The 2025 Holiday Show will be open to the public from November 20th through December 20th. This is a high-traffic time for our gallery, and we find that gift items and small paintings are best sellers.
Art Intake for The 2025 Holiday Show: Monday, November 17th from 2-6pm
Art Pick-Up for More Than Words: Monday, November 17th from 2pm - 6pm
Art Pick-Up for The 2025 Holiday Show: SUNDAY, December 21st from 2pm-6pm
Art Pick-Up for ALL Items in the Holiday Show and Gallery Shop: SUNDAY, December 21st from 2pm-6pm
Please note: All artwork and items for sale in the gallery and gallery shop must be picked up by the end of the pick-up session. We cannot store items or artwork that are left behind. If you will not be here for the pick-up session, please make prior arrangements or have someone to come and pick up your work for you during the pick up session.
Submission Guidelines:
Exhibiting Members may submit up to two pieces of hanging artwork for the exhibit, and are also welcome to submit handmade gifts and fine crafts to be sold throughout the gallery during our Holiday Show.
For artists submitting handmade gifts or cards: There is no formal limit to the number of items that you may bring for the Holiday Show. Please make sure that each individual item that you submit is securely labeled or tagged with your full name and the price. If necessary, we will be keeping a back-stock of works and KAA Staff will replenish the shelves as appropriate. We ask that you prepare all artwork and items for sale with price tags before arriving for the intake session.
** Artist Contracts / Required Paperwork **
We can only accept submissions with proper paperwork that has been completed. For hanging artwork, we require a 2025 KAA Holiday Show Contract and Gallery Labels. If you are bringing small items for sale throughout the gallery, we require the 2025 KAA Holiday Show Contract with the inventory sheet completed on the second page of the contract. If you need more space to list your inventory, you may attach a completed Shop Inventory Sheet. When you drop off your work for the exhibit please have all of the proper paperwork prepared ahead of time. If you are submitting hanging artwork and small items for sale you will need to have all four of these forms completed.
It is very important that your writing is printed clearly and legibly so that we can accurately log your work and print formal gallery labels for your hanging artwork.
Please make sure that the information on your artwork labels is accurate and matches the information that you included on your Artist Contract. Double check that your name is written as you would like it to appear on the gallery contract. If the labels do not match the information on the contract, we will defer to the information on the contract. No changes can be made to this information once your contract has been submitted.
If you are submitting handmade items or gifts, each individual item must include a price sticker or tag that is firmly attached to the piece. These tags must include your full name and the price of the item. Any item that does not have information securely attached to it will not be put out, and will be returned to the artist.
Framing and Hardware Requirements:
Please make sure to familiarize yourself with our Framing & Hardware Guidelines For Exhibiting Artists. This guide is also available on the second page of your artist contract.
Exhibiting Fees and Commission Rate:
There will be a flat rate $20 Exhibit Fee for all artists to participate in the Holiday Show (for submissions of hanging artwork and/or small gifts).
For the Holiday Show, The Kittery Art Association will receive 35% of the purchase price of any works sold during the exhibit. This includes hanging artwork, handmade gifts and items from the gallery shop. If your artwork sells during this show, the KAA will issue a commission check (65% of the sale price for works sold) within two weeks of the show closing date. Commission checks will be mailed to the address listed on your contract.
A Note About Displays:
Please contact us ASAP if your work has any specific display requirements. We will do our best to accommodate, but due to the high volume of submissions for the Holiday Show we must greatly limit the number of formal displays that we can accept. Please make sure that your name is on any item that comes in to accompany your work for the holiday show.
Volunteering:
The Kittery Art Association is a volunteer organization, and we rely on our members to do their part to staff the gallery so that we can remain open for the duration of the exhibit. This is our busiest show of the year, and we all need to do our part to make sure that the gallery is properly staffed. We will need two – sometimes three – gallery sitters per shift to balance the workload of ringing in items, wrapping (if needed), and logging sales. Please keep an eye out for the Holiday Show Gallery Sitter Sign Up link, which will be available on the Member Portal and via email.
Pick-Up:
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions regarding The Holiday Show, Art Intake, The KAA, and our Exhibits!
We can't wait to see you and your work on November 17th!