The Emporia Arts Center’s Trusler Gallery is one of Kansas’ premier Fine Art Galleries. EAC’s mission is to Educate, Advocate and Celebrate the Arts in our community, as we strive to help our community appreciate the importance of the visual arts in our society. Through exhibitions in the gallery, the diversity of talent that surrounds us is highlighted and recognized. The Emporia Arts Center works in partnership with artists to put on quality, professional gallery shows. We are committed to offering exhibition opportunities to emerging and established artists whose work exhibits high artistic qualities. In pursuit of these goals, we invite you to submit an application for exhibition. Please read the exhibition policies carefully and be sure that you understand them.

Exhibition Policies

1. Eligibility – The Trusler Gallery is open to all artists whether or not they are members of the Emporia Arts Council.
2. Quality – Artists seeking to show their work in the Trusler Gallery must submit a proposal to the Gallery Manager, detailing the quality and scope of the work to be shown along with a description of the proposed show. Images submitted with the application must be representative in quality and nature of work to be exhibited. EAC reserves the right to remove any work that is felt to be unacceptable. Work deemed inappropriate may be removed at the discretion of the Gallery Manager, Executive Director and/or Board of Directors.
3. Previously Shown Work – Gallery visitors expect to see new work when they visit, so work previously shown in the Trusler Gallery may not be shown again.
4. Installation – Artists are expected to transport their work to and from the gallery and incur all cost associated with transportation and/or shipping. Installation of the artwork and installation design decisions will be made by the Gallery Manager.
5. Inventory – Each exhibiting artist shall provide an accurate inventory of work on exhibit, using the gallery’s standardized form. This list shall be provided no later than the date of delivery of work to the gallery. 2D work MUST be framed to be shown in the Trusler Gallery unless approved by the Gallery Manager.
6. Sales – EAC will handle all sales of artwork, and collect and pay sales tax. Artists shall receive a 60% payment for items sold, and EAC will withhold a 40% commission. Should an artist make arrangements to sell artwork displayed in the gallery to a second party while said artwork is on display at EAC (to avoid paying the 40% commission), that artist shall be banned from showing in the Trusler Gallery in the future. Artist payment checks will be mailed no more than 30 days after the completion of the exhibition.
7. Removal of Artwork – All work must remain in the gallery for the duration of the show. This means through the closing of the gallery on the last scheduled day of a show. Artwork sold during the show may be picked up by the purchaser at the end of the last full day of the show. Unless other arrangements are made, unsold artwork not picked up within ten (10) business days following the last day of the show will become the property of EAC and will be disposed of at their discretion.
8. Artist’s Presence – For visitors, the gallery experience is greatly enhanced by the opportunity to talk with the artists themselves, and research has proven that sales increase when the artist is present. Therefore, artists are expected to be present for the entire opening reception. They are also strongly encouraged to be present for any Art Walk or special events that fall during their shows.
9. Reception – A 1-hour reception will be held for every gallery exhibition, either as an opening or closing reception, depending on time availability of all parties involved- opening reception is preferred. Light refreshments and wine will be provided by the Trusler Gallery. Only EAC employees are permitted to serve wine to guests and all guests who appear to be under the age of forty (40) will be asked to show their government issued photo identification card. Underage drinking will not be permitted and is grounds for dismissal from the building and possible legal action.
10. Publicity – EAC will create, print and distribute promotional show cards to our mailing list of Members and Business Partners (approximately 250 cards), and have extra cards available for visitors at the front desk area. If an artist wishes to purchase additional cards to be mailed or distributed on their own, they must request to do so in the planning stages of the exhibition. EAC will additionally provide social media promotion on our website, Facebook and Instagram accounts and will issue a press release to local media outlets. Each artist must provide three high resolution (300 dpi) images for use on the promotional show card no later than two months before the beginning date of the show.
11. Hours of Operation – EAC is open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Tuesday through Friday and from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Additionally, on the first Friday of each month EAC is open until 9:00 p.m. to accommodate the Emporia First Friday Art Walk. Artists may not enter the building at any other time nor may they use the gallery for any purpose other than the exhibition of their artwork without permission of the Gallery Manager.
12. Liability – Although EAC has a security system in place and a staff member present during all business hours, artists are encouraged to ensure their own work as no insurance coverage is provided by the Emporia Arts Council. While all artwork will be handled with the utmost care, EAC may not be held liable for damage to or loss of the artist’s work.

Application for Exhibition