The central difference between Supporting membership and Active status is that Active members may participate in exhibitions. In order to submit your work for exhibition jury we require artists to apply for Active status which serves as a pre-screening. Please review our current directory of Active members and their artwork here, before applying to see what kind of level our Active members are working at.

If you are an artist who is interested in participating in exhibitions and honing your skills, then please read on. There's a lot of information here because it is important that you understand the process.

Please read carefully through the submission guidelines before you start your submission process.

ELIGIBILITY

In order to be eligible to apply for Active Status or Active Stauts of Sculpture, you have to be a Supporting Member first. There is no waiting period required between joining as a Supporting Member and applying for Active Status. You may apply for Active status or Active Status of Sculpture once your Supporting Membership registration is completed.

ACTIVE STATUS CRITERIA

Active Status is granted if the jury believes that the majority of the works submitted could reasonably be expected to be juried into a FCA exhibition. This means that at least 6 out of the 10 submitted images need to be suitable for FCA shows. Remember that the FCA operates at a national level and you will be competing with visual artists throughout Canada. Competition is tough and standards are high. This also means that receiving your Active status or Active Status of Sculpture and being accepted into an exhibition means that much more.

ALLOWED MEDIA

The Federation of Canadian Artists is currently representing artworks executed in the following media for Active Status:

oil, acrylic, watercolour, pastel, mixed media, graphite, ink, pen and pencil. Original hand pulled prints are eligible in runs of up to 200 in an edition.

The Federation of Canadian Artists is currently representing artworks executed in the following media for Active Status of Sculpture:

stone, metal, glass, clay, wood or ceramic.

HOW TO APPLY?

A non-refundable $15.00 application fee applies at the time of your submissions. Applicants must submit 10 JPEG images of their artwork via our online system to undergo a jury process.

We accept applications for Active Status throughout the year and arrange for jurying to take place twice a month; usually midway through the month and at the end of the month. Exact dates will vary. Applications for Active Status of Sculpture are accepted once a month.

PROCESSING TIMES:

Applications are processed as a monthly intake, not on an individual basis. Please check the closing date for the intake you apply for. You will receive notice of your result within two weeks of this date.

Click Here to Start your Application in 2D Media		Click Here to Start your Application in Sculpture

Upgrade Fee

The level of service provided to Active members is greater than what we provide to Supporting members. Therefore, membership fees for Active members are a bit higher too. If you are successfully juried into Active Status you will be contacted to pay $30 which is the difference in cost between the Supporting ($65) and Active ($95) memberships. For brevity this is called the Active Upgrade fee. Once this fee is processed, your Active membership upgrade will be completed and the Active Status Package will be emailed to you.

Active Status Feedback Session

Members who do not receive their Active Status or Active Status of Sculpture will be invited to enrol (free of charge) in an Active Status Feedback Session, led online by one of our Signature Status jury members. The feedback session will take place online, facillitated via the interactive software program, Zoom so members can participate from the comfort of their own home.  Instructors will chose all or some of the images members used to apply for Active Status to critique, offering insight on where each artist is in their practice and how each artist can improve their application for next time.  Each student will be allotted 10 minutes for feedback from the instructor and will remain on a first-name basis so as to respect their privacy. 

Active Status Acceptance Package

The package is a valuable source containing information on:

• Benefits of Active Membership
• Juried shows submission guidelines
• Image Specifications for submissions
• Copyright
• Framing Standards
• Delivering/Collecting Artwork
• Sales of Artwork
• Member Self-Service Portal

Click here or below to download the 2024 Active Status Package