To recognize local artistic endeavor and to enrich the lives of community
members, the Arts Advisory Committee (AAC) invites local artists to apply
to exhibit their works at the Mansfield Community Center (MCC). An application
form is available at the MCC reception desk. Applications may be left at the
desk or be sent to AAC, care of MCC, 10 South Eagleville Road, Mansfield,
CT 06268. Note that:
A. Exhibitions will generally run for three months (e.g., January
15 to April 15).
B. Exhibiting artists assume responsibility for loss or damage and
must sign a waiver to that effect.
C. The MCC will not handle sales of displayed art, and prices may
not be posted.
D. Exhibiting artists may prepare a letter-size sheet with information
about their works, including how purchases can be arranged, for posting during
the exhibit.
Applications to exhibit will be judged by the AAC on the basis of originality,
artistic quality, and suitability for a family setting. While it is difficult
to be very precise about these notions, the following considerations and examples
are intended to suggest their meaning and scope, as employed by the AAC.
A. Originality. A work need not be something new under the sun (few
works of art can claim as much), but the artist's contribution to design and
execution should be substantial. Paint-by-numbers paintings or fabrics woven
according to someone else's pattern would not qualify as original in this
sense. Jewelry merely assembled from ready-made materials (beads, settings,
stones, etc.) is less original in this sense than jewelry in which these elements
are designed and made by the artist.
B. Artistic quality. The AAC takes a liberal view of artistic quality,
but it may reject work that, in its judgment, falls short of acceptability
for this reason. Poor draftsmanship, badly composed or printed photographs,
muddy water color, and the like, can put works into this category. Commercial
crafts, though original and well-executed, may nonetheless lack the expressive
and aesthetic qualities associated with art, and for this reason be judged
wanting in terms of artistic quality. Different standards of artistic quality
may be appropriate for special exhibits (for example, of children's art).
C. Suitability for a family setting. Works will not be accepted
for display if the AAC judges that they are very likely to upset children
or would likely trigger a warning that some viewers may find them offensive
were they to be exhibited in an art museum. These include:
(1) Graphic depictions of sexuality or violence.
(2) Works that appear designed to ridicule deeply held beliefs or
to disparage others for their race, gender or sexual identity, ethnicity ,
nationality, etc. Since works of art are generally open to interpretation,
it may be difficult to determine whether a work belongs in this category.
Nonetheless, the AAC may reject works that it considers offensive for this
reason.
Comment cards are available at the MCC reception desk for those who
wish to comment on works displayed or on display policy.
A. Comments relating to works may be shared with the artist.
B. The AAC shall respond to signed written comments relating to
policy with an invitation to their author(s) to appear before the AAC and
elaborate. The AAC shall then consider the issue and report the result of
its deliberations in writing to the author(s).