King Street Arts in collaboration with Lancaster Music Festival invite Visual Artists and Musicians: to submit up to 3 artworks to be considered for inclusion in the exhibition: The Art of Music to be held at The Storey and King Street Arts in Lancaster. This is the second outing for this music influenced exhibition; 2019 was the first, and we all know about last year!! There will be a cash prize for the artist receiving most votes from the selection panel and a further visitor prize. (Total prize money of £200). There is a one off submission fee of £10 for up to 3 pieces +25% commission on any sales.

The exhibition runs from Wednesday 13th October to Monday October 25th and covers the Lancaster Music Festival weekend of 14th – 17th October 2021. The focus of the exhibition is twofold, to show the work of visual artists who have been inspired or influenced by music and/or musicians and because many musicians are also visual artists to show some of the visual art produced by musicians.

We will be looking to select up to 100 individual works for this 2 week, high footfall exhibition.

Work for the exhibition will be  jointly selected and curated by the King Street Arts team and members from the Lancaster Music Festival board. 

The Brief:

Category 1 – Artists inspired by music:

The main criterion is that each art work submitted has a describable connection with music in some form or other. This will be demonstrated by a short statement describing the link each piece of art has with the world of music, (these statements form part of the selection process). It could be a response to a favourite song/album, a design for an album/cd cover, a poster for a gig, portraits of musicians/instruments/venues. Be imaginative.

Category 2 – Visual art created by musicians:

For this there is no theme but the artist must reference their musical credentials in a short statement.

Art works can be:

• Representational, abstract or contemporary.
• Accepted media: Painting, Drawing, Print making (etchings, mono prints, etc) Photography, Sculpture, Mixed Media, Band/Music  Poster art or Album/CD cover design, All work must be capable of being wall mounted.
• 2D submissions, max size 150cm x 100cm including frame.
• 3D submissions, should have a maximum footprint of 40cm x 40cm.
• IDEALLY ALL WORKS WILL BE FOR SALE (Please check with us)  with a 25% commission fee.
• There is a one off submission fee of £10 for up to 3 pieces.
• The submission fee must be paid before the deadline of 19th Sept, see FAQ section for details.

See also FAQ for further information

Key Dates:

The Exhibition Dates: Wednesday 13th October – Monday 25th  October 2021.

Sun 19th Sept: Midnight – Submission Deadline

From 23rd Sept: Artists contacted about the work selected

Sat 9th Oct: Receiving day for work selected (by arrangement)

Sun 10th Oct: Receiving day for work selected (by arrangement)

Wed 13h Oct: Launch event  (Judges' winner announced) (details tbc)

Mon 25th Oct, 5pm: Exhibition ends (Visitor Prize announced).

Tues 26th Oct: Collection day for unsold work (by arrangement)

Wed 27th Oct: Collection day for unsold work (by arrangement)

Submission Details for Accepted Work:

• Please clearly label each work with artist name, title, medium, and selling price concealed on the reverse or base (if practicable).
• 2D submissions, max size 150cm x 100cm including frame: Please ensure that all wall-mounted artworks are framed (no clip frames) and ready to hang with 2 x D rings and cord positioned 25% down from top edge of frame. Work on canvas doesn’t need to be framed but still needs D rings and cord.
• 3D submissions, should have a maximum footprint of 40cm x 40cm

Terms & Conditions:

By submitting to this exhibition, applicants are agreeing to the conditions of entry, listed below, including:

• By entering The Art of Music 2021, Artists are agreeing that their work will be available to be exhibited for the dates stated in the call-out information and that they will not be for sale elswhere on any other website or social media site for the duration of the exhibition. 
• Artists take full responsibility for the delivery and shipping of any selected work(s) to agreed venues.
• By entering a work, each artist confirms that they hold all intellectual and moral  property rights to the work and that they agree to their work being reproduced in King Street Arts/Lancaster Music Festival promotional materials, the press, and other media.
• King Street Arts or Lancaster Music Festival are not liable for any loss or damage incurred to the artwork if shortlisted and exhibited, and advises all artists to seek their own insurance.
• All proceeds from the Art of Music (submission fees and commission on any sales) are used for the promotion and installation of the exhibition. Any surplus receipts will contribute to the prize money and support King Street Arts' ongoing activities.

About King Street Arts:

We are a  self- funding arts organisation, run by artists, set up to:

• showcase and support local and regional visual artists working within a range of art forms from traditional to contemporary.
• to support the creative arts in general.
• and bring this to a city centre location in Lancaster. 

We have two city centre gallery exhibition spaces with a programme of exhibitions, artist studio spaces and an associate artist group.

We were established in August 2017 by Roy Smith and Kath McDonald.

About Lancaster Music Festival:

This will be the 11th outing for Lancaster Music Festival which is "one of the UK’s largest urban music festivals, when over 50,000 festival-goers are expected to descend on the historic city of Lancaster for a long weekend of music and merriment. There will be music throughout the city in over 30 venues …" 

Thank you for taking part!