What is ShopART?

ShopART Midwest is an artist-centric, non-commission gallery that connects Midwest artists to the buyers who appreciate living with the arts and handcrafted items. This is a service by Twin Rivers Council for the Arts supporting our local culture makers and making it easier for anyone to bring special, handmade arts into their lives.

Artist Opportunities

Find opportunities to apply for new projects, grants, call-to-artists, festivals and events here.

See Opportunities

Upcoming Events

Sell My Art

ShopART Midwest is the online platform that connects your studio and practice to those who want to support you and own the work you make. After our curatorial committee has approved your work for exhibition, a modest annual fee allows you to present your work to a wide market of buyers. When someone wants to hire you or buy something, ShopART Midwest connects them directly with you to complete the sale. 
 

  • Wide exposure through the Upper Midwest and beyond
  • 100% commission free
  • Easy sorting helps shoppers find you

The Benefits of Selling Art on ShopART Midwest?

CONNECT DIRECTLY WITH BUYERS

ShopART exists to help art buyers find work they love. Contacts are between the buyer and the artist’s studio, so the whole purchase price goes to the artist.

BUILD ONLINE PRESENCE

More people can discover your work if it is shown in more places. Use ShopART to refer to your other digital spaces or, use it as a place to start your online representation.

EXPAND YOUR REACH

Patrons are more likely to find new artists through a single location that allows them to browse multiple artists. They trust that ShopART artists are carefully selected.

How Do I Join ShopArt Midwest?

REGISTER AS A SHOPART MIDWEST ARTIST

Apply by submitting three work samples along with a professional biography and profile information. Applications may be submitted at any time. ShopART Midwest attempts to approve or decline participation by new artists within 10 business days.

PAY ANNUAL NON COMMISSION ONLINE GALLERY FEE

Once accepted for exhibition by the curatorial committee, you pay an annual fee of $40. Alternatively, artists at the $50 level of association with the Twin Rivers Council for the Arts receive inclusion on ShopART as a benefit. No further commissions are charged. We connect you directly with the buyer for final sale.

ADD YOUR WORK

You may upload as many artworks for sale as you wish. Artists whose track record with ShopART Midwest is established can add and remove work at any time. New artists temporarily require approval by administration staff when adding or removing work. This restriction is NOT further curatorial review. It is only to ensure that terms of use are being followed and that content is appropriate for display.

Register Now!

Selection Criteria

Experienced members of  the arts community in Greater Mankato serve on our curatorial review panel. Artists apply by submitting three work samples along with a professional biography and profile information. Applications may be submitted at any time. ShopART Midwest attempts to approve or decline participation by new artists within 10 business days.

The curatorial panel will review work based on the following criteria:

  • Technical skill – level of craft, mastery of medium, attention to detail and finish
  • Originality/Creativity – the artist works with a distinctive and compelling style and/or insightful and interesting content
  • Aesthetic Quality – work demonstrates proficient skill in chosen discipline
  • Work must not be crude or offensive and should be appropriate for public display

All artwork and creative endeavors are welcome. Work that exists in multiples, as in cast sculpture or hand-made prints, must be signed and part of an edition not larger than 50 numbered works.

AVAILABLE RESOURCES

Springboard for the Arts

Springboard for the Arts’ mission is to support artists with the tools to make a living and a life, and to build just and equitable communities full of meaning, joy, and connection. Founded as an independent nonprofit in 1991, Springboard for the Arts has an innovative 30-year history of supporting artists making a living and a life and artist-led community development work.

Learn More

 

Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council 

The Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council serves the artistic communities of the 9-county area of southcentral MN by supporting the creation and presentation of diverse art forms, fostering equitable access to arts opportunities, and integrating arts and culture to enhance quality of life in our communities.

Learn More

ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council 

The Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council offers several grant programs in its current fiscal year (July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022.) All of the grants are reviewed by the PLRAC Board of Directors.

Deadlines:

July 1 – April 1 – Small Arts Project Grant & School Arts Project Grant, Monthly deadlines, until funds are exhausted.

August 1 – Arts and Cultural Heritage Grant

October 1 – Professional Mid-Career Artist Grant, $3,000 

November 1 – Youth Scholarship, grades 3–12, $300 or $200

January 1 – Arts and Cultural Heritage Grant

March 1 – Artist Career Development Grant, $1,500

Learn More

Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Support for Individuals Grants

Creative Support for Individuals grants are flexible. They are meant to help artists and culture bearers adapt to a changing and challenging environment in which to work. By using their creativity and connection to community, this grant program will help Minnesota artists and culture bearers maintain their visibility and financial sustainability. Grantees will be able to use funds to sustain their practice and stay relevant and connected to audiences, participants, students, or communities now and in the future.

Deadline: TBD

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Mn Artists

Mn Artists is a platform of the Walker Art Center that supports Minnesota’s local artist community by nurturing arts writing and relationship building. Through Mn Artists and other initiatives, the Walker champions the regional art community by forging connections between locally-rooted artistic practices and national and international conversations in contemporary art, while spotlighting the rigor and vitality of the local arts scene.

Deadline: Varies

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Southwest Minnesota Arts Council

The goal of the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council is to provide resources and recognition to regional artists that will allow their work to develop and evolve. It is their intent to inspire creativity in its unique and true state without consideration of what is saleable.  Individual Artist grant programs are designed to aid in the career development and arts activities of artists living and working in the eighteen counties of southwestern Minnesota served by the SW MN Arts Council and to aid the development of young artists.

Deadline: Varies

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Springboard for the Arts

List of resources for grants and funding opportunities for artists in Minnesota. This is not a grant database, but a directory of actively updated calendars and resources available for finding grant opportunities and information.

Deadline: Varies

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Forecast

Organized below by region, opportunities include Requests for Qualifications (RFQs), grants, other calls for entry, as well as employment, fellowship, workshop, conference, and volunteer opportunities. Forecast’s best practice is to post Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) for artists/artworks, rather than Requests for Proposals (RFPs). If you would like to learn more about best practices for public art calls, please reach out to our consulting team at consulting@forecastpublicart.org

Deadline: Varies

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