Alberta Street Gallery
Portland, Oregon
Celebrating the Legacy of Gallery Artist
Lavaun Benavidez-Heaster
Call for Membership for Disabled artists and BIPOC artists
Application Deadline May 7th
About Lavaun
Lavaun was a legally blind paper collage artist and a longtime advocate for others with disabilities, who was proud of her Indigenous and Ladina heritage. Before Lavaun died last November she expressed her dearest wish, that her space in Alberta Street Gallery would be dedicated to broadening the diversity of our artists members. In her two years working at our cooperative gallery, she helped us become more aware of the barriers many people face in their daily lives, and she pushed us to help tear them down. She pointed out that it was nearly impossible for an artist with a disability to break into a mainstream gallery, as she had done, and she wanted to help secure that opportunity for others.
We aim to fulfill her bequest with a Call for Membership exclusively for Disabled artists and BIPOC artists. Applications will be accepted now through Friday, May 7, 2021.
We want to stress that Artists with Disabilities and BIPOC Artists are ALWAYS welcome to apply to our Open Calls for Membership and our Open Calls for Art Shows at Alberta Street Gallery. We have created this specific additional opportunity to amplify the voice and vision of underrepresented artists.
Alberta Street Gallery is currently seeking one 2-D artist to join our cooperative.
Membership to begin on June 1, 2021.
About Us
Alberta Street Gallery is a cooperative of vibrant, inclusive, professional artists from the Portland/Vancouver area, featuring high-quality work in a variety of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, photography, fiber, glass and jewelry. Alberta Street Gallery is an integral part of the art scene in the Historic Alberta Arts District and the greater Portland area. At Alberta Street Gallery, we recognize that our gallery space exists as a result of the gentrification of a historically minority neighborhood. We seek to honor that diversity by creating a safe, inclusive space for all people, and continuing to engage in community outreach throughout the district. The gallery seeks to foster community through a unique art-book lending library, engaging artist talks and classes, and open-call exhibitions featuring members of the community. We offer a selection of beautiful and interesting arts and crafts from a diverse group of artists and artisans. Our vision is to become more than a gallery: an actual gathering point for the community, for both artists and art lovers. The gallery is open daily and features regular art shows, including "Last Thursday," when Alberta Street comes alive to show its unique character and talent.
About Cooperatives
As a cooperative, all of the operations of the gallery are handled by the members. These roles range from marketing, sales, exhibitions, financial, community engagement, website management, and more. All members of Alberta Street Gallery work together to create and maintain our gallery. There is a pride of ownership and participation that comes from this type of business model.
Alberta Street Gallery is financed by commissions on art sales and modest monthly dues from its members. Dues are determined by the number of shifts worked by the member during the month. Commissions on the sales of their art for new members start at 70% artist/30% gallery. After the first month, members are eligible to join one of the many committees that handle various tasks and business roles necessary to the function of the gallery. If you’d like to play an active role in one of our committees, then the commission is 75%/25%. Major decisions for the gallery are handled by a six member board. These positions are voted on an annual basis. Larger gallery topics or issues may be subject to majority votes.
About Being a Member
Our aim is to choose the best artist/work that fit the current needs of the gallery; to promote balance across media; and to complement, not compete with, the work of our present members. We highly encourage prospective applicants to visit the gallery and think about how their work would fit into our current membership within these guidelines. The gallery is located at 1829 NE Alberta Street, and is open every day from 11am to 7pm.
Work should be well-crafted and exhibit a professional level of competence in your discipline.
Interested artists should be able to work well with a diverse set of people, and have the time available to work a minimum of three 4-hour shifts per month. If you have special needs please let us know so we can discuss and review what accommodations can be made to assist you accordingly.
Shifts and Monthly Dues Options Currently Available. Each shift is 4 hours. Three months of dues in advance required of new members.
3 shifts a month, $87.50
4 shifts a month, $75.00
Additional details on membership can be found in our Membership Contract
How to Apply
Lavaun was a legally blind paper collage artist and a longtime advocate for others with disabilities, who was proud of her Indigenous and Ladina heritage. Before Lavaun died last November she expressed her dearest wish, that her space in Alberta Street Gallery would be dedicated to broadening the diversity of our artists members. In her two years working at our cooperative gallery, she helped us become more aware of the barriers many people face in their daily lives, and she pushed us to help tear them down. She pointed out that it was nearly impossible for an artist with a disability to break into a mainstream gallery, as she had done, and she wanted to help secure that opportunity for others.
We aim to fulfill her bequest with a Call for Membership exclusively for Disabled artists and BIPOC artists. Applications will be accepted now through Friday, May 7, 2021.
We want to stress that Artists with Disabilities and BIPOC Artists are ALWAYS welcome to apply to our Open Calls for Membership and our Open Calls for Art Shows at Alberta Street Gallery. We have created this specific additional opportunity to amplify the voice and vision of underrepresented artists.
Alberta Street Gallery is currently seeking one 2-D artist to join our cooperative.
Membership to begin on June 1, 2021.
About Us
Alberta Street Gallery is a cooperative of vibrant, inclusive, professional artists from the Portland/Vancouver area, featuring high-quality work in a variety of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, photography, fiber, glass and jewelry. Alberta Street Gallery is an integral part of the art scene in the Historic Alberta Arts District and the greater Portland area. At Alberta Street Gallery, we recognize that our gallery space exists as a result of the gentrification of a historically minority neighborhood. We seek to honor that diversity by creating a safe, inclusive space for all people, and continuing to engage in community outreach throughout the district. The gallery seeks to foster community through a unique art-book lending library, engaging artist talks and classes, and open-call exhibitions featuring members of the community. We offer a selection of beautiful and interesting arts and crafts from a diverse group of artists and artisans. Our vision is to become more than a gallery: an actual gathering point for the community, for both artists and art lovers. The gallery is open daily and features regular art shows, including "Last Thursday," when Alberta Street comes alive to show its unique character and talent.
About Cooperatives
As a cooperative, all of the operations of the gallery are handled by the members. These roles range from marketing, sales, exhibitions, financial, community engagement, website management, and more. All members of Alberta Street Gallery work together to create and maintain our gallery. There is a pride of ownership and participation that comes from this type of business model.
Alberta Street Gallery is financed by commissions on art sales and modest monthly dues from its members. Dues are determined by the number of shifts worked by the member during the month. Commissions on the sales of their art for new members start at 70% artist/30% gallery. After the first month, members are eligible to join one of the many committees that handle various tasks and business roles necessary to the function of the gallery. If you’d like to play an active role in one of our committees, then the commission is 75%/25%. Major decisions for the gallery are handled by a six member board. These positions are voted on an annual basis. Larger gallery topics or issues may be subject to majority votes.
About Being a Member
Our aim is to choose the best artist/work that fit the current needs of the gallery; to promote balance across media; and to complement, not compete with, the work of our present members. We highly encourage prospective applicants to visit the gallery and think about how their work would fit into our current membership within these guidelines. The gallery is located at 1829 NE Alberta Street, and is open every day from 11am to 7pm.
Work should be well-crafted and exhibit a professional level of competence in your discipline.
Interested artists should be able to work well with a diverse set of people, and have the time available to work a minimum of three 4-hour shifts per month. If you have special needs please let us know so we can discuss and review what accommodations can be made to assist you accordingly.
Shifts and Monthly Dues Options Currently Available. Each shift is 4 hours. Three months of dues in advance required of new members.
3 shifts a month, $87.50
4 shifts a month, $75.00
Additional details on membership can be found in our Membership Contract
How to Apply
- The initial application is online and free. For each membership position, ASG will be selecting up to 6 artists from the initial pool of applicants to present their work to the ASG jury in person. Selected artists will be responsible for a non-refundable $25 jury fee at that time.
- Entries for 2-D media may include, but are not limited to: painting, drawing, photography, digital art, fiber, printmaking (intaglio, lithography, wood block, etc.), mixed media. If you have substantial bodies of work in more than one media, please submit a separate application for each.
- We are looking for artists from the greater Portland/Vancouver area ONLY.
- Deadline for application is Friday, May. 7th. Invitations to the in-person jury will be issued by Sunday May 8th, and the jury will be held the week of May 9th.
- The new members should be prepared to hang their work in the gallery Tuesday June 1, 2021. The gallery manager will arrange with you to be on hand to help.
We look forward to meeting you and seeing your art.
If you have additional questions please contact [email protected]