The Umbrella Arts Center – Call for Proposals
The Umbrella Arts Center presents four or more exhibits in the main Allie Kussin Gallery annually, as well as exhibits in the second floor Wedge Gallery and other spaces throughout the Center. Exhibits include curated and juried shows as well as solo and community exhibitions.

The Umbrella is currently seeking proposals for our 2025-2026 season.

The Umbrella is seeking shows that engage with and add to the current creative conversation, offer a space of reflection, and feature a broad range of mediums and themes. We serve an audience of all ages and the Galleries are fully open to the public.

Proposals can be submitted by curators, individual artists, or a group of artists.

Proposals should include:
Section 1: About You
Artist statement including a paragraph on your interest in working with The Umbrella (500 words max)
Artist/Curator resume or curriculum vitae with contact information
Artist/Curator Portfolio
Website and/or social media (optional)
List of three references

Section 2: About the Exhibition
Proposed Exhibition Title
Proposed Exhibition Statement (300 words max)
High-resolution JPEGs of the selection of work for the exhibit

Proposals can be submitted to Julia Martorell, Visual Arts Manager, at [email protected] as one PDF document that includes all of the application materials.

Deadline for submission: Friday, May 16th, 2025

About The Umbrella Arts Center:

Welcoming nearly 30,000 visitors each year, The Umbrella Arts Center is a cultural leader in metro west Boston providing broad and diverse access to a wide range of performing arts, visual arts, and arts education. Annual programming includes year-round gallery exhibits, a professional season of musicals and plays produced by The Umbrella Stage Company, Concert and Film Series, robust classroom offerings, and a popular summer camp. In addition, The Umbrella is an artistic home for more than 50 studio artists and artists-in-residence.
The Umbrella Arts Center promotes creativity, learning, personal growth, and cultural exchange through accessible arts education programs, performing and visual arts presentations, and community collaborations. Located in the historic and cultural center of Concord, MA, The Umbrella features multiple gallery spaces, state-of-the-art performance spaces including a 350-seat main stage theater and a 100-seat flexible black box space, a recently expanded Ceramics Studio, classroom spaces designed to support a range of artistic mediums, ages and experience levels, as well as independent artist studios.
Contact:
Julia Martorell, Visual Arts Manager
40 Stow Street, Concord, MA
Telephone: 978-209-2965
https://theumbrellaarts.org/

Season Information
The 2024/25 Season features the following exhibits thus far:

The Alchemy of a Life, selected works by Thorpe Feidt
Oct 1 – Dec 16 2024
https://theumbrellaarts.org/Feidt

Weaving an Address
April 14-June 22 (indoor exhibit)
April 14-Oct 18 (outdoor exhibit)

This project is part of The Umbrella Arts Center’s long standing Art Ramble tradition, extended this year in celebration of the semiquincentennial. Viewers will walk a trail through Walden Woods and surrounding areas that features a monument to Brister Freeman, an enslaved man who won his freedom by serving in the Revolutionary War and then lived in Walden Woods along with other formerly enslaved people, and is otherwise named Thoreau’s trail. Between 10 and 12 outdoor art installations will be dispersed and placed along a marked path leading to the Reflection Circle.

Participating artists will draw inspiration from research and information provided about Walden Woods including the book Black Walden: Slavery and Its Aftermath in Concord, Massachusetts by Elise Lemire.

Artists’ work will also be featured in a concurrent show in the Allie Kussin Gallery at The Umbrella Arts Center that will run from April through June 2025. This exhibit will include multimedia expressions of the site installation in Walden Woods and encourage visitors to engage with both the indoor and outdoor aspects of the show.

Summer Exhibit TBA – An exhibition celebrating the work of the teachers and students of The Umbrella Arts Center
July – Sept 2025

The 2025-2026 season currently includes:
Joy and Peace– An exhibition of abstract works by Christiane Corcelle and Jill Goldman-Callahan
Oct-Dec 2025

GALLERY INFORMATION
Allie Kussin Gallery (101)
Overall 828 sq feet (36’ wide x 23’ deep)
With additional display wall space opposite the entrance 20’ wide and two small 3’ wide additional spaces; and two fixed locked glass display cases to either side of Gallery entrance, each 6’ wide

Wedge Gallery (Floor 2 Theater Entrance)
20’ wide wall, with two additional display wall space pending availability

View schematic of the Kussin Gallery walls and display space here
For 360 VR enabled tour of the Kussin Gallery, see the Kuula tour https://theumbrellaarts.org/artbeat
For 360 VR enabled tour of both floors galleries, see the Kuula tour at https://theumbrellaarts.org/POR

FAQ
Insurance:
Insurance for the retail value of work on loan or consignment is provided by The Umbrella up to $50,000. An insurance rider is required if any one piece is over $15K or if the total show is valued over $280K. The Umbrella is not responsible for any injury, losses, or damage that might occur during transport to or from the exhibition site or for any works left behind after the agreed upon deinstallation date.

Financial:
The Umbrella Galleries host different kinds of exhibits each season. If you are a curator proposing a show, curator fees range from $1,500 up to $3,000. If you are an individual or a group of artists proposing a show where the artwork is not for sale, honorariums may range from $300-$1,100. If you are an individual or a group of artists proposing a show where the artwork is for sale, benefits and fees will be discussed with the organization ahead of finalizing the contract.

Sales:
Works may be offered up for sale in the galleries. The Umbrella will take a 30% commission for any works sold during the exhibition. A price list must be provided to The Umbrella at least one month in advance of the Exhibition opening.

Installation:
All work must be ready to be hung, mounted or installed, and shown at your designated installation time. The Umbrella will provide installation of any 2D pieces. Artwork with any specific display or installation requirements will be discussed and agreed upon at least one month in advance of the Exhibition opening.

Transportation:
The Umbrella does not provide transportation or shipping of artworks.