Member Benefits

Wouldn't it be great if membership at the Museum of Modern Art entitled you to be considered for inclusion in their exhibitions?

Well, even though cWOW was featured in the New York Times with the headline: "A Gallery That’s Almost A Museum", we obviously don't presume to compare ourselves to MoMA, but, unlike most institutions of even our own size, we do offer exhibition opportunities as a free benefit to our artist members.

Most not-for-profit galleries and museums have membership programs that offer free passes to "special" receptions, an obligatory newsletter, and 10% off "museum quality" pencil sharpeners from the gift shop. cWOW is different. We are an artists' advocacy organization and our policies reflect just that. Yes, your membership contributions are very important to our survival, but we view membership as an integral part of our mission to give new and emerging artists a chance to exhibit in a respected professional venue.

Each year cWOW exhibits the work of 150-200 artists in our on-site, off-site and traveling exhibitions, including more than 50% of all our member artists...Since almost all our shows are curated by guest, independent curators who may propose any artist for exhibition (whether a member or not), the extensive inclusion of cWOW members is a tribute not only to our policy of strictly requiring every curator to examine the work of each current member, but to the overall high quality of the work in our slide registry. We strongly believe that a 50/50 chance for exhibition is an excellent value for a $35 artist membership, especially when you consider cWOW's outstanding record of receiving press reviews for our shows (consistently in the New York Times, plus numerous others in the Star Ledger and other publications). In fact, the majority of all our shows since 1988 have been reviewed. This is a phenomenal record, especially when compared to most for-profit galleries.

1. Your chances of being exhibited are excellent.
These odds are exceptionally good compared to for-profit galleries and art competitions. But since our membership is open to anyone, and we are not a co-op or collective, we cannot guarantee that your work will be exhibited. cWOW operates like a museum for emerging artists, using independent curators and jurors who must have curatorial freedom to ensure our reputation for quality and to generate serious press attention.

2. Your work will be seen by each curator for every show you request!
Though curators have total freedom to propose whomever they wish, we strictly require them to look at each current member's images. And our record of exhibiting so many members each year proves that curators are open to new artists if you just get them to look.

3. You will have new exhibition opportunities each year.
Since cWOW presents group shows exclusively, with new themes, curators and jurors each year, your work is constantly being examined in a new context.

4. We guarantee open exhibitions during each year of your membership.
Instead of scheduling exhibitions far in advance, we keep open slots in each upcoming 12 months to ensure that you have a chance at being selected for shows during your membership.

5. Our slide file is one of the largest, most professional, and most active in the entire state and region.
Because of our 25-year longevity and reputation, curators consider us a great resource when putting together shows. The more members we have, the more valuable our slide file is to curators. During 1998-99 alone, at least 100 artists were chosen from our slide file by curators organizing shows for non-cWOW venues.

6. We do off-site, on-line, and traveling shows, large-scale public art commissions, and education projects.
cWOW offers extensive opportunities to member artists through projects which extend well beyond our on-site exhibition schedule. Our year-round Seton Hall shows make us one of the largest exhibitors of contemporary art in the state.

7. We make money for artists.
In recent years we have paid artists well over $100,000 for commissions, art sales and awards, as well as mentor, juror, lecture and exhibition stipends.

8. We publish illustrated catalogues for every show.
Though our budget usually requires a format of modest size, they are professionally produced and include photographs of the artworks. Like reviews, they become basic promotional tools for artists when approaching for-profit galleries.

9. Artist Members are encouraged to submit show proposals, even if their own work is included.
Though other organizations disqualify such shows, we find that when a curator's own work is included in a proposal, he or she often has a better grasp of the show's concept, and is more professional and energetic in organizing the exhibition. We are happy to work with first-time curators as part of our mission to create opportunities in the arts.

10. cWOW is one of the few galleries dedicated exclusively to emerging artists.
We are a non-profit advocacy organization for new and emerging artists. We are here to help artists who are not yet formally represented by a for-profit gallery.

11. Free benefits for members:
In addition to exhibition consideration, we also offer internships, stipends, cash awards in our Metro Show, and information on group-rate health insurance, artist housing, competitions, grants, taxes and legal help.

12. Our gallery space is professional, highly visible, safe and easily accessible.
If you haven't visited us lately, you might not realize why we've been receiving so much positive attention from the press, our colleagues, our members and our visitors. Stop by and check us out.