MVAA membership is currently at full capacity.
We will not be accepting any new members in 2024.

Becoming an Artist Member

The MVAA is a membership-based organization that accepts new members once a year through a jury process. We welcome diversity within our community and a variety of artistic styles reflecting the entire island of Martha’s Vineyard.

Due to gallery size limitations and a short exhibition season only a few members are accepted each year. A minimum of 5 volunteer hours per year is expected.

Membership has a multitude of benefits, including being a part of the Island creative community and exhibiting one’s work in the historic Old Sculpin Gallery! We have weekly exhibits, with the opportunity to have your own show each season. We also have a strong and supportive fellowship of artists, local and seasonal. As a non-profit, we participate in community outreach, providing art education and workshops for the area.

A visit to the Gallery before applying will help you determine if the Old Sculpin is the right venue for your work, in terms of medium, subject, style, price and scale.

Membership is contingent upon the following criteria:

  1. A mastery of your medium (non-student)

  2. An eagerness and ability to participate in our Association through volunteering and attendance at MVAA events

  3. All members must have a developed relationship to Martha’s Vineyard and all members are expected to be present on the island to hang their shows and take them down

  4. All members are expected to exhibit current work completed in the last two years or so and to mark their work for sale with a price shown.

Old Sculpin exhibits members’ art in 2 ways:

  1. In the “ Members Gallery,” where each member may hang their work throughout the season. Members are expected to be present on the island to hang their own shows and to take them down. The number of works is determined by the manager, based on size. This gallery cannot accommodate overly large pieces. 

  2. In our other galleries, where each member, in good standing, is allocated a week for their own show. There are no size constraints on pieces at these shows other than the space itself.