Info for Exhibiting Artists

Important stuff, read the whole page!

 

Presentation Options

New in 2025: We will accept work framed or unframed!
We’re offering two new options this year to help exhibiting artists keep costs down:

  • we can hang prints with no mat and no frame using discreet magnets

  • we can frame your work for our exhibitions, provided you send it to us matted to fit one of our standard frame sizes

Artists whose work is selected for our 2025 gallery shows will be asked how they plan to deliver/ship their photos to us, and we’ll work 1:1 with folks who want to take advantage of these new options.

STCF Partner Discounts

If you choose to have your work printed and/or framed professionally, our Festival partners will be happy to work with you. Panopticon Imaging, Digital Silver Imaging, and Palm Press are offering discounts on their printing and framing services to artists exhibiting work in the STCF gallery shows. They’ll even ship directly to the Festival and facilitate return shipping to you. Contact these partners directly for more info, and say the Somerville Toy Camera Fest sent you!

Preparing Work
for Exhibition

Be sure to label your work on the back with your name and the title of the piece.

If sending framed work:

  • Your framed piece should arrive at the gallery ready for hanging — meaning, wired across the back (unless the work is an object intended for display on a shelf or pedestal).

  • If you use a ready-made frame, be sure the hanging points on the back are attached to the sides of the frame, not to a cardboard or chipboard backing.

Packaging and Shipping

  • Do not use packing peanuts/pellets of any type (including biodegradable), or allow your pack/ship facility to use peanuts or pellets.

  • If shipping unframed work, be sure to make your packaging as bend-proof as possible. Even if the work is matted, sandwich it between sheets of stiff cardboard that are an inch or two larger than the piece itself.

  • We want to reuse your packing materials and return your work in the same box we receive it in. Please keep this in mind when packaging it up to put it inside the box. Rule of thumb: use a lot of bubble wrap, and very little tape (if any)!

  • We recommend FedEx “Framed Art Boxes” for easy, safe packing and shipping of framed pieces. You must buy the box in addition to paying shipping, but the box can be reused many times. We’re not affiliated with FedEx, but in our experience, their Art Box is a win-win for artists and galleries. Info here: https://www.fedex.com/en-us/shipping/packing-boxes/services.html#specialtyboxes

  • Include a pre-paid, self-addressed return shipping label inside the package with your work. Yes, your work might sell during the show; but if it doesn’t, you’ll have a much harder time getting a paid shipping label to send to us once the work has left your hands.

  • Be sure to include the following with your work before sealing up your package:

    • Signed insurance agreement (unless you emailed a signed copy)

    • Pre-paid, self-addressed label for return shipping (this is not optional if you want the work back)

    • Your artist statement and/or CV if you’d like it made available to gallery visitors

  • Did we mention no peanuts?

 

International Shipping

Note you can now choose: to frame, or not to frame? work for our shows. Scroll ⬆️ to top ⬆️ for more info!

 

In addition to the steps listed above, if you are shipping work from outside the USA, you must state the following on any customs/declaration form(s) to avoid delays in US customs and/or absurd import charges:

Artwork on temporary loan for gallery exhibition. To be returned to sender.

We understand there are additional challenges involved when shipping internationally. If you are unable to obtain a pre-paid return label prior to shipping your work, please do the following:

  • Make note of the package dimensions and weight of your outgoing shipment. These will be needed when we ship the work back, and it’s easiest to get them off the shipping label/documents before the package leaves your hands.

  • During September, while your work is on exhibit, let your gallery contact know the options and associated costs for return shipping. Options can vary greatly depending on where you live. Decide in advance how you’ll pay the return shipping costs and communicate this to your gallery contact.

  • Be patient :-)