Conditions and Definitions of Membership

Membership Types

• Professional Membership
  For any artist who fulfills three or more of the professional status criteria listed below
• Student/Associate Membership
  For any emerging artist who does not yet fulfil these criteria
• Organisation
  Galleries, arts centres, studios etc may sign up under our  ‘Organisation’  rate in order to receive a subscription to magazines and other services.
•  Friend
  Individuals & non-artists may sign up as  ‘Friends’ of the organisation  in order to receive a subscription to magazines and other services.

We recognise that careers in the visual arts develop over time. Many artists join initially as Student or Associate members while building their practice. When an artist considers that their body of work meets the criteria for Professional Membership, they may submit an application, which will be assessed against the guidelines outlined above.

It is a condition of membership that all Members commit to complying with VAI’s Members Code of Conduct.

Professional status criteria:

To qualify as a Professional member you must meet a minimum of three of the below criteria. You do NOT need to fulfil these criteria if you are applying for Associate membership.

• Degree or Diploma from a recognised third-level institution in Fine Art or a Visual Arts Discipline with a studio/gallery-based practice focus.
  The third-level institution must demonstrate that their degree course is grounded in a fine art studio practice with a gallery exhibition component.
• One-person visual arts exhibitions presented in publicly funded gallery spaces (Arts Council, Local Authority, or Government-funded) as part of acknowledged gallery programmes.
  Screenings in libraries, archives, cinemas, festivals, corporate venues, or non-gallery public spaces do not qualify unless the exhibition is part of a formally programmed visual arts gallery season.
• Participation in juried group visual arts exhibitions in publicly funded or professionally programmed gallery spaces, where selection was made by professional artists or recognised curators.
  Exhibitions that serve primarily as graduation assessments, thesis presentations, institutional student showcases, or festival/film screening programmes do not qualify.
• Your visual art work has been acquired by Government, local authority, museum, or corporate client for inclusion in a recognised gallery or museum permanent art collection.
  Archive or other forms that are solely documenting collections or work, library holdings, and broadcasting/commission content purchases do not qualify.
• Your visual art work has been commissioned by Government, local authority, museum, or gallery specifically for exhibition within a recognised gallery or museum programme or collection.
  Commercial commissions, broadcast motion graphics, promotional animations, and corporate AV productions do not qualify.
• Have been awarded a visual arts bursary, residency, materials grant, or other Arts Council/Arts Council of Northern Ireland funding designated for fine art practice.
  Non-visual arts funding will not be considered.
• Have been awarded tax-exempt status by the Revenue Commissioners, or are on schedule D as a self-employed artist in Northern Ireland

Professional Applications must provide a significant and verifiable level of evidence under each of the areas that they have indicated. Applications for Professional Membership will be assessed holistically—as an entirety—to evaluate the full scope and trajectory of the applicant’s visual arts career. All submitted evidence must collectively demonstrate a sustained, verifiable commitment to practice as a professional visual artist within the recognised gallery and exhibition sector and/or other official programmes of engagement.

Associate members may apply to move to Professional Membership at any time during their membership. Applicants must ensure that all details are fully verifiable and meet professional standards. Any evidence provided that is unverifiable will not be considered.

Artists working in an interdisciplinary capacity must demonstrate that visual arts practice constitutes a significant and sustained element of their overall body of work. In such cases, the contexts in which the work is presented and delivered—specifically recognised publicly funded programmes, gallery or museum programmes—will serve as a primary indicator in assessing eligibility.