Mandate
Collective City Arts’ principal objective is to showcase the work of independent artists in the region of Toronto. These are artists that are not represented by a commercial gallery or institution of any sort. We do not promote any particular style or genre in the visual arts. We showcase what local artists in fact produce, rather than to prescribe any particular practice or approach. Selections are made purely on the basis of the quality of the work submitted for exhibition. Who submits for shows and what they produce is entirely open, within obvious moral bounds. Nor do we discriminate against any artists/artist collective/curator based on age, gender, sexual preference, religion or ethnicity.

Objective
The project aims to provide opportunities for independent artists to show their work at no cost. As well, the project aims to make the shows accessible to as broad a public as possible. In this way Collective City Arts can offer a public service to the community, the model for which does not otherwise currently exist In Toronto.

Who Can Apply?
There are no restrictions on who can apply for a show through the project, save that the artist has no representation in an existing commercial gallery or institution of any sort (our definition of an independent artist). There will be three categories under which artists may apply. These are (1) as an individual artist (2) as an artist collective and (3) as a curator who has specific artists in mind to show. All submissions will be given due unprejudiced consideration.

Governing Structure 
The project will exist as an extension of Collective City. A new board member, Hugh Alcock, with the title of Exhibition Coordinator, will be assigned responsibility for the overall governance of the project. In addition, Collective City Arts has formed a committee of 3 (three) additional volunteers to assist Hugh Alcock and be tasked with the everyday running of the project. These volunteers have been chosen for their extensive experience in the art community, including the running of independent galleries and artist collectives.

Selection of Artists 
Each year the Exhibition Coordinator, with the help of the volunteer committee will invite two to three outside jurors who, together with one member of the committee, will form a jury charged with selecting the artists/artist collectives/curators who have made submissions to show through the project. This jury will be volunteer based and be made up of peers from the Toronto art community. These volunteer jurors can be independent or professional artists, gallery owners or professional curators. These jurors will be instructed to make its decisions based on Collective City Arts’ mandate. The jury will meet to select artists/artist collectives/curators for up to 8 different exhibitions per year. Once that is completed the jury will be dissolved. The following year a new volunteer jury will be formed. In this way the project can minimise any bias in the selection process over the long term.

Call for Submissions
Collective City has a section of this website dedicated to the gallery project. On this website there will be an electronic submissions form. Collective City Arts will also advertise for submissions via direct emails to art schools and institutions. In addition, Collective City will advertise for submissions through placing an advertisement on Akimbo Arts, Toronto’s principal newsletter dedicated to the visual arts. A deadline for submissions will be set to align with the schedule for the jury to meet.