Guidelines for Exhibiting

What is the Touché Gallerie?

The Touché Gallerie is a gallery on the campus of Bemidji State University located in the town of Bemidji in northern Minnesota. The Touché Gallerie is located in the student union near the student information desk. The gallery is frequently visited by students, faculty and community members.  The Touché is currently, and in the past, run by student gallery directors. The Touché Gallerie is a not-for-profit gallery. There is no insurance offered for exhibits in the Touché Gallerie.

The Touché Gallerie hours are 8:00 a.m. -7:00 p.m., Monday-Friday during the academic year. The Touché is easily accessible to anyone, so feel free to stop by and see the exhibits.

Scheduling:

In order to schedule a date for an exhibition, please contact the director a minimum of one month prior to your preferred exhibition date. When selecting a date, choose one that you feel will allow adequate preparation time for your exhibition. Once the selected date is approved by the director, the artist should promptly complete the Touché Gallerie contract. The dates of your exhibition cannot be guaranteed until the copy of the completed contract is returned to the Touché Gallerie director. 

Proposal:

A written proposal for the exhibition must be submitted with the contract one month prior to the exhibition. The proposal gives a description of the exhibition, what type of work it will include and a brief artist statement. The proposal should be no more than a page long.

Deposit

A deposit of $20 will be made when you submit the contract one month prior to the exhibition. The deposit will be returned to you on completion of the exhibition if the contract has been upheld. If the contract has been violated the deposit will be kept by the gallery. 

Publicity:

The exhibition information and posters must be submitted 2 weeks prior to the opening of the exhibit in order to advertise through HMU. This includes the HMU website, and Table Tents. Posters are the artists' responsibility and must be stamped by the HMU desk.
Important information that should be included in your poster is:
-    Name
-    Title of exhibit
-    Dates of exhibit, including time of opening or closing reception
-    Location of exhibit- Touché Gallerie, Hobson Memorial Union, Bemidji State University, Bemidji, Minnesota
-    Telephone number at the Union Information Desk: (218) 755-3760
-    Touché Gallerie hours: 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., Monday - Friday
-    Disability statement (this is required for all posters hung on campus)
"If you need an accommodation for program/event, please contact Kathi Hagen, Coordinator, Disability Services Office (SN 202) at (218) 755-3883. Two weeks notice is requested."

Gallery Provided Equipment:

The Touché Gallerie provides podiums for displaying sculpture, ceramics or jewelry. There are also a number of plexiglass boxes to put on top of the podiums to cover your work. The Touché has track lighting, several plug-in outlets, various sizes of plexiglass for 2-D wall works, small size shelves and all the hardware you need to install/set up your show. Let the Gallery director know what equipment you will be using 2 weeks prior to the exhibition.

Instillation Information:

You are responsible for getting your work to the gallery and installing your show. If you need to make other arrangements contact the gallery director. You should be prepared to set up your show on the Saturday or Sunday before you show, remember the gallery is only open during the week. This can be done on Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. or Sunday 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Please make arrangements with the director 2 weeks in advance for help setting up.

Reception:

Schedule a time with the gallery director for an opening reception. You may either bring in your own refreshments or request ARAMARK (218) 444-7576, the campus food service, to set up your reception. The expense for the reception is the exhibitor's responsibility.

Take Down Information:

You are responsible for taking down your own exhibition and getting your work home. You should be prepared to take down on the Friday at the conclusion of your exhibition.  Again, arrangements can be made with the director 2 weeks in advance. Remember, it is the artist's responsibility to have prompt removal of the work which allows for adequate time for spackling, sanding, and repainting any holes that may have been caused by your exhibit. Please remember that there are other exhibitors waiting to put up shows too, so please be courteous.

Post-Show Assessment:

Please fill out a Post-Show Assessment form following the completion of your show. This will help us to improve the gallery. Forms will be available through the Touché Gallerie Director.

If you have any questions you can contact us through the Hobson Memorial Union Information Desk at (218) 755-3760. Or email the Touché Gallerie director at touche@bemidjistate.edu.