Applying for Gallery Space

The Waterwheel’s gallery is available for approved gallery artists to hire for an exhibition.

You apply online: say what you’d like to show and roughly when, and the curator comes back with the dates that are actually free and what the hire costs.

It starts with an Expression of Interest. If the curator hasn’t accepted you yet, send one at /exhibit/ first: a free gallery account, a little about you and photos of your work. Artisans & Makers can send one too.

It takes about five minutes.

Sign in and go to My account, where the Gallery section links to it (Apply for gallery space, or Book exhibition dates once the curator has accepted you), or go straight to /manage-gallery/.

Before you’ve applied for anything, the page looks like this: one button, and a note saying you haven’t applied yet.

Apply for gallery space opens the form.

Exhibition title — what you’d like the show to be called. You can change it later.

Which space — pick from the spaces available to hire. The list shows the weekly rate where a space has one.

What you would like to show — the medium, the subject, anything that helps the curator picture it on the walls. This is the field the curator actually reads when deciding, so a few sentences beats one line.

Roughly how many works — an estimate is fine. It helps the curator judge whether the space suits.

This is the thing worth understanding before you apply.

You can’t see what’s already booked — only the curator can. So put down when you’d like it, and expect them to come back with something different.

That’s normal. It isn’t a sign you’ve done anything wrong, and it happens to most applications.

Leaving the end date blank is fine — the Waterwheel assumes the usual four weeks.

Then either send it to the curator, or save it without sending and come back to it later. A saved draft notifies nobody.

Once you’ve sent it, your applications list shows where each one stands, with a button for anything waiting on you.

• Draft — started, not sent. Nobody has seen it.
• Submitted — with the curator, waiting to be looked at.
• Under review — the curator has picked it up.
• Approved — awaiting payment — yes, subject to payment.
• Deposit paid — part-paid, with a balance still owing.
• Paid in full — settled. The space is yours.
• Declined — not this time, with a reason.
• Cancelled — the curator cancelled it, with a reason.

Open one and a tracker across the top shows every step, from your Expression of Interest to the show, with a Next step box saying what to do now.

You’ll get an email when anything changes, so you don’t need to keep checking.

While an application is a draft or submitted, you can still change it.

Once the curator starts reviewing, the form becomes read-only. That’s deliberate: the dates and the price being discussed are the ones they’re looking at, so the application can’t shift underneath them.

If something genuinely needs changing after that, contact the curator rather than trying to edit the form. They can reopen it.

You can still withdraw it while it’s waiting or under review. Once it’s approved it can’t be withdrawn from the page: get in touch with the curator.

Your booking at the top is what was actually agreed — the space, the confirmed dates, the hire fee, and what’s still to pay with the date it’s due by.

Underneath, What you asked for keeps your original request, so you can compare the two at a glance.

If the curator’s dates differ from what you asked for, that’s the normal shape of this process, not a mistake.

Before you can pay, you accept the Exhibitors’ MOU — the Memorandum of Understanding between you and the gallery. Read it from the link, tick the short statements, and click I accept the MOU.

Payment opens once it’s accepted.

There are usually two buttons: pay the deposit, or pay the whole amount now. The deposit is a percentage of the fee, set for each space — some spaces don’t offer one, in which case you’ll only see the full amount.

You can pay by card, through Stripe (your card details never touch this site), at the desk at the Visitor Centre, or by bank transfer with the reference shown. A desk or bank payment shows on the page once the curator has recorded it, and you’re emailed a receipt.

The payment link in your approval email works without signing in, which helps if you’re paying from your phone.

If you pay only the deposit, the site reminds you about the balance before the show opens.

Once you’re approved, the dates are held for you while you pay.

The full deposit secures them. If it isn’t paid in that time, the hold lapses. The dates go back into circulation and the application returns to the curator’s queue.

Your proposal isn’t deleted — but those dates are no longer yours, and somebody else may have taken them.

So if you’re not ready to commit, say so to the curator rather than leaving it. They would much rather rebook you than release a slot you wanted.

The Your gallery card, in the Gallery section of your account page, shows your exhibition, the same tracker, where it’s up to, and Open my exhibition. Its links also take you to apply for more dates, your sales, your Expression of Interest and the printable guides.

Once you’ve added artwork, your exhibition’s page lists each piece under Your artwork in this exhibition, with where it’s up to: waiting for the curator, sent back to you, approved, online or sold. If you’re the lead artist, that page is also where you write the description visitors read on the exhibition’s events page.

A declined application shows the curator’s reason, written by a person.

Most of the time it isn’t a judgement on the work — the month you asked for was already committed to something else. The example here says exactly that, and asks the applicant to try again for a later month.

Your original proposal stays on the page, so you can reuse it. Start a new application picks it up for a different period.

Who can apply? Approved gallery artists. Send an Expression of Interest at /exhibit/ first; once the curator has accepted you, you can apply for dates. A membership on its own (Artisan & Maker, Friend) doesn’t include it.

I applied before the Expression of Interest started. What happens to that? Nothing changes. You can still follow it, withdraw it and pay for it from your account page.

Can I see which dates are free before I apply? Not from this page — only the curator sees the calendar. Put down a preference and let them come back to you, or ask them first.

I asked for November and was offered March. Did I do something wrong? No. The dates on the form are a preference. The curator works from the real calendar and offers what’s genuinely free.

Can I change my application after sending it? Only until the curator picks it up. After that, contact them directly. You can withdraw it until it’s approved.

Can I pay by bank transfer instead of card? Yes, or at the desk — arrange it with the curator, who records it on your booking.

Nothing has happened since I applied. Applications are reviewed by a volunteer curator, so it isn’t instant. If it’s been a while, email info@yarravalleywaterwheel.org.

Something else? Email info@yarravalleywaterwheel.org and a volunteer will pick it up.