What Art Means: Terms of Service

Artio Gallery | Owned and operated by Bisa Bennett

Effective Date: November 11th, 2026
Last Updated: November 11th, 2026

1. Introduction and Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") govern your access to and participation in What Art Means (the "Exhibit"), a virtual exhibition operated by Artio Gallery, owned by Bisa Bennett (together with its owner, employees, contractors, volunteers, and agents, "Artio," "the Gallery," "we," "us," or "our"). The Terms cover the Exhibit website, the artwork submission portal, and all related communications and services (together, the "Services").

By uploading a submission, or paying any fee, you ("you," "Artist," or "User") agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Services or submit artwork.

If you are submitting on behalf of a group, studio, or organization, you confirm that you have authority to bind it to these Terms.

2. Eligibility

2.1. You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority where you live, to submit artwork. Artists under that age may participate only with the written consent and supervision of a parent or legal guardian, who agrees to these Terms on the artist's behalf and is responsible for the artist's compliance.

2.2. You must have the legal right to enter into these Terms and to grant the licenses described below.

2.3. We may decline or end participation by any person at any time, for any lawful reason, as described in these Terms.

3. The Exhibit and Nature of the Services

3.1. What Art Means is a curated virtual exhibition. Submitting artwork does not guarantee that it will be accepted, displayed, promoted, or displayed for any particular length of time.

3.2. The Exhibit is provided for exhibition and cultural purposes. Unless a separate written agreement signed by Bisa Bennett or an authorized representative of Artio says otherwise, Artio does not act as your agent, representative, dealer, or broker, and nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, employment, agency, or fiduciary relationship.

3.3. Artio does not guarantee any level of visitor traffic, press coverage, engagement, sales, commissions, exposure, or other result from participation in the Exhibit.

4. Submission Requirements

4.1. Submission Process. Artwork must be submitted through the official portal by the stated deadline, which is [Insert Deadline]. Late, emailed, or otherwise off-portal submissions may be disregarded.

4.2. Technical Specifications. Submissions must meet the following requirements, which we may update in writing

4.3. Image Presentation. Submitted images must present the artwork clearly and professionally. Images should be properly cropped and framed, in focus, well lit, accurately colored, and free of distracting backgrounds, glare, watermarks, borders, mock-up frames, or other elements not part of the work.

4.4. Accuracy. All information you provide must be accurate and complete. You are responsible for the contents, quality, and accuracy of your submission and contact details, including your email address.

5. Curatorial Discretion and Right to Reject

5.1. Sole Discretion. Artio has sole and absolute discretion over which submissions are accepted, how they are displayed, how they are grouped or ordered, and whether they remain in the Exhibit. Curatorial decisions are final. We are not required to give reasons for any decision, and we are not required to offer revisions, appeals, or second reviews.

5.2. Grounds for Rejection or Removal. Without limiting Section 5.1, we may reject, decline to display, or remove any submission, before or after it is accepted, if we determine in our sole discretion that it:

(a) Artificial Intelligence. Was created, in whole or in substantial part, by generative artificial intelligence or similar automated tools (for example, text-to-image, image-to-image, or AI-generated or AI-completed imagery), whether or not the artist disclosed the use. See Section 6.

(b) Does Not Meet Curatorial or Image Standards. Is poorly cropped, low resolution, blurry, distorted, improperly oriented, over-edited, watermarked, or otherwise fails the image requirements in Section 4 or our curatorial standards, which we may apply as we see fit.

(c) Offensive or Harmful Content. Contains or promotes hate speech; harassment; discrimination; harmful stereotypes; or content that demeans, dehumanizes, or incites hostility or violence against people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other protected characteristic. We decide, in our sole discretion, whether a work falls into this category.

(d) Unlawful or Infringing Content. Violates any law or the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, or publicity rights, or depicts child sexual exploitation or non-consensual intimate imagery.

(e) Other Unsuitable Content. Is gratuitously graphic, sexually explicit, or violent, or is otherwise inconsistent with the theme, tone, audience, or standards of What Art Means or Artio Gallery.

(f) Technical or Safety Risk. Contains malware or corrupted files, or could harm the Services, our systems, or other users.

(g) Inaccurate or Misleading Submission. Contains false or misleading information, including misattributed authorship.

(h) Violation of These Terms. Was submitted by someone who has violated these Terms, or whose conduct (online or offline) we reasonably believe harms the reputation or safety of the Gallery, its artists, or its visitors.

(i) Capacity or Curatorial Fit. Cannot be accommodated for reasons of space, theme, balance, or the overall vision of the Exhibit, even if it meets all other requirements.

5.3. No Liability for Rejection. Rejection or removal of a submission is not a breach of any agreement, and you waive any claim against Artio arising from a decision to reject, decline, or remove a work, to the maximum extent permitted by law. Where we reject or remove a work, you are not entitled to compensation, except any refund expressly provided in Section 9.

5.4. Right to Alter Presentation. We may resize, compress, crop for display, add or remove frames or captions, reformat, or otherwise adjust the technical presentation of a work for display in the Exhibit, but will not materially alter the artistic content of the work.

6. Artificial Intelligence Policy

6.1. Human-Created Work Only. What Art Means is intended to showcase human-made art. Artists represent that each submitted work was created by them using their own creative skill and labor. Use of generative AI to create the image, or any substantial portion of it, is not permitted.

6.2. Permitted Tools. Ordinary digital tools used to assist a human-made work (for example, standard photo editing, color correction, or digital drawing software) are generally acceptable, provided the work is the artist's own original expression. Whether a particular use is acceptable is decided by Artio in its sole discretion.

6.3. Disclosure. If you used any AI-assisted tool in any stage of creating the work, you must disclose this in your submission. Failing to disclose is a breach of these Terms.

6.4. Detection and Review. We may, but are not required to, review submissions using automated tools, manual review, or requests for additional information such as process images, sketches, layered files, or other proof of authorship. You agree to cooperate with such requests within a reasonable time. Detection tools are imperfect, and we are not liable for any good-faith determination that a work is or is not AI-generated, including any mistaken determination.

6.5. Later Discovery. We may remove a work from the Exhibit at any time, without notice or liability, if we later determine it is AI-generated or that the artist failed to disclose AI use.

7. Artist Representations and Warranties

By submitting, you represent, warrant, and agree that:

(a) You are the sole creator and owner of the artwork and all rights in it, or you have all permissions, licenses, releases, and consents needed to submit it and to grant the rights in these Terms.

(b) The artwork is original and does not infringe or violate any copyright, trademark, moral right, privacy right, right of publicity, or other right of any person or entity.

(c) The artwork does not contain unauthorized third-party material, including copyrighted characters, logos, photographs, or the likenesses of identifiable people without their consent (and the consent of a parent or guardian for minors).

(d) The artwork is not defamatory, obscene, hateful, or otherwise unlawful, and you will comply with all applicable laws.

(e) The artwork was not created, in whole or in substantial part, with generative AI, except as disclosed to us and approved in writing.

(f) All information you provide is true, accurate, and complete.

(g) You have not granted rights to anyone that conflict with the license granted to us.

8. Ownership and License

8.1. You Keep Your Rights. As between you and Artio, you retain ownership of your artwork and its intellectual property. Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of your artwork to Artio.

8.2. License to Artio. By submitting, you grant Artio Gallery and its owner a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable (to our service providers, hosting platforms, and partners), transferable license to reproduce, display, publicly perform, digitally transmit, adapt (for formatting purposes only), and distribute your submitted artwork, images of it, your name, and your artist statement and biography, in connection with the following:

(a) Displaying the work in the virtual exhibit, including embedding it in virtual gallery environments;

(b) Promoting, documenting, and archiving What Art Means and Artio Gallery's programming, including on our website, social media, newsletters, press materials, catalogues, and grant or sponsorship materials; and

This license applies to submitted works whether or not they are ultimately selected for the Exhibit, only for the purposes of reviewing and evaluating the submission and, for works that are not selected, will end when we complete our review (subject to Section 8.4).

8.3. Duration. For works that are accepted, the license continues for the length of the Exhibit and, for archival and promotional purposes described in Section 8.2(b) and (c), continues in perpetuity unless you request removal under Section 8.5.

8.4. Backups and Cached Copies. You understand that copies of content may remain in backups, caches, search engines, or archives, or may have been shared by third parties, and that we are not responsible for removing such copies.

8.5. Removal Requests. You may ask us in writing to remove your work from the Exhibit. We will make reasonable efforts to do so within a reasonable time, but we are not required to remove work from already-published print materials, press coverage, or archived copies, and requests do not entitle you to a refund.

8.6. Credit. We will make reasonable efforts to credit you as the artist where your work is displayed. Accidental omission or misspelling of a credit is not a breach of these Terms, and we will make reasonable corrections on request.

8.7. Protection of Artwork. Display in a virtual environment carries inherent risks, including screenshots, downloads, and copying by third parties. We cannot and do not guarantee that your artwork will be protected from copying, misuse, or unauthorized use by others. You are responsible for deciding what images and resolutions to upload, and for applying any watermarks, metadata, or other protections you consider appropriate (consistent with Section 4.3).

8.8. Gallery Materials. The Exhibit's design, branding, text, logos, and software, other than your artwork, are owned by Artio or its licensors. You may not copy or use them without our written permission.

9. Fees, Payments, and Refunds (complete or delete as applicable)

9.1. Submission Fee. [If applicable: A non-refundable submission fee of $[amount] is charged for each submission. / If no fee: There is no fee to submit to What Art Means.]

9.2. Nature of Fee. Any fee covers the cost of reviewing and administering submissions and, where applicable, hosting accepted work. It is not payment for a guaranteed placement.

9.3. No Refunds. To the extent permitted by law, all fees are non-refundable once a submission is received, regardless of whether the work is accepted, rejected, removed, or withdrawn, and regardless of the reason. We may, in our sole discretion, offer a refund or credit in exceptional circumstances; doing so in one case does not obligate us to do so in another.

9.4. Services Fulfilled. Our obligation in return for any fee is to review your properly submitted work in good faith and to display it if it is accepted. Once we have reviewed your submission, or accepted it and displayed it for the Exhibit, our obligations are fully performed. Dissatisfaction with a curatorial outcome, the amount of exposure, the layout or placement of the work, or the Exhibit's results does not entitle you to a refund, credit, or other compensation.

9.5. Taxes and Payment Processing. You are responsible for all taxes, bank charges, currency conversion costs, and similar fees related to your payment. Chargebacks or payment disputes filed without first contacting us in good faith may result in removal of your work and suspension from future events. We may provide evidence of our performance of these Terms in response to any such dispute.

9.6. If We Cancel. If we cancel the Exhibit entirely before it opens, our sole liability will be to refund fees paid for this Exhibit (if any), and you waive any other claim, including for costs you incurred in preparing or submitting work.

10. Dissatisfaction, Completion of Services, and Release of Claims

10.1. Services Considered Complete. Our obligations to you under these Terms are considered fully satisfied when we have (a) provided access to the submission portal, (b) reviewed properly submitted work in good faith, and (c) for accepted works, displayed the work in the Exhibit substantially as described, or notified you of the decision, as set out in Section 11.

10.2. Subjective Outcomes. You acknowledge that art curation, selection, placement, presentation, and reception are subjective, and that Artio does not promise any particular result or level of satisfaction.

10.3. Complaint Process. If you are unhappy with any aspect of your experience, you agree to first send written notice to [contact email] describing the issue within fourteen (14) days of the event that you are unhappy about (or, for the Exhibit as a whole, within fourteen (14) days of its closing date). We will review good-faith concerns, but we are not obliged to change any outcome or provide any remedy. Concerns raised after that period may be disregarded, to the extent permitted by law.

10.4. Release. To the fullest extent permitted by law, you release and forever discharge Artio, Bisa Bennett, and our employees, contractors, volunteers, agents, sponsors, partners, and service providers (the "Released Parties") from all claims, demands, and damages of any kind, known or unknown, arising from or related to your participation in, submission to, or rejection from the Exhibit, including claims based on curatorial decisions, display, placement, exposure, or result, except for claims that cannot lawfully be released, such as those arising from our fraud, gross negligence, or willful misconduct.

11. Submission Receipt, Upload Failures, and Communications

11.1. Artist's Responsibility to Confirm. You are solely responsible for ensuring that your submission uploads completely and successfully. The portal will display an on-screen confirmation, and we will [send an automated confirmation email to the address you provided]. If you do not receive a confirmation within [24 hours] of submitting, you must contact us immediately at [contact email] and before the submission deadline wherever possible.

11.2. No Duty to Follow Up. We are not responsible for submissions that fail to upload, are corrupted, are incomplete, are blocked by your internet connection, device, browser, or file size, or are otherwise not received by us for any reason, including technical failures, outages, spam filters, or user error. We have no obligation to notify you of a failed or incomplete upload, to contact you about missing materials, to follow up on your submission, to search for missing submissions, or to accept resubmissions after the deadline. We may choose to do so as a courtesy, but a courtesy in one case creates no obligation in another.

11.3. Records Are Conclusive. Our records of what was received are final, absent clear evidence to the contrary. A submission that does not appear in our system is treated as not having been submitted.

11.4. Contact Details. You are responsible for providing a correct, monitored email address and for checking spam or junk folders. Notices we send to the address you gave us are treated as delivered. We are not liable for missed communications caused by incorrect contact details, spam filters, or non-response.

11.5. Notification of Decisions. We will make reasonable efforts to notify selected artists of acceptance. We may choose not to notify artists whose work is not selected, and your not hearing from us by [date] may be treated as non-selection.

11.6. Deadline Extensions. We may extend or change deadlines at our discretion, but we are not obliged to do so for any individual artist.

12. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

Upload content that is unlawful, infringing, hateful, harassing, or malicious, or that contains viruses or harmful code;
Attempt to access areas of the Services you are not authorized to access, or interfere with, scrape, reverse-engineer, or disrupt the Services;
Use the Services to impersonate any person, or misrepresent your identity or affiliation;
Submit work that is not your own, or submit using fake or multiple accounts to get around limits;
Harass, threaten, or abuse Gallery staff, other artists, or visitors, whether in the Services or in related communications and on social media in connection with the Exhibit; or
Use the Exhibit's content, or other artists' works, without the right to do so.

We may suspend or terminate access and remove submissions if we believe you have violated this Section.

13. Third-Party Services and Links

The Services may rely on third-party platforms, such as website hosts, virtual gallery software, file storage, payment processors, email services, and social media. We do not control, and are not responsible for, their availability, security, performance, content, or policies. Your use of those services is subject to their own terms and privacy policies.

14. Copyright and Takedown Notices

If you believe that content in the Exhibit infringes your rights, send a written notice to [contact email / designated agent] that includes: (a) your contact information; (b) a description of the work you claim is infringed; (c) the location of the allegedly infringing content; (d) a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is unauthorized; and (e) a statement, under penalty of perjury where required by law, that your notice is accurate and that you are the rights holder or authorized to act for them. We may remove content in response to such notices and may end the participation of repeat infringers. We may also share your notice with the artist.

15. Privacy

We collect and use personal information (such as your name, email address, biography, and payment details) to run the Exhibit, communicate with you, and promote the Exhibit, as further described in our Privacy Policy at [link]. By submitting, you consent to this collection and use. Your name and biography will be publicly displayed if your work is selected. Please do not include personal information in your artwork or description that you do not want to be made public.

16. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICES AND THE EXHIBIT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, THAT SUBMISSIONS WILL BE RECEIVED OR PRESERVED, THAT ARTWORK WILL BE PROTECTED FROM COPYING OR MISUSE, OR THAT PARTICIPATION WILL PRODUCE ANY PARTICULAR RESULT.

17. Limitation of Liability

17.1. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ARTIO GALLERY, BISA BENNETT, AND THE OTHER RELEASED PARTIES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, SALES, REPUTATION, GOODWILL, OPPORTUNITIES, OR DATA, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

17.2. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE TOTAL FEES YOU PAID TO US FOR THE EXHIBIT, OR (B) [$100].

17.3. WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR LOSS, DAMAGE, CORRUPTION, OR UNAUTHORIZED USE OF ANY SUBMITTED FILES OR ARTWORK; FAILURES OR DELAYS CAUSED BY EVENTS BEYOND OUR REASONABLE CONTROL (SEE SECTION 20); OR THE ACTS OR OMISSIONS OF THIRD PARTIES, INCLUDING OTHER USERS, VISITORS, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.

17.4. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations or exclusions of liability. In those places, our liability is limited to the fullest extent the law allows. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited.

18. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Released Parties from and against any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, judgments, settlements, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your submission or artwork, including any claim that it infringes or violates the rights of a third party; (b) your breach of these Terms or any representation or warranty you made; (c) your violation of any law; or (d) your misuse of the Services. We may, at our option, take over the defense of any matter subject to indemnification, and you agree to cooperate. You may not settle any claim that affects us without our written consent.

19. Termination and Suspension

We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your access to the Services, remove any submission, or disqualify you from this or future events, at any time, with or without notice, for any lawful reason, including breach of these Terms. Sections that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including Sections 5, 7, 8 (as applicable), 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, and 23.

20. Force Majeure and Changes to the Exhibit

20.1. We are not liable for any failure or delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including natural disasters, public health emergencies, power or internet outages, cyberattacks, hosting or platform failures, labor disputes, acts of government, or war.

20.2. We may modify, postpone, shorten, extend, relocate (to another platform), or cancel the Exhibit or any part of the Services at any time. Our liability in the event of cancellation is limited as provided in Section 9.6.

21. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

21.1. Governing Law. These Terms are governed by the laws of [Province/State and Country], without regard to its conflict-of-law rules.

21.2. Informal Resolution First. Before starting any formal proceeding, you agree to send us a written notice of the dispute and to try in good faith to resolve it with us for at least thirty (30) days.

21.3. Binding Arbitration. If a dispute is not resolved informally, it will be resolved by final and binding arbitration conducted by [arbitration body / rules] in [city], rather than in court, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court, and either party may seek injunctive relief in court to protect intellectual property rights.

21.4. Class Action Waiver. To the fullest extent permitted by law, all claims must be brought only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, or representative action.

21.5. Courts. For any dispute not subject to arbitration, you agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in [city, province/state, country].

21.6. Time Limit. To the extent permitted by law, any claim related to these Terms or the Exhibit must be started within one (1) year after the claim arose, or it is permanently barred.

22. General Provisions

22.1. Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any written submission guidelines, form the entire agreement between you and Artio about the Exhibit and replace any earlier understandings. Statements made in marketing, social media, or conversations do not change these Terms unless confirmed in writing by Artio.

22.2. Changes to These Terms. We may update these Terms from time to time. Updates will be posted with a new "Last Updated" date, and the updated Terms will apply to submissions made after the update. Continued use after changes means you accept them.

22.3. Severability. If any part of these Terms is found invalid or unenforceable, that part will be limited or removed to the minimum extent necessary, and the remainder will stay in effect.

22.4. No Waiver. Our failure to enforce any right or provision is not a waiver of it. Any waiver must be in writing and signed by Artio.

22.5. Assignment. You may not assign or transfer your rights under these Terms without our written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, sale, reorganization, or transfer of the Gallery or its assets.

22.6. Electronic Communications and Signatures. You consent to receive notices electronically and agree that your clicking to accept, uploading, or submitting constitutes a binding electronic signature.

22.7. Independent Parties. The parties are independent. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, employment, or agency relationship.

22.8. Third-Party Beneficiaries. The Released Parties are intended beneficiaries of Sections 10, 16, 17, and 18. Otherwise, there are no third-party beneficiaries to these Terms.

22.9. Interpretation. Headings are for convenience only. "Including" means "including without limitation." These Terms will not be construed against us as the drafter.

22.10. Language. These Terms are provided in English, and the English version controls.