Chris Morse fell in love with West Tisbury’s Granary Gallery as a teenager, when he worked summers there through high school. Fifteen years ago, he purchased the gallery with his wife, Sheila. Five years after that, they bought the Field Gallery, also in West Tisbury. And another five or so years later, they purchased what is now the North Water Gallery in Edgartown.

The three galleries are among the most popular on the Island, with well-known artists holding coveted spots on their lawns, walls and display tables. And while they all share the same owners and have operated quite smoothly under that ownership for years, there has been little overlap between the three. The Morses decided this year it was time to throw in a curve ball.

And so came the idea for the Animal, Vegetable, Mineral show, in which all artists represented in the three galleries were invited to create a piece of artwork conforming to one of the three categories. Each gallery was responsible for showcasing a different category of work.

Simple concept, with endless possibilities.

“We really kind of celebrate the fact that they all have their own kind of unique flavor,” said Mr. Morse, of his initial hesitance to merge the individual galleries in any way. “I don’t want to mix them so that their identity would be in any way diluted. But I think that the opportunity has been, certainly, for greater exposure.”

The intent of the themed show would be to entice individuals normally drawn to the eclectic mix at the Granary Gallery, for instance, out to see their favorite artists at the more contemporary Field Gallery.

“[The idea] was born out of the opportunity to share skills of a variety of artists in a different property,” said Mr. Morse. “To kind of introduce our Edgartown artists to our West Tisbury audience, and vice versa.”

“Each gallery sort of has their own group of artists,” said Sara Aibel, who does administrative work for all three galleries. “This is an opportunity for artists to be shown in different galleries.”

Which is as good for the artists as it is for art lovers looking for a spark from a new venue. “It’s a nice way for [artists] to be in different places and be seen by different people,” said Ms. Aibel.

The concept would pose a new and interesting challenge for those artists as well: to create outside of their comfort zones.

“If an artist is specifically landscape-centric and then is encouraged to do something with animals, it’s a good challenge,” said Mr. Morse.

“[People] might come over here to see the artists they’re familiar with doing something completely different, in a different place. So it just shakes it all up a little bit,” said Ms. Aibel.

The call for artists went out in late December, to each one of the nearly 160 artists represented between the three galleries. In the months since, many have jumped onboard. “Almost all of them are creating pieces just for the show, under the categories,” said Ms. Aibel. “Some of them are in all three categories, some of them have chosen to do one or two, so there’s a range. But it gave them something to sort of grab onto,” she said.

The artists were allowed to create up to three pieces, one for each different category and show, in the artistic medium of their choice.

The series will launch on Sunday with interpretations of the animal theme, displayed at the Field Gallery.

It will be followed, on July 11, with the opening of the vegetable show at the Granary Gallery.

The final show will begin on July 29 at North Water Gallery and will feature mineral-themed artwork.

The summer show schedule will mark a number of firsts for the gallery trio. “First, that they’re doing something that’s coordinated between the three. Second, that they’re doing a theme show that dominates the whole exhibition,” said Ms. Aibel. “And then, that all artists were invited to participate, which is very unusual, because normally, you can only fit so many artists into a season.”

But the organizers expect a busy and successful season. And Mr. Morse said that in the end, the coordination of a themed, summertime show across three very different galleries was not as challenging as it might sound. “Our staff has sort of a team philosophy that we incorporate with our galleries,” he said. “It’s been fun for them.”