Important Dates
Application Available: December 1, 2011
Application Deadline: 11:59:59 PM CST March 22, 2012
Jury Preview: April 12, 2012
Jurying: April 13, 14 and 15, 2012
All notifications emailed: April 20, 2012
Accepted Artist Participation Deadline: May 18, 2012
(Registration packets must be completed and received by this date along with booth fee. If not received by deadline, artist will be replaced by a reserve artist.)
Refund Deadline: July 11, 2012 |
Festival Dates and Times
Friday, September 7
5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 8
11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 9
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
Apply online at:
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Entry Rules and Instructions
Applications post after 12:00 am midnight Central Standard Time March 22, 2012 will not be considered. Each exhibiting artist must personally check in at registration and attend his/her booth. Please do not apply if you cannot remain at the show throughout all published hours. If the artist does not register and personally attend booth (except for reasonable breaks) during all published hours, the artist’s booth will be shut down, and the artist forfeits all fees. We reserve the right to refuse any application.
All artists must submit a total of five (5) images for jurying (4 images representative of the artist’s work to be exhibited; 1 of the artist’s OUTDOOR BOOTH display).
Booth Image:
- Must submit an image of your outdoor booth set-up.
- If you do not have a current outdoor booth image please provide a description explaining details of your outdoor booth set-up.
- If a booth image is not available, submit an image taken of grouping of works representative of the works to be exhibited at the show.
- If your indoor/outdoor booth set-up is the same (with the exception of a canopy tent) then simply state that in the description.
- We want to see what your booth will look like onsite at the Saint Louis Art Fair (not structure but presentation).
- No photoshopped images of a booth.
- This is a blind jury process. Do not submit booth images with any identifiable sign or image of the artist themselves. If your signature is visible in the work please be sure photoshop the signature out.
The booth image shows the jury:
- Your body of work.
- Provides dimension and scale.
- Shows overall continuity and presentation of your current body of work.
Note: the booth image is a reference, you are not juried in for ALL work represented in the booth image. You are juried for the body of work represented in the 4 images. For example: If you are accepted in jewelry and you have sculptural (non jewelry pieces) work in your booth image the sculpture pieces may not be displayed or sold at the festival.
As part of the application process artists must also submit an artist statement describing the technique, materials used and any other creative expression of their work. The artist statement will be read aloud to the jurors.
A maximum of 181 artists may participate in the show. Each of the 26 award winners, 3 mentors and the commemorative print and t-shirt artist from the previous year are invited to return and are exempt from the jurying process.
A reserve list of additional artists will be selected from the submitted entries. All decisions are final.
Our primary concern is the creative vision of the applicant and the quality of the work. Work must be original, hand crafted. Artist guarantees the accuracy of the description of the works presented and the authenticity of the work as the creation of their own hands.
Commercial studios involved in multiple or volume production will not be considered for the show.
All work exhibited and sold must be “original works of art.” “Original work” means no copies, reproductions or facsimiles of any type. No machine reproductions, photo mechanical reproductions or commercial reproductions are permitted. No mass reproduction in combination with original, hand-crafted work is permitted. Copies from the works of masters, advertisements and widely circulated photographs are not considered original works of art and will not be permitted.
Artists may apply in multiple categories. Each medium is evaluated separately. If you apply in more than one category, only the booth slide may be repeated. Artists may display work only in the media categories in which they are accepted. For example: If you are planning on showing any type of jewelry you must be accepted in the jewelry category.
Artist wishing to exhibit work produced in more than one medium must create a new profile for each medium on Zapplication and submit a jury fee for each medium.
All work exhibited must be comparable to work shown in submitted images. The Executive Director reserves the right to ask that any work that is inconsistent with the juried subject be removed.
Collaborating artists may apply to participate at the event, but only joint work may be shown and sold. Both names must appear on all application materials and both artists must contribute to the creation of the art pieces. Both artists must check-in at registration and be on-site during all 3 days of the fair.
Artists accepted to the show must exhibit two-dimensional work (e.g., photography, painting, watercolors, graphics, pastels, prints and drawings) as appropriately framed and glazed pieces. Unframed, matted works may be shown in a portfolio for customer browsing.
Display Booths
Each exhibitor is provided a 100 square foot (10' x 10') exhibition space along with a 2' perimeter around the booth. All work exhibited must be limited to the 10’x10’ space. Only one booth is available per artist.
Exhibitors receive access to electrical service; no generators are permitted. Exhibitors are responsible for providing all display booths, racks, tables, light fixtures and associated display equipment and supplies.
24-hour security is provided, however, Cultural Festivals is not responsible for any damage that may occur to work, equipment or other material due to rain, wind, fire, theft, etc. Please make sure you bring enough weights to secure your tent in the event of strong winds or storms.
Priority for booth assignments is given to re-invited artists. Booths not assigned to re-invited artists are assigned first-come, first-served based on when fees and contract paperwork are received.
Price Range of Work
We ask that the images you submit for jurying are consistent with the range of pricing you list on your application. If your price range is $100 - $5000 show that range or an average of this range in you images. Do not show all $5000 work unless that is all you plan to exhibit at the festival.
This will help alleviate questions about what was actually juried in the show and more accurately portray the work the jurors will see in your booth.
Jurying and Judging
Jurying is scheduled for April 13, 14 & 15, 2012. Location TBD. Applying artists are invited to a special Jury Preview on April 12, 2012. The preview is an opportunity for artists to view their images in the same manor in which the jury will see them. Artists will be notified of the Jury Preview details.
Jurying is conducted by a panel of experienced arts industry professionals and is based solely upon the quality of work as illustrated in submitted digital images. Images are viewed simultaneously, horizontally and grouped by media.
The jury panel returns to the show in September to judge for awards up to $21,000 in value. The jury will select a balanced show; however, there are no quotas in individual media categories. Award recipients from the previous year are invited to participate and are exempt from jurying. The balance of the show will be selected by the jury.
The integrity of the jury panel review process is paramount to our credibility among artists and to our larger success in the community. The Cultural Festivals organization strongly supports the jury review process and decisions made by the panel and will not, as a normal course of business, circumvent or alter these selections. It must, however, reserve the right to make specific changes and to determine the final composition of the show. The Executive Director, acting on the Board of Directors’ behalf, has final authority to make such adjustments as deemed necessary and the right to invite up to 5 artists.
A reserve list of artists in each media category will also be selected to ensure a complete and balanced show. Reserve artists will be notified by telephone should a spot become available in their particular media category.
Emerging Artist Program
The Saint Louis Art Fair Emerging Artist Program, presented by Wells Fargo Advisors, is designed for artists who have little to no experience exhibiting and selling their artwork at any venue. This is a consecutive two-year program and free to artists that qualify.
First year Emerging Artist:
- Serve as an apprentice to a professional artist at the Saint Louis Art Fair
- Participate in seminars on pricing, portfolio development, financial planning, copyright and more
- Volunteer during the jury process in April
- Network with the Saint Louis Art Fair staff, jurors and show artists
Second year Emerging Artist:
- Sell your work alongside fellow Emerging Artists at the Saint Louis Art Fair
- Sell your work alongside fellow Emerging Artists at the Saint Louis Art Fair
- Receive a personal portfolio review and financial consulting sessions
- Be eligible for the Emerging Artists Jury Award
Second year artists are required to apply to the show in the same manner as the professional artists. Complete a profile on Zapplication.org and submit five images of your work. A booth image is not required. When uploading your images you will upload the 5th image of your work by selecting “yes” this is your booth image even though it is not. Select “Emerging Artist” as your medium category. To waive the application fee, you must enter the coupon code EA2012 and you will be ready to complete the application.
If you are interested in the Emerging Artist program as a First Year Artist please contact Cindy or Laura at info@culturalfestivals.com or call 314-863-0278.
Media Categories:
Ceramics - All original clay work is acceptable in this category (wheel-thrown, slab, etc.). No machine-made or mass produced work is permitted.
Digital Art - Original work utilizing computer technology to craft or manipulate visual images. Work must be printed on archival quality paper and be properly signed and numbered as a limited edition. Photography is not permitted in this medium.
Drawing/Pastels - Pencil, charcoal, chalk and pastels. Must be original work, no reproductions.
Fiber - All work crafted from fibers including basketry, embroidery, weaving, leatherwork, tapestry and papermaking. No machine tooling, machine-screened patterns or other forms of mass production are permitted. No factory produced wearable items, regardless of additional modification or enhancement by the artist, are permitted.
Glass - No molds or miscellaneous forms of mass production are permitted.
Jewelry - All jewelry whether the work is produced from metal, glass, clay, fiber, paper, plastic or other materials must be entered in this category. No commercial casts, molds or production studio work.
Metalwork - Non-sculptural and non-jewelry metal work. No production studio work is permitted.
Mixed Media: This category includes works, both two and three-dimensional, that incorporates more than one type of physical material to produce. Must be original work, no reproductions.
Painting, Oil, Acrylics and Watercolor - Oils, acrylics, alkyd, casein and egg tempera. Must be original work, no reproductions.
Photography –Photographic prints made from the artist's original image, which have been processed by that artist, or under his or her direct supervision, are included in this category. Photographers are required to disclose both their creative and printing processes. Traditional photography using digital means should apply in the photography category. Photographs must be properly signed and numbered as a limited edition.
Printmaking - Works created for which the artist’s hand manipulated the plates, stones or screens and no original exists and which have been properly signed and numbered as a limited edition. Printmakers are required to disclose both their creative and printmaking process.
Sculpture - Three-dimensional original work done in any medium. No production studio work is permitted.
Wood - Original hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned or carved work. |
