Artist Application

Conway Art Walk is a community event that takes place every 1st Friday from March to November (except May) in Downtown Conway. Attendees from across Central Arkansas enjoy live music, drinks, hands-on art activities, food vendors, and shopping from local artists! Applications for each Art Walk close three weeks prior to the event.

General Artist Info

Eligible Artists

Visual artists and fine crafts-persons are invited to register and submit a list of work with web-sized images available for sale at each art walk. Please see eligibility criteria here before applying.

Artist Locations & Roles

There is space available for exhibiting artists and demonstrating artists each month. Artists may apply for either or both.

Exhibiting Artists

These artists are located on Oak Street or Chestnut Street, between Court, Front, Van Ronkle, and Main Streets respectively. Artist locations will be assigned based on availability. Exhibiting artists are responsible for bringing their own table and all display equipment (easels, pedestals, stands, prints bins), display set up, payment policy (apple pay, square, Venmo, change cash), and personal items (chair, extension cord, etc.) Exhibiting Artists pay a $30 fee minimum each month. See below for other booth options.

Demonstrating Artists

Demonstrating artists (demo artists) are either located in our Creative Cove area on Chestnut Street, or an inside location. Demo artists must actively invite the public to watch or participate in the creation of art during the event. This can include free arts activities for about 75-150 kids. They may also have additional art on exhibit and for sale, but the focus of your booth must be on interactive art. Participants are responsible for display equipment (easels, pedestals, stands, prints bins), display set up, payment policy (apple pay, square, Venmo, change cash) and personal items (chair, table, extension cord, etc.) Demo artists are not required to pay a participation fee since they are offering a free activity.

*Space is limited: apply early! A limited number of booth spaces are available in each of the following options:

 

Booth Options & Descriptions

Standard Oak St. Booth - $30 - A standard booth is a 12' space on the sidewalk of Oak Street in front of businesses downtown. Street parking is available, so you may be able to park close to your spot. Tents/canopies are not allowed to leave room for pedestrian traffic.

Standard Chestnut St. Booth - $30 - A standard 10x10' booth in the closed off street. Tents and canopies are allowed but there is less room for extra displays, panels, etc.

Premium Booth - $40 - A premium booth is a larger 15x15' space on Chestnut Street across from Creative Cove. Artists have the option to use a canopy for shade and more room for additional merchandising on extra displays. Premium booths also get priority for the shaded area on Chestnut.

Indoor Booth - $50 - An indoor booth is an 8-10' space inside The Studio Downtown, Conway Art Walk Headquarters. This space is air conditioned and in a heavily trafficked area of the event. Artist have the option to request a table be provided for their display.

 

Marketing

Participants are provided an area to display work, and inclusion in the monthly pre-event advertisement on digital media. To be included in promotional materials and posts, please register at least two weeks in advance.

We highly suggest you include business cards, artist statements, and/or informational flyers in your displays. Visual artists and fine crafts-persons are encouraged to share pre-event publicity and event photos across business media accounts.

Participants, or their designated representatives, must be onsite for the entirety of each event: 5 - 8 pm.

 

Art Walk reserves the right to request the removal of displayed work that does not reflect that which was submitted (i.e. crafts, other artists’ work, etc.)

Conway Art Walk is the 1st Friday of each month from March through November (except May) from the hours of 5 - 8 p.m. A $30 fee will be required per artist each month of participation. 

Set up may start at 4:00 p.m. and must be completed by 4:45 p.m. Artists will be responsible for displaying their own work. Break down will start a 8:00 p.m.; no early departures are allowed, and all items must be removed by 9:00 p.m. Participating artists must exhibit during ALL hours on the dates they have declared on their application. Failure to be present during the entire event for the dates declared on your application will result in dismissal from future participation in the event.

Rain & Illumination - Have a rain plan! If you have signed up for a date, you are expected to be there regardless of weather conditions (unless weather conditions necessitate we cancel Art Walk.) Notification of cancellation or relocation due to rain will be sent via email by 2 p.m. the day of the event. In most cases, we relocate all the artists into 2-3 indoor spaces.

While there are streetlights on during the dark hours, we suggest having some kind of portable lighting to aid in the visibility of your work. Artists are responsible for their own display and lighting as needed. 

Attendance - If you are unable to attend a Conway Art Walk that you originally signed up for, you must give one weeks' notice of your absence. Otherwise, please ensure you have a back-up person to set up and manage your display. Participation fees are nonrefundable. You must check in with event staff to confirm your attendance. If you do not show or do not check in, you will be considered a "no show". TWO NO SHOWS WILL RESULT IN BEING DISMISSED FROM THE CURRENT ART WALK SEASON.

Eligibility - Only artists displaying their own original work are eligible to participate in the First Friday Art Walk. Note cards and limited edition secondary prints may be sold but original pieces must also be displayed. Handmade, hand-printed clothing from original designs permitted. Machine printed/manufactured clothing is not permitted. Literature and information pertaining to the artist's work is permitted. Submitted images are not required to be at the event, but must accurately represent the type of work displayed. Absolutely no imported, manufactured, or mass-produced items, kits, or articles not made in total by the artist. Artists are solely responsible for ensuring they have the legal rights to reproduce and sell all artwork displayed or sold at Conway Art Walk; Create Conway assumes no liability for copyright infringements. Conway Art Walk representatives reserve the right to request removal. SEE ADDITIONAL CRITERIA AT THIS LINK.

Conway Art Walk reserves the right to refuse application to anyone for any reason. All decisions are made ultimately at the discretion of the Conway Art Walk.