A Fair of the Arts vendors are selected through a jury process. This means that completing an application does not guarantee your placement into all or any of the fair dates. The jury will be comprised of four to six local individuals who have a vested interest in A Fair of the Arts and/or the local arts. The jury will select artists based on the following criteria.
- product guidelines (listed below)
- style of work (category)
- quality of work
- price range
- variety of artist mediums represented
We consider all applications carefully based on the images you submit and your own description of your work. Please take time and put consideration into the picture and descriptions you provide to our jury.
Your attendance record at previous A Fair of the Arts events will be taken into account when reviewing your application for this year's series.
Artists may be placed initially in a minimum of 2 shows and a maximum of 5 shows. This allows us to feature a diverse array of artists and a diverse array of artwork at each fair date.
If you are an accepted artist and were not placed in every fair that you requested, you will be placed on a waitlist for those fairs in which you were not placed and will be contacted if cancellations occur.
Product Guidelines:
- All work must be original and made by the applicant.
- Significant alteration of commercial components in any work is required.
- Work must be safe, be a durable (not consumable) good, and exhibit a quality of craftsmanship.
- If work is made from or includes dried flowers and/or herbs, the flowers and/or herbs must be grown by the applicant.
- Clothing items must be sewn and/or designed by the artist. Please see additional guidelines regarding clothing outlined below.
- T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and other commercially manufactured clothes must include a screen-printed or block-printed element designed by the exhibitor to be displayed.
- No manufactured seams allowed in clothing blanks and upcycled clothing, including ties, pillow covers, etc. Scarves made from scarf blanks are limited to 20% of the booth.
- Manufactured belt buckles sold separately from the belts are not permitted for sale.
- Reproductions of the artist’s own original work are the only reproductions allowed.
Unacceptable work includes:
- Work made from kits.
- Work made from molds not made by the applicant.
- Work made by someone other than the applicant (including commercially made products, imports, and products bought for resale).
- Any work that would be considered drug paraphernalia.
- Items purchased for resale or upcycled items that have not been substantially altered.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated artwork using Large Language Models (LLM) (this includes LLM-generated models for 3D printers)
Criteria for Selecting Artists:
- Product meets the guidelines established above.
- Quality of work: Works will be juried based on application materials submitted, including the photos, description of work, and product sample (for personal care artists).
- Price range: Pieces available for sale should be reasonably priced.
- Applications will be divided into 10 categories:
- clay
- metalwork/woodwork
- drawing/painting/photography
- natural materials
- fiber arts
- personal care
- glass
- recycled art
- jewelry
- surface decoration
Artists must choose ONE category that best represents the majority of the products created and sold. This is the category in which artwork will be juried. Provide images of sample products only in this category. A minimum of 80% of the product you sell must be within this category. If you wish to sell equally in multiple categories, please submit a separate application for each, including photos and application fees.
Personal Care artists who have not participated for the past two seasons must submit a product sample to the jury by the application deadline. Samples may be dropped off in person or mailed to the address below. The sample can be a small soap end or a second that you do not intend to sell.
Attn: Crystal Ritter
City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department
401 N. Morton St., Suite 250
Bloomington, IN 47404
Site Information:
- Fernandez Plaza is located at Eighth and Morton Streets, or 401 N. Morton St. in Bloomington.
- Water is available at the site.
- A Parks and Recreation staff member (who is certified in CPR/AED and first aid) will be available to answer questions, assist with traffic control, and ensure the smooth operation of the Fair.
- Electricity is NOT available on site.
Booth and Sales Information:
- Booth spaces are 10' x 10'. You are required to provide your own tent, tent weights, and display materials. No tables or chairs will be provided or available to rent.
- The cost of a booth is $60.00 per Saturday (fair) for which you are selected.
- Commissions are not collected on sales.
- Although exhibitors are required to be present in their booths, booth sitters are available for restroom breaks.
- Demonstrations by exhibitors are encouraged with prior approval. If you would like to do on site demostrations of your work, please specify this in the "special requests" field below.
- Exhibitors wishing to share a booth must submit separate applications and jury into A Fair of the Arts individually. Please note in the special requests section below the full name and/or business that you wish to share a booth with.
- All displays must be set up by 7:30 a.m. (8:30 a.m. in October), and exhibitors may not tear down until 12:30 p.m.
- You may share a booth space with another artist as long as both artists are agreeable to sharing. If you would like to share a booth with another artist, please specify this in the "special requests" field below.
- Generators are not permitted.
Timeline:
- On or before January 9, 2026 - Applications e-mailed and posted online at bloomington.in.gov/afair
- February 13, 2026 - Application deadline
- March 20, 2026 - Accepted artists will be notified no later than this date
- April 17, 2026 - Booth payments and signed exhibitor agreement due