We will begin accepting applications on July 15, 2010, and our deadline for applications is 11:59 PM, October 22, 2010. Notifications will go out shortly after our jury session, (open to the public) scheduled for November 12 and 13, 2010.
Unless specifically requested otherwise, all notifications and information regarding the Festival will be made via e-mail to the artist's e-mail address as specified in his or her Zapplication profile. It is important to note that any changes to e-mail addresses must be updated on Zapplication in order to receive timely and important information from this show.
Overview
The staff, volunteers and sponsors of the MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival cordially and sincerely invite you to participate in the Top Art Event in Texas, ranked 3rd in the United States, during our 26th Annual Celebration, April 7-10, 2011. Scroll down this page for more information about our Festival, and about the policies and procedures of our application process.
Presented by Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc. MAIN ST. has a twenty-five year history of attracting tens of thousands of people annually during the four-day visual arts, entertainment and cultural event. MAIN ST. showcases a nationally recognized fine art and fine craft juried art fair, live concerts, performance artists and street performers on the streets of downtown Fort Worth.
We invite a total of 200 artists to the show, with approximately 25 award artists from the previous year. Over 1,500 applications were received in 2010.
We are known for our friendly, southern hospitality, for our promotional prowess and for delivering a buying public to the doorsteps of our participants. We are also a tough show - four days, long hours - but we make every effort to ensure your experience with us is as smooth and effortless as possible so you can concentrate on what you do best: sell!
Mission of the MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival
The mission of the MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival is to provide, free to the public, the highest quality visual and performing arts set against the background of historic Fort Worth. The Juried Art Fair is designed to attract a diverse selection of quality fine art and fine craft selected by qualified jurors and to promote and market selected artists and their work as the focal point of the festival. The proceeds directly fund infrastructure services, downtown development and free annual special events for citizens and visitors of Fort Worth.
Why Fort Worth?
The prominence of Fort Worth's Old West history is evident on nearly every corner of the city. However, Fort Worth has grown by leaps and bounds in the area of arts and culture. And for the past 25 years, MAIN ST. has acted as one gateway to Fort Worth's cultural growth. Historically "where the west began," MAIN ST. now escorts Fort Worth in thriving culture by welcoming and bringing together people from all sides of life - the cowboys and the artistic mavens.
The streets of downtown are filled with fascinating sights and sounds as more than 500 fine artists, dancers, performance artists, musicians, exhibitors and food vendors take part in the four-day celebration. Two hundred juried artists line the historic red bricks of Main Street weaving a diverse blend of texture and shape down the "magnificent mile" of visual art booths, performance stages and intriguing characters to create an explosion of color against the turn-of-the-century buildings and modern skyscrapers of downtown Fort Worth.
Downtown Fort Worth features many of the area's finest eateries, including Reata Restaurant, Del Frisco's Steakhouse, Mikado Sushi, Piranha’s Sushi and PF Chang's, all in close proximity to historic Main Street. We realize that some of our artists may be more inclined to party rather than rest after a hard day of selling! Therefore, our after hours environment is second to none in Texas, and provides the perfect setting for fun, great entertainment and dancing in a safe and dazzling environment.
Why Exhibit at MAIN ST.?
First, we deliver financial results to our artists. Over $6 million dollars in art has been identified as being sold at this event each year by our 2009 Economic Impact statement. Second, More than 1,200 volunteers help run the free, four-day event, many of them devoted to our "stars of the show." A dedicated team of ART volunteers (Artist Resource Team) are dedicated to making sure our artists are treated right. We offer our artists:
lunches made to order, ordered in advance and delivered right to your booth; an air-conditioned hospitality center; artist parties and breakfasts, including evening invitations to our Skybox Hospitality Suite overlooking the Main Stage; free basic electric (with additional electric available for a nominal fee); and a tremendous weather monitoring and communication system to "get the word out" to our artists in case of inclement weather.
Our new load-in system has made booth set-up a snap, where we work around your schedule...not ours. We also offer free RV parking three blocks away (unfortunately, we do not have free, close-in parking).
Our structured and fair on-site jury selects our invited artists, as well as our Merit Award Artists and Best of Show Artists. Merit award-winners each receive $1,000, Best Emerging Artist receives $500 and the Best of Show receives $3,000. A total of $10,500 is set aside for these awards.
Important Time and Date Information
Show Dates: April 7-10, 2011
Artist Hours of Exhibition: 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM on Thursday, 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM on Friday and Saturday, and 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM on Sunday.
ZAPPlication TM Online Application Process Opens: July 15, 2010
Application deadline (ZAPP online application): 11:59 PM Central Time, October 23, 2010
Artist Pre-Jury Reception and Zapp Preview: 6:00 PM Central Time, November 11, 2011 at the Blackstone Hotel (Courtyard by Marriott)
Artist Jury (using ZAPP, open to the public): November 12 and 13, 2010 at the Blackstone Hotel (Courtyard by Marriott), 601 Main Street, Fort Worth, TX
Acceptance notification, contract and Artist Guide e-mailed: November 15, 2010
Accepted artists posted on Website: December 1, 2010
Artist registration packet and booth fees: Must be postmarked by December 15, 2010
Last day to cancel with refund: February 1, 2011
Artist Guide e-mailed: March 3, 2011
Load in: April 6, 2011
Festival dates: April 7-10, 2011
Artist Awards Ceremony and Brunch: Friday, April 8, 2011, 8:00 a.m.
Fees
A non-refundable jury fee (to cover jury expenses and administrative overhead) of $30.00 is required for each entry form/category submitted (checks payable to “DFWII").
Upon receipt of an acceptance letter, the selected artist is required to return a check or money order for $445.00 to secure their booth space (credit cards will also be accepted both at our office and through Zapplication.org). 100 corner booth spaces are available for an additional $100.00. All monies are deposited upon receipt. Each artist receives 200 watts of electricity included in their booth fees. Any electricity used over and above the minimum is charged at $30.00/200watts.
Jury Procedure
Round one of the jury session will be open to the public. We require proper decorum during the jury process so as not to disturb the jurors. The dates are November 12 and 13, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, at the Blackstone Hotel/Courtyard by Marriott, 601 Main Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102. The category viewing order will be pre-determined. Round 1 is Friday. Round 2 is Saturday. Notification will be made by 11:00 PM on Monday, November 15.
A reception will be held the evening of Thursday, November 11, for the purpose of welcoming all visiting artists and previewing the slides to be shown during the jury itself. This will be a non-stress environment for viewing and networking.
A seven member panel will review images submitted by the artists and rank them for consideration. Images are projected on 48" x 48" screens by state-of-the-art Dell projectors directly from digital media. We are currently in the process of selecting our jurors for the 2011 festival.
IMPORTANT: The identities of artists are not disclosed to jurors. Please be sure that there is no reference to your name or your company in your booth image.
The jury will review each artist’s set of images. These images, submitted by each artist through their Zapp account, are downloaded from the locked Zapp storage server directly onto a master DVD and transported to the jury site. Images are then transferred directly to one of five MacMini computers to be shown simultaneously in a horizontal grouping, with Image one on the left and the booth image on the right. We use five Dell 4100 projectors and five brite-white screens. Each image will have a final projected size of 4' x 4'.
The image information statement and image descriptions provided on the application will be made available to the jury - they are typically not read aloud. Jurors will be invited to discuss each artist’s work during the review process.
Each artist is scored by jury members on a scale of yes-no-maybe in the first round, creating a ranked group of artists in each category deemed qualified to advance to the second round. Our scoring for the second round is on a 1 - 7 scale. The top scorers in each category receive an invitation to the show.
An additional 50+ artists are retained to comprise a waiting list of alternates. Our progression from the invited list to the waiting list is based strictly upon scores received in that category.
Decisions of the jury panel will be final.
The director of the show has the right to invite up to six artists at his discretion.
Notification
Upon completion of our jury, we will send e-mails by the end of the day on November 15 to all artists letting them know of their status. Contracts will also be e-mailed to invited artists, along with a link to our online Artist's Guide. You will be asked the question in your Zapplication account application as to whether you would prefer to have the Artist's Guide mailed to you as well in hard copy form.
The status of each artist will also be posted to his or her Zapplication account. We will not send letters - all communication will be by e-mail.
Invited artists, along with their selected images and contact information, will be posted to the MAIN ST. website.
Policies
The following policies and regulations have been established by the MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival to ensure quality and integrity of process, presentation and patron experience:
General Conditions:
The Artist shall supervise and maintain the space provided, using his/her skill and attention, and shall be solely responsible for all labor, material, equipment, tools and other facilities used by him/her during the term of this contract. The Artist shall at all times enforce strict discipline and good order among his/her employees and volunteers and shall not employ any unfit person or anyone not skilled in the task assigned to him/her. The Artist shall be responsible for initiating and maintaining and supervising all safety precautions in his/her assigned space. The Artist shall maintain his/her display booth operation in an orderly manner and shall comply with all City Ordinances and Codes applicable to such an operation. It is understood and agreed that the Artist is acting as an independent contractor in his/her capacity hereunder. The Artist shall be responsible for all acts or omissions of its employees and volunteers. Nothing contained in this Agreement or in the relationship of DFWII and the Artist shall be deemed to constitute a partnership, joint venture or agency relationship between DFWII and the Artist. It is understood and agreed that the space rental fee, required from each participating Artist, is necessary to cover Event costs. Artist will keep 100% of their Event sales. Artist is responsible for the payment of all applicable taxes, currently 8.25% in Fort Worth, Texas. It is understood and agreed that, in keeping with our commitment of fair and equitable practice, should any occasion arise where, in the view of the Director or his representatives, the Artist is not in compliance with policy and procedure, the Artist’s full cooperation is expected in an effort to resolve all disputes, claims and complaints. It is further understood the decisions rendered by the Director or his representatives will be final. It is understood and agreed that should an Artist wish to withdraw from the Event, DFWII must be notified in writing and the notification received in our Fort Worth offices no later than the end of business on February 1, 2011. Thereafter, the full amount of booth fees and any other costs that may have been incurred will be due to DFWII. After February 1, 2011, DFWII will not issue refunds for any reason whatsoever. It is understood and agreed that an Artist who does not register with Event officials by 5:00 PM on Wednesday, April 6, 2011, or has not contacted our offices via phone or e-mail to make alternate arrangements, will forfeit all rights to occupy their booth space and DFWII may utilize the space for other purposes. In such event, the Artist will remain liable for the full booth fee. It is understood and agreed that no refunds or preferred treatment can be made for inclement weather or any other cause not in the control of DFWII. There is no provision other than the decision of the on-site jury that may provide any artist the opportunity to return to the Event in 2012. It is understood and agreed that DFWII may, if required by force majeure or other reasons beyond its control, postpone or shorten the Event. No Artist shall have any right or claim for any damages whether direct, indirect or consequential, or any other kind, arising or alleged to arise by reason of any postponement or cancellation of the Event. All Artists represented in his or her Zapplication application profile (“Zapp”) as artist and as partner must personally attend their exhibit and must be present during the entire four days and exhibit hours posted for the public. DFWII is compassionate towards working, collaborative artists who experience honest family or medical hardships as a result of this policy. Artists wishing an exemption from this policy should contact the Director in writing, prior to forwarding in his or agreement, who will provide specific requirements for exemption. Artists will be required to show photo identification at check-in, and on each day of the Event. Should it be found that the Artist is not at his or her booth, and there is no Director’s advance permission to not be at the Event on file, the Artist will be removed from the Event without recourse. DFWII is compassionate towards artists who experience honest family or medical hardships as a result of this policy. Artists wishing an exemption from this policy should contact the Director in writing, before April 1, 2011, with an explanation as to why there may be an attendance issue. Only the Director may grant an exception to this policy. Works exhibited must be consistent with images submitted by Artist(s). The addition of other bodies of Work not specifically juried into the Event will be requested to be removed from sale. Non-compliance will result in removal from the Event without recourse. Images submitted with the Zapp application, including the booth image, will be referenced in determining the definition of the body of work and the proportion and appropriateness of the types of work being shown. All Work submitted and exhibited must be original, hand-crafted Work produced by the Artist and may not be the result of work by any person other than the Artist, or the Artist and his/her collaborating partner, or from commercial kits, molds, greenware, patterns, plans, prefabricated forms or other commercial methods. Collaborating Partners are permitted; however, any representation other than a true, hands-on artistic collaboration will not be tolerated. Collaborating partners participate in the creative and mechanical process – they are not assistants. Collaborating partners may exhibit only their collaborative work(s). Again, both Collaborating Partners must be present for the entire duration of the Event. Artists will be required to provide information to include a complete Artist Statement and a head shot or other shot to be shown to the public, and must be submitted with his/her agreement in electronic form. This information will be posted on an individually designed webpage. It is the Artist’s sole responsibility to identify the category and the bodies of Work being sold. Quality, unframed reproductions of two-dimensional originals, signed and numbered by the Artist are the only acceptable form of sales in addition to the original works. Artist must define “reproduction" or “limited edition" through their Artist Statement, and each piece must be clearly and individually labeled as “reproduction," signed and numbered appropriately. Reproductions and limited editions may be shown in a portfolio and may not occupy wall space in the artist’s booth. The original Work must be available and on-sale in the Artist’s booth. DFWII does not permit the sale of promotional items by Artists at the Event. Postcards, note cards, posters, or any other offset reproductions are not permitted. Tapes/CDs of exhibited instruments performed by the Artist may be sold along with an instrument, but not alone. Any demonstration of instruments or playing of music must be confined to the interior of the Artist’s booth, and may not be amplified so as to be a distraction to any other Artist or patron. Photographers and printmakers are encouraged to do their own printing. They are required to disclose their creative and printing process. Only artists accepted in the Jewelry category may exhibit or sell jewelry. Jewelry is not accepted in any other category. T-Shirts may not be sold. Artist is responsible for proper insurance and protection of work and set-up. DFWII will not be responsible for damage to work or set-up due to weather or unrelated incidents. The booth image submitted with Artist’s Zapp application will be referenced by Event representatives in order to determine the appropriateness of the booth’s design integrity in order to maintain the highest possible standards of presentation at the Event. Only Event produced and distributed signs, cards or placards will be allowed to be hung or affixed to the outside of the booth unless specifically shown in the booth image provided in the Zapp application AND approved in advance by the Director or his representative. Unacceptable signage would include, but not be limited to, magazine and/or newspaper articles, banners of any type, ribbons or other documentation of past accolades and/or awards from this Event or other events. Panel risers or extenders to increase booth and/or panel height are prohibited, unless the booth image in the Zapp application included them. All work must be confined to the space provided by the Event. Storage must be incorporated into the booth area provided. At no time shall Artist’s work be gathered, stored or otherwise set on sidewalks, against buildings or in the public right of way. Portable storage facilities are available for a small fee. Appendages (display panels or awnings not appearing in the Artist’s booth image in their Zapp application and encroach upon public and/or other artists’ spaces are expressly prohibited. Racks, bins or other display elements may not be placed outside of the Artist’s space so as to restrict or impede pedestrian traffic. All artists are expected to comply with all regulations and respect artistry standards. DFWII reserves the right and responsibility to ensure compliance of all regulations. This is not limited to refusal of any work to be exhibited that is not consistent with images submitted and work accepted for display by the jury. Failure to comply and cooperate with Event officials will result in the exhibitor’s removal from the show and exhibitor’s right to exhibit in future shows may be refused. No dealers, agents or representatives are permitted. Artist agrees to try to limit his/her electrical requirements to no more than 200 watts per space; however, additional electric is available if needed for an additional fee.
Categories
Ceramics: All original clay and porcelain work other than jewelry is accepted in this category. No machine-made or mass produced work is permitted. If multiple pieces of the same design are displayed each piece must be signed.
Digital Art: This category includes any original work for which the original image, or the manipulation of other source material, was executed by the artist using a computer. Work in this category must be in limited editions, signed and numbered on archival quality materials. Traditional photographs taken through a digital media should apply in the photography category.
Drawing: Works created using dry media including chalk, charcoal, pastels, pencil, wax crayon, etc. or from the fluid medium of inks and washes applied by pen or brush are to be entered in this category.
Emerging Artist Program: Designed specifically for artists who have no experience exhibiting and selling their artwork. The application procedure and fees are the same as the regular show, however, upon acceptance emerging artists will pay a lower booth fee, have a tent provided and receive mentoring through the Arts Festival. Artists may only apply to the Emerging Artist Program or through the regular Application Process, but they may not apply to both. Artists who meet the requirements of the Emerging Artist Program are encouraged to apply, the Arts Festival reserves the right to pre-screen emerging artists to make sure they are a fit for this category.
Fiber: All work crafted from fibers including basketry, embroidery, weaving, 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, may be exhibited.
Glass: No forms of mass production are permitted.
Graphics and Printmaking: Printed works for which the artist's hand manipulated the plates, stones or screens and which have been properly signed and numbered as a limited edition may be entered in this category. All giclee, photogravure, photocopy and/or offset reproductions, will be rejected. Printmakers are required to disclose both their creative and printmaking processes.
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 is allowed.
Leather: Includes all works from leather. No production studio work is allowed.
Metalworks: Includes all non-sculptural, non-jewelry works crafted from metals. No production studio work is allowed.
Mixed Media: This category includes works, both 2 and 3-dimensional, that incorporate more than one type of physical material to produce. Includes non-sculptural work as determined by the artist. Please note two previous categories, 2D Mixed Media and 3D Mixed Media, have been combined into one Mixed Media category.
Painting: Works created in oils, acrylics, watercolor, etc. are in this category.
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 on prints which have been properly signed and numbered as a limited edition.
Sculpture: Three-dimensional original work done in any medium, including built up works in wood are included in this category.
Wood: Original works in wood that are hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned or carved are accepted in the wood category.
Booth Space
The Festival site utilizes two areas where artists’ booths are placed: On Main Street under Festival-provided pavilions and on Artist Square (parking lot in the middle of the Festival grounds) where the artist must provide his or her own canopy. The Festival-provided pavilions do allow artists to install their own tents under our pavilions for additional security. The side poles are 7'11" tall, and rise towards a peak of 9'. Artist tents may not be able to fit properly if located on a corner location due to the slope of the pavilion tent. These larger tents are secured to the brick of Main Street to offer more protection from the wind which can be aggressive at times.
Each exhibitor will be provided a space measuring 10’ deep by 10’ wide. Artists are to provide their own display structure, racks and/or tables in order to display their work in an outdoor environment, and must configure their interior space for maximum storage. Storage space on Main Street does not exist, and artists are advised to include some storage area within their 10' x 10' space. Storage on the sidewalk across from the booth must be limited to an artist's chair and minimal product, and cannot be placed along the sidewalk to impede traffic, or against the buildings. We do provide PODS for storage for an additional fee.
Booths are assigned in advance of the festival and restricted to the juried artist(s) and their work; however, the Directors of the show reserve the right to add additional artist areas such as Emerging Artists or other specialty areas in the show if deemed appropriate to the overall growth and development of the Festival.
Booths are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis as determined by either the USPS postmark of returned contract and booth fee, or the date and time of the online booth payment made through Zapplication. Invited artists from the previous year have priority in terms of booth selection; however, there is a deadline for that selection. Show balance is also considered. More details are provided to selected artists.
Double booths are not available unless one artist has been invited to show in two categories.
Awards
During the festival, on-site jurors will select one Best of Show, on Best Emerging Artist and as many as seven Merit Award Winners. Cash awards totaling $10,500 are awarded to the winners in these categories.
About the Presenters
The MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival is presented by Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc. (DFWII), John C. "Jay" Downie, CFEE, Director. Jay has produced MAIN ST. from 1993 through 1998, and again since 2003. We have many wonderful volunteers who work collaboratively with a terrific group of artists to put together what we feel is one of the finest art shows in America.
Please be sure to visit www.zapplication.org, and login to establish your account.