June 25-27, 2010 Western Gateway Park Des Moines, Iowa Deadline: Oct. 31, 2009 The award-winning Des Moines Arts Festival invites you to be a part of the Midwest's premier celebration of the arts on featuring the art work of 185 of the nation's top artists and 24 juried emerging Iowa artists. Creating opportunities for people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds to embrace the arts, the Des Moines Arts Festival is one of the most respected arts events in the country, and brings more than 200,000 art enthusiasts each year to its downtown location in Iowa's capital city and largest metropolitan area. The Festival is a non-profit organization founded by the Des Moines Art Center, attracting over one million people to Des Moines' downtown since its inception in l998. Festival proceeds benefit the Des Moines Art Center and the continuation of the Des Moines Arts Festival. What the artists say:
"This is one of the most professionally produced events we have participated in that caters thoughtfully to both patrons and artists." "Des Moines Arts Festival should be a benchmark for all other outdoor craft shows. One, we are lucky enough to have had very excellent sales. Two, the treatment of the artists before, during and after the fair is so good, it's almost sad when it's over." "Stellar event in every way." "I was mightily impressed with the obvious effort extended for this festival and glad to have the venue to present my work within. I was proud to be part of it." What to expect: Projected Attendance - More than 200,000. * $11,000 in Cash Awards at the time of publication. $600 to each category award, $1000 to the Best of Emerging Iowa Artist; and, $1000 to The Des Moines Register People's Choice Award * Official Festival Guide includes color image for each artist distributed to 220,000+ households via The Des Moines Register; as well as distributed to point of sale locations and on-site during event * Web site includes full-color image with name and live link to artist web site * Free reserved parking
* Invitations to special events and receptions * Exclusive Hospitality Area * Free Electricity * Leisurely set-up (full day is available) * Booth sitters and energetic volunteers
Introducing New Directions We are implementing a new program for juried artists in 2010. New Directions is designed for professional visual artists (we make the distinction because we have an emerging artist program) who are juried into the show and who, between the time they are juried and the date of the show are exploring new directions in their current work. All artists will jury with their body of work as they normally do. Upon acceptance into the show, artists will be notified of the details of the policies surrounding its integrity. Should any juried artist find themselves exploring a new direction with their work and want to participate in the program, we will work with them on a case-by-case basis within a set of parameters that all of us (including the show) must follow. In order to keep intact the decisions of the jury, the rules will be: new work may occupy only a small percentage of the overall exhibit space; the work will be identified as "new work" within the exhibit space;
the work must be an extension of the work juried into the show; the new work must be clearly defined within the exhibit; and, it all must be original. What it may not be is a completely new body of work. Our goal is to encourage artistic exploration while trying to maintain the high standards of the jury process. We recognize that artists wander outside their box and often find themselves rejuvenated by the journey of discovering a new talent you had or wanted to explore, but didn't because you were working too hard to stay inside the box we created for you. And because we appreciate that we are collaborators in this industry we are reaching out to offer this "new direction."
Note from me: My husband Norm Darwish and I have participated in this event several times. It was our favorite. Terrific hospitality, wonderful promotion, friendly and interested visitors who actually thank you for coming to their city for the festival. Plus, they take art home with them. All art fairs should be this good! Apply:
Zapplication.org, For more info:
www.desmoinesartsfestival.org ***************
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