Call to Artists

 Deadline:  December 7, 2014

 

WHAT: The 24nd Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival

 
WHERE: In the streets of Reston Town Center, an upscale, elegant, shopping destination, located a vibrant suburb of Washington, DC.
     
WHEN:Friday, May 15 NEW Festival Launch Party - all artists invited to attend a complimentary dinner; Saturday, May 16, 10 am - 6 pm NEW Artist awards champagne reception 6:30 - 8pm; Sunday, May 17, 10 am - 5 pm.

           
From GRACE:

* Our Festival is annually produced by the Greater Reston Arts Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit whose mission is to enrich community life through excellence in contemporary art. The proceeds from the Festival directly support our educational and outreach programs.

* Our Festival is limited to approximately 200 juried artists in 16 media categories. We are committed to presenting original, well-conceived, and expertly executed works, made either by hand or with appropriate tools, by the exhibiting artists.

* We encourage artists who are exploring the boundaries of their media, by incorporating the use of found objects, repurposed materials, or technology, to apply.

  

* We have made significant changes to the Festival to reflect our desire to place emphasis on the art and our artists, and were developed based on direct input from the 2014 participating artists. Some of these changes include a Festival Launch Party that all participating artists are invited to free of change on Friday, a champagne awards reception on Saturday evening for all participating artists.   

* GRACE is committed to elevating the profile of our Festival, and has doubled its marketing budget for 2015 to reach new audiences and promote interest from collectors. To enhance regional appeal and promote an art-focused atmosphere for the Festival, GRACE is also partnering with internationally-recognized earth artist Patrick Dougherty. Mr. Dougherty will construct a site-specific, immersive, temporary installation in Town Square Park, which will be on view during the Festival and will be promoted as part of the Festival activities.

* Artist amenities include ample volunteer support, booth sitters, continental breakfasts for artists, drive up booth set-up/ tear down, free bottled water delivery, indoor restrooms, reduced hotel rates, reserved artist parking for oversize vehicles, security, and artist mentor opportunities in local schools.

* We are pleased to offer ten $500 equal merit Excellence Contemporary Art Awards selected via category to ensure more equitable distribution and the award winners will be recognized in a public forum. All artists are invited to GRACE for an awards presentation with complimentary champagne and light hors'd'oeuvres on Saturday evening.  

* Of the artists who answered the question regarding amount of sales on the 2014 artist surveys, 20.5% said they sold between $6k and $20k, with 9.3% saying they sold more than $10k, and 31% said they sold between $ 500 - $5,999. The 2014 Art Fair Source Book report from 21% or our artists shows an upward trend, with average gross sales at $5,882 per artist.

* We have an aggressive marketing and promotion campaign to better market, recognize, and celebrate our festival artists with well placed advertising in prominent magazines and newspapers, arts focused catalogues, online Going Out Guides, and outreach through social media, radio and television.

*Jury/Booth fees are $50/$500 for a single booth, with corner and double booths also available. Upon acceptance artists can indicate preference on street location for an additional fee.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS:  
Deadline:  December 7, 2014

Notification:  January 21, 2015
  

Apply at Juried Art Services http://www.juriedartservices.com/index.php?content=event_info&event_id=840

      

For more information please visit  www.restonarts.org

Call or Email questions to Erica Harrison 703.471.9242 ext. 113
ericaharrison@restonarts.org