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