Chicago's Premiere Art Festival Production Company

Application Information

Artists may still apply for in-house jury with a paper application. Late fees apply. View the 2013 schedule here >>

Download Paper Application

General Information
for Festival Applications

Each festival is juried and run by Amdur Productions, Inc., a professional and experienced management team. All outdoor festivals will have overnight security and artists MAY leave booths and tables in place overnight. Amdur Productions always recommends that artwork should be removed from booths at night. Discounted hotel rates will be offered to exhibitors. Live musical entertainment will be scheduled throughout each festival. Food will be available from festival food vendors as well as area restaurants.

Postcards/Program
Digital Jury
Image Suggestions
Deadlines
Policies
Display Fees
Optional Payment Plans
Sales
Awards
Refunds
Wait List
Parking
Open Access

Postcards/Program

All accepted artists will receive free festival postcards for their own mailings. A festival program will be produced and distributed at each festival. Additionally, a full multi-level marketing program will be developed and produced to help promote each festival and support high levels of attendance.

Digital Jury Through January 18th

We will utilize the skills of Juried Art Services (no additional fee to artists), a company run by Paul Fisher, based in Florida. Paul and his company work with other well established high end art festivals and share our high level of concern for art and artists.

Image Suggestions

Deficiencies in images will put your work at a significant disadvantage in the juries. Artists are advised to submit images of professional quality. Keep in mind that your images are viewed simultaneously and you may specify the order in which they appear.

Top Ten Image Tips

  1. Clear, sharply focused images are best.
  2. Represent a coherent body of work, by form, technique or concept in the four images.
  3. Show the work fully.
  4. Do not show the frames in the case of flat art.
  5. One piece of work per image.
  6. Bold color is viewed better than pastels, whites, grays or blacks.
  7. Well-lit, even exposure in all images is crucial.
  8. Images should not be digitally altered except to correct contrast or adjust brightness.
  9. High resolution jpeg files are best.
  10. Don’t let the background overpower or detract from your work.

Deadlines

For all shows, entries must be received by January 11, 2013. Late entries received after January 11 will be accepted only with an additional late fee of $25 per festival for receipt up until January 18, 2013. Artists festival status will be online at Juried Art Services starting February 15, 2013. Artists may apply to as many shows as they wish. Artists may apply in as many categories as they wish, however each application must be for a single category.

Policies

The art festivals produced by Amdur Productions present artists' hand original work, not the work of mass production studios. All work displayed must be presented in a finished manner; two-dimensional art should be framed or equivalent. No work that has been made with commercial kits, molds, patterns, plans or prefabricated pieces is allowed. The festival committee reserves the right to refuse exhibition of work not consistent with the quality and cohesiveness of submitted images and these guidelines

You may not exhibit work purchased from other artists for resale. Artists themselves, not spouses or other representatives, must be present at registration and throughout the entire festival, except Highwood where artist representatives may participate in place of the artist. Artists provide their own tents, tables and chairs unless other rental plans are made. A maximum of two persons are suggested to work in a 10x10 booth at any time. Artists showing separately produced work under one name are not allowed to exhibit in the same booth. Exhibitors must check in with a photo ID.

Application to a festival does not guaranty participation. Dates, hours and specifics of each festival subject to change. Should a festival date change be required and the artist is not able to participate, a full refund of fees paid will be made to the artist for that festival.

To insure fairness for every artist, the rules contained in this application will be strictly enforced. Artists and their staff not complying with festival policies will be asked to leave the festival, without refund.

Prints

Art prints produced by the artist executed by monoprint, hand pulled serigraph, lithograph and similar, properly signed and numbered are allowed to be hung in the booth. In all shows except the Port Clinton Art Festival, framed commercial print multiples may be shown on not more than a 10x10 foot wall of a booth and must be individually labeled as such. Flip bins for commercial prints must fit within the artist’s booth and must be clearly marked to maintain clarity with the public.

FOR PORT CLINTON

Iris, giclees and other commercial prints may be shown only in flip bins and must be clearly identified as commercial prints. Only one flip bin is allowed per booth.

Jewelry

Jewelers must be the designers and hands-on makers of their work. Purchased facet-cut stones are allowed, however, prefabricated purchased jewelry parts other than findings and chains are not allowed.

Photographs

Black and white and color photographs must be either printed by the hands and/or under the direction of the photographer. Color and/or black and white reproductions of photographs by non-photographic, non-archival means, such as copy machine or off-set press are not allowed. Giclees of photographs on canvass and/or paper must follow the rules for prints above.

Display Fees

Upon notification of acceptance, artists must remit at least 50% of their display fees to Amdur Productions by March 14, 2013. Balances are due on the first of the month proceeding the festival's month. Artists not paid in full by the prescribed dates relinquish their invitation to exhibit. Display spaces accommodate tents of 10 x 10 feet. Late payment penalties of $25 per show apply. Port Clinton fees are required in full.

Space fees vary by festival. Additional surcharges apply to corner spaces. Limited double booth spaces are available at two times the standard fee (plus a premium for the Port Clinton Art Festival). Booths are assigned in order of show seniority followed by media needed for a given location and order of receipt of request.

Optional Payment Plans

Payment plans by check and credit card are available for all space fees except Port Clinton. See festival pages for more information.

Sales

All proceeds go to the artists. All artists are responsible by law to pay applicable city, state and federal taxes on work sold.

Awards

A Best of Show Award and Category Awards will be given at most festivals. Festival Award Winners are invited to return the following year without jury.

Refunds

Jury/Application Fees are nonrefundable in whole or part. Refunds for Space/Booth Fees paid in whole or part will be issued a full refund of the amount received, minus a $50.00 per show processing fee, if the request is made in writing such as an email, fax or certified mail on or before May 1, 2013. Refund requests made by phone, fax, email or certified mail after May 1, 2013 will not be processed and are ineligible for a refund in whole or part.

Throughout the summer festival season, full upgrade refunds will be made to artists on an ongoing basis if the artist request for a corner, double booth or electricity could not be met.

Wait List

Any wait list artist is welcome to show up the morning of a festival during set-up and register to see if any no-show spaces become available. Amdur Productions staff will make the final determination for adding any artists to the festival at that time. Any artist accepted into the festival must come prepared with a photo ID and booth fee in the form of cash, money order or credit card.

Parking

Designated free parking and overnight parking is reserved for artists at each festival except for the Gold Coast and Millennium festivals where additional public parking fees apply.

Open Access

All festivals attempt to be fully accessible. Special needs of artists are a continuing concern for Amdur Productions.

2013 Show Applications

Download the 2013 schedule here.

Festival Application for In-House Jury
Download Paper Application

847-926-4300 | info@amdurproductions.com

Youth Artist Applications are Up!

Get the experience of exhibiting as a professional artist! Set up, take down and sell your art as a professional artist does. You can even ask them questions and get real-life advice from exhibiting artists.

If you are interested in being a youth artist in the Barrington Art Festival, please click here.
If you are interested in being a youth artist in the Port Clinton Art Festival, please click here.

Please call the office, 847-926-4300, for more information.

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