Austin Artworks Festival 2026

The Austin ArtWorks Festival is a free two-day outdoor event in Austin, Minnesota held annually—rain or shine—each August. Organized by Austin Area Arts (a local 501(c)3 nonprofit), the ArtWorks Festival is designed to offer a broad selection of experiences in the arts—visual, performing, literary and more—in one celebratory weekend.

We also strive to make our festival interactive by including family activities and demonstrations (e.g. glassblowing, wheel throwing, metalwork). The festival is a staple of summer entertainment in the area, receiving rave reviews by local publications, thousands of visitors (8,000 estimated in 2025) and community leaders.

Fine art exhibitors are very important to this event and we want to work with you. Please know you are always welcome to call or email us directly.

Eligibility

Artists 18 years or older are welcome to apply. The Austin ArtWorks Festival accepts artist applications for original and unique work in media including ceramics, drawing, glass, jewelry, metalwork, mixed media, painting, photography, textiles, wood, and other. Artwork must be original, hand-crafted, and produced by or under the direction/supervision of the artist in the last two years. Artists may not exhibit or sell artwork produced by other, unregistered artist(s) in their booth at the festival. 

Participation Agreement

Submitted applications signify that, upon acceptance to the Austin ArtWorks Festival, the participating artists agree to be present during all show hours and to follow all Festival rules, regulations, guidelines and legal agreements which includes continuing to exhibit outdoors in the event of rain or other weather conditions. ArtWorks Festival will monitor for severe, life- or property-threatening weather and notify exhibitors if such weather is imminent with as much advance notice as possible. While the festival strives to provide a safe space for exhibitors, accidents do happen and artists are responsible for insuring their artwork as appropriate. See below for Event Regulations and Legal Agreement.

Images

Submit five (5) images of work and a booth shot* for a total of 6 images. Work depicted in images must be representative of artwork that will be displayed in your booth. Images are reviewed for evidence that items displayed are original and created by one artist. Pieces created from kits or imported for resale are not allowed. 

All images submitted to the Austin ArtWorks Festival may be used for promotional purposes before, during, and after the event unless otherwise agreed upon, in writing, prior to image submission. Images will be credited as appropriate to the use.

• File format: Baseline Standard JPEG. Do not save as a Progressive JPEG.
• File Size: ~2.0 MB
• Resolution: 300dpi is recommended
• Quality: these images will be reviewed and scored by the jury, take care to submit images that show your work in the best possible light

Helpful suggestions for formatting your images can be found at https://www.zapplication.org/help-center.php

*If this is your first outdoor festival and you do not have a booth shot, please contact Kelsey at kelsey@austinareaarts.org to discuss what kind of photo to use for the booth shot requirement. We are here to work with you! 

Artist Statement

Not a resume or a biography, the artist statement is a story. It should answer big questions about your entire body of work including: Why do you create work? What is your overall vision as an artist? How does your work fit into art history and/or current contemporary art? What inspires you? What artists influence your work? What is unique about your art? 

The Artist Statement is available to the jury committee.

Jury Fee

A completed application must be accompanied with a $35 non-refundable jury fee. Jury fees are payable online through ZAPP®. Note: ZAPP® does not store your credit/debit card information and all card transactions are processed through a secure server.

Payment by check or money order MUST BE RECEIVED by the application deadline, Monday, March 9 at 5pm. If jury fee payment is received after Monday, March 9, 2026, the application may be rejected. Allow enough time for a check or money order to arrive in the mail or through a shipping service. 

Payments made by check, payable to Austin Area Arts, may be mailed to:

Austin Area Arts, 300 N. Main St, Austin, MN 55912

Jury Process

This competitive show is chosen by a jury of highly qualified, talented, experienced artists and craftspeople in a closed process. Jurors do not know the identity of the artists as they score the work. The ArtWorks Festival reserves the right to refuse or include any artist at its own discretion.

Scoring

Scoring is based on a 5 point scale for quality, creativity, originality, and craftsmanship.

Acceptance Notifications

Acceptance notifications will be e-mailed to artists upon completion of the jury process. Notifications are planned to occur no later than April 6, 2026.

Revenue

Artists retain all revenue from their sales; the ArtWorks Festival collects no commission on works sold. Artists are responsible for the collection, reporting and payment of state sales tax. To register for a MN tax identification number, call the MN Dept. of Revenue at 651-282-5225.

Awards

All awards will be selected the morning of Saturday, August 29. The awards jury visits every booth anonymously to review artwork presented in the booths. 

One piece of artwork (valued up to $5,000) will be chosen by a donor, purchased for the listed retail  price and placed in a public space within our community. This is known as the Purchase Award.

The City of Austin also provides a City Award of $500 to purchase a piece of art for the listed retail price. This piece will be placed in a public city facility such as City Hall, the Public Library or the Nature Center.

Cash awards will also be given including but not limited to the Jim Wegner Award, Best Wearable Art, Best Functional Art, and Committee's Choice. 

Weather

The festival will take place rain or shine. It is recommended that artists come prepared for inclement weather including rain and wind. No refunds will be issued due to adverse weather conditions. Weather monitoring is provided by Festival staff and local law enforcement to warn of approaching life- or property-threatening weather and direct artists to appropriate shelter. 

Marketing

The ArtWorks Festival is promoted under the marketing campaign of Austin Area Arts. Marketing may include but may not be limited to: newspaper (Austin Herald, Rochester Post Bulletin), magazine, television, radio, event posters, Austin Area Arts website, social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), digital billboards, and other print/online listings and promotions.

Select artists may be featured in media stories and/or social media.

Austin Area Arts may request additional material (e.g. bio, work samples) from registered artists to promote the ArtWorks Festival as well as the artist.

Artists Services and Benefits

Festival artists enjoy the following amenities:

• Free Artist Parking 
• Name tag (to be worn during all show hours)  
• Free Festival t-shirt included in welcome bag
• Artist Refuge - private, air-conditioned rest and lunch area
• Overnight security at the festival site
• Artist Welcome Reception on Friday, August 28
• Weather monitoring provided by Festival staff and local law enforcement to warn of approaching life- or property-threatening weather. 

Important Dates (subject to change):

Dec 1, 2025 - Begin accepting applications

March 9, 2026 - Application deadline

March 16 - March 31, 2026 - Jury review process

April 96, 2026 - Notification of Invitation to participate in show

May 4, 2026 - If invited, deadline to accept invitation and pay booth fee. 

August 28, 2026 - Set up begins at 9 a.m. Volunteers at the information booth will be available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Artists may continue setting up after 3 p.m. We recommend arriving before 3 p.m. in order to check in with the information booth and receive any event updates. 

August 28, 2026 - Artist Welcome Reception 5-7pm on Festival grounds

August 29, 2026 - Set up begins at 7:30 a.m. Volunteers at the information booth will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Show opens at 9 a.m. Artists must be present in their booth from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Volunteers at the information booth are available to help with breaks during event hours.

August 30, 2026 - Show opens at 10 a.m. Artists must be present in their booth from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Volunteers at the information booth are available to help with breaks during event hours.

Late applications may be accepted at the discretion of the Director.

Check-in

Check in is available 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Saturday. Additional check in time may be provided by request. Please notify us if you will NOT arrive and check in on Friday. 

Artists are required to check in at the information booth prior to set-up. Required parking passes are distributed at check in. 

No vehicles may occupy the loading area without a Festival parking pass. 

Due to the nature of the site, exhibitors MAY NOT drive directly to the booth site. Plan to park close to the booth and cart items in. Please unload quickly and move your vehicle(s) to general parking so that other artists may have load-in access. Parking passes must remain visible in the vehicle windshield. Please take care to park in appropriate areas. 

Set-up

Artists may set up only after first checking in at the information booth. Artists are responsible for equipment needed for set-up. Volunteers will be available on Friday.

Exhibitors may be assigned to a space on grass OR a space on concrete. Please be prepared to weigh down each tent structure. 

Take-down

Take-down is Sunday, August 30 beginning no earlier than 4pm. Artists are responsible for taking down their own display. Artists may not enter the loading area until after show hours. Artists may not move vehicles closer to the exhibit site until after show hours. Please put your trash in provided receptacles and do not leave unwanted items behind in your space.

ArtWorks Festival Contact Information

Please contact Kelsey Ritchie at (507) 434-0934 and kelsey@austinareaarts.org with any questions or concerns.

• All items for sale at Austin ArtWorks Festival must be the handiwork of the exhibiting artist(s). Work made with the use of commercial kits, molds including green ware, imported for resale or mass production are not accepted. Artists determined by Austin ArtWorks Festival staff to be in violation of this rule will be immediately escorted off festival premises and future applications will be disqualified.
• No commercial items will be permitted. However, notecards, fabric items and T-shirts and postcards with the artist's original designs on them are permitted so long as the artist exhibits similar originals in the booth. Original work must make up 75% or more of each booth.
• Artists may not exhibit or sell artwork produced by other, unregistered artist(s) in their booth at the festival. 
• Artists may never leave their booth unattended. Artists must be present with their work for the two days of the festival during open hours which are Saturday 9am - 5pm and Sunday 10am - 4pm. There will be volunteers available to help oversee the booth if the artist needs a short break. Artists will receive information on how to request a break at check in. 
• Artists must exhibit for both days of the event and be prepared for rain or other weather with the exception of weather which is life- or property-threatening. Artists choosing to leave early for any reason may be barred from exhibiting in the future. 
• Austin ArtWorks Festival personnel collaborate with local law enforcement to monitor weather. If severe, life- or property-threatening weather is imminent, personnel will notify artists with as much advance notice as possible, assist with tear down or shelter in place as needed and direct artists to the adjacent storm shelter. 
• All exhibitors are required to obtain a Minnesota sales and use tax number and to collect taxes (local rate is 7.875%). Contact MN Dept of Revenue at 651-282-5225 or www.taxes.state.mn.us to register and receive a sales and use tax number.
• Once an artist contract is signed and booth fee has been paid, if for any reason the artist withdraws from Austin ArtWorks Festival, the booth fee will be returned minus a $40 handling fee if notification of this is received prior to July 1. After July 1 there will be no refund of booth fee.

Booth Assignments/Specifications

Each participating artist in the Austin ArtWorks Festival will be assigned a booth space and will be required to provide their own tent and display materials. As this is an outdoor event, please make sure the tent and display are able to withstand rain and other weather conditions.

PLEASE NOTE: Exhibitors may be assigned to a space on grass OR a space on concrete. Please be prepared to weigh down each tent structure. 

Austin ArtWorks Festival cannot guarantee particular booth spaces but does make every effort to accommodate all artist preferences and special requests. Please include requests with your application. The booth layout will not be changed after August 1, 2026.

Booth Space Rental

There are three booth sizes available: 10x10, 10x20 and 10x30

• 10 x 10 Booth = $110   
• 10 x 20 booth = $210
• 10 x 30 booth = $310

Please contact Austin Area Arts at (507) 434-0934 or email kelsey@austinareaarts.org if you do not have your own tent/booth set up. We will guide you to local resources where you can rent one. 

Booth fees are due no later than May 4, 2026. There will be a $35 late fee for booth fees paid after the deadline.

Booth fees are payable online through ZAPP ® . All booth fees will be processed upon receipt. Booth fees will be refunded, minus a $40 handling fee, if the artist withdraws before July 1. Artists withdrawing for any reason after July 1 will not receive a refund.

Payment by check or money order MUST BE RECEIVED by the booth fee deadline, May 4, 2026. If booth payment is received after May 4, 2026, the registration may be rejected. Allow enough time for a check or money order to arrive in the mail or through a shipping service. 

Payments made by check (payable to Austin Area Arts) may be mailed to:

Austin Area Arts, 300 N. Main St, Austin, MN 55912