Wells Street Art Festival 2026

 

2026 CALL FOR ENTRIES

The Wells Street Art Festival is pleased to announce an open call for entries for the 51st Annual Wells Street Art Festival,  June 13th and 14th, 2026, located in Chicago's Old Town. The Wells Street Art Festival is hosted by the Old Town Merchants and Residents Association with Event Management support from Chicago Special Events Management.
The festival includes 10 categories of mediums: 2-d,3-d & sculpture, ceramics, digital art, functional art, glass, jewelry, painting, photography, and works on paper. Category winners will be recognized during the festival.

Note: The online application only accepts payments by credit card. Checks will not be accepted for application, jury process, or booth space payment.

IMPORTANT DATES

APPLICATIONS DEADLINE: January 25th, 2026: Online applications must be received by midnight CST. 

*Paper applications will not be accepted for the 2026 Art Festival

JURY SESSION: Week of January 28th, 2026

ACCEPTANCE NOTIFICATIONS: February 12th, 2026, Acceptance Notifications are sent out via email only. 

 Please remember that you are not confirmed in the event unless you have paid for your booth fees and your status shows "Confirmed". CHECKS ARE NOT ACCEPTED.

*If the event is canceled by either the city or state and you have been accepted into the 2026 event, you can either request a booth refund or defer your payment to the 2027 event, with automatic acceptance.

Week of June 1st, 2026: Load-in location and times, as well as other information, will be sent out to all confirmed artists. Phone calls will not be made.   

April 5th, 2026: Deadline to cancel and receive a 50% refund (less $35 non-refundable application -Jury fee)

June 13th, 2026: Artist Load in between 4:00 am - 7:00 am

June 13th & 14th, 2026: 51st Annual Wells Street Art Festival

ABOUT THE WELLS STREET ART FESTIVAL
Celebrating its 51st year in 2026, The Wells Street Art Festival is one of the most prestigious  Art Fairs in the nation, continuously ranked in Sunshine Artist’s Top 100 Fine Art Fairs. This juried event features the work of 200 national exhibitors and is attended by more than 40,000 art enthusiasts.

But it's not just art that draws the upscale crowd to the event and street; the Festival also features the cuisine of  neighborhood restaurants, a music stage with continuous entertainment, and a family activity area. The Wells Street Art Festival transforms Wells Street, the heart of Chicago's historic Old Town, into an open-air Art museum.
 
The Wells Street Art Festival is the Old Town Merchants and Residents Association's most important annual fundraiser, with proceeds providing crucial support to various community endeavors.

JURY PROCESS

Categories
Please review the following category definitions. The Wells Street Art Festival has the right to re-categorize an artist's submission.

• 2-D Mixed Media: Includes collage and handmade paper; incorporates more than one type of material and has relief depth of less than 1/8 inch.
• 3-D Mixed Media: Sculpture, Original, non-functional, free-standing work of any material.
• Ceramics: Original shaped and fired clay (including earthenware, porcelain, stoneware, and terra cotta).
• Digital Art: Original, two-dimensional works utilizing computer technology to craft or manipulate visual images.
• Functional Art: A functional, three-dimensional object which serves a purpose such as fiber objects, furniture, toys, wind chimes, etc.
• Glass: An object made of glass (including blown glass and stained glass).
• Jewelry: The use of several different materials (such as clay, glass, metal, and wood) to form a body adornment.
• Painting: The use of oil, acrylics, watercolor, and tempera on canvas or board.
• Photography: Prints or transparencies must be from original negatives.
• Works on Paper: A two-dimensional design on paper (including drawings, etchings, monoprints, pastels, and silkscreens).

Artists may submit more than one application in separate categories. (Booth space sharing is not allowed).


Jury Session

Jurying is done separately for each category and is anonymous. The scale for the jury is 1(low) to 7(high). Jurors are briefed to consider presentation, quality, originality, technical ability, and booth display. The jury considers each image for approximately 10 seconds while the artist's statement is read aloud. Jurors can request to review the artist’s slides and revise their score before final submission. Discussion is permitted. The cumulative score is processed, and the top scores in each category receive an invitation to show in the Festival. The decision of the jurors is final.



Wait List

The next 20 highest-scoring artists in each category are selected to be on the waitlist. Waitlist artists can be accepted up to and on the day of the show. Artists taken off the wait list will be notified by telephone. Called waitlist numbers will be posted on our website.

As artists withdraw, we look at the ratios in each category and invite them from the wait list with a concentration on the media we feel need more representation. The goal of the Festival committee is to maintain a balanced show; no quota is set for each medium.



Jury Panel

Jurors are selected for their experience and expertise in a specific media and serve on panels in their area. A diversity of backgrounds and skills is sought, including artists, educators, fine art and craft gallery owners, and museum directors/curators.

Event Hours

WELLS STREET ART FESTIVAL POLICIES



Rules for Participation

The Wells Street Art Festival is a highly selective fine arts fair. Participating artists’ booths will be visited periodically throughout the fair by Festival Management to ensure that artists are complying with the rules. Artists will be asked to remove all work that is not in compliance. The Festival committee reserves the right to refuse the exhibition of work not consistent with the quality and cohesiveness of submitted images. Artists who do not comply with Festival rules and regulations will not be eligible for a refund and may be refused at other Special Events Management shows.



1)  All work must be original and handcrafted. All work must be designed and executed by the accepted artist(s). No work that has been made with commercial kits, molds, patterns, plans, or prefabricated pieces is allowed.

2)  Reproductions must be identified as such and may only constitute one-third of the total display.

3)  Artists displaying work produced in editions must disclose edition numbers to the Festival audience.

4)  Artists may only show work in categories approved by the Jury. All work exhibited must be of the quality and type that is shown in the images juried.

5)  Artists must prominently display their Artist Statement along with a picture of the artist(s), describing how and by whom the work is made and the materials used in the production of the work.

6)  Artists must be present with their work for the duration of the Festival. If the work is collaborative, each collaborator must be present. All artists must check in at the designated check-in points with a valid photo ID.

7) All work must be for sale.

8)  Artists are responsible for collecting and paying the applicable Chicago/Illinois Sales Tax (10.25%) to the Illinois Department of Revenue.



Cancellation Policy

If you are invited to participate and choose to cancel your acceptance into the Festival, please follow the procedures below:

Cancellations must be made in written form and submitted by mail or e-mail, on or before April 13th, 2026 to receive a 50% refund, any cancelations after that date are nonrefundable. E-mails can be sent to  Exhibitor Relations at exhibitors@chicagoevents.com. A Special Events Management staff member will contact you via the phone number listed on your application to verify your cancellation. If your cancellation is made on or before April 13th, 2026, 50% of your booth fee(less a $30 Application fee) will be processed and refunded in approximately 3 weeks from the date of cancellation.

Artists who cancel after midnight on April 13th, 2026 (including the day of the show) will NOT be eligible for a refund. NO EXCEPTIONS

No Show Policy

Artists who have not checked in and/or notified the event Production Company in writing before 9:00 AM on Saturday, June 13th, will be considered a “no-show.” No-show artists will not be eligible for refunds and assigned space(s) will be forfeited to a wait-list artist.



Rain Date

There will be no “rain date” and fees will not be refunded in the case of inclement weather.

BOOTH SPACES & ARTIST AMENITIES


Assigned booths are 10’x10’ spaces situated back-to-back down the center of Wells Street. Double booths and or corner upgrades are also available for an additional fee, space permitting.  All work exhibited must be confined to the assigned space(s). Artists are responsible for providing their own means of displaying their work. Tents, tables, and chairs may be rented through Special Events Management. No overhangs/awnings are allowed. All artists must properly weigh down their tents.


Fees

Booth fees will be paid upon acceptance. All booth fees are due in full by March 22nd, 2026.

Checks will not be accepted. Payment must be made by credit card at the time of checkout.

10’x10’ - $750

10’x20’ - $1,050 (upon availability)

Corner Upgrade - $225 (upon availability)




 

Cancellations must be made in written form and submitted by mail or e-mail, on or before April 13th, 2026, to receive a 50% refund; any cancellations after that date are nonrefundable. E-mails can be sent to  Exhibitor Relations at exhibitors@chicagoevents.com. A Special Events Management staff member will contact you via the phone number listed on your application to verify your cancellation. If your cancellation is made on or before April 13th, 2026, 50% of your booth fee(less a $35 Application fee) will be processed and refunded in approximately 3 weeks from the date of cancellation.