Webster Arts Fair 2026

The Webster Arts Fair is loved by artists and patrons alike for its commitment to high-quality art in a warm and friendly environment. The fair is set on the grounds of Eden Theological Seminary (475 E. Lockwood Avenue, 63119) in the heart of historic Webster Groves, Missouri, just 10 minutes west of downtown St. Louis. Webster Groves is a charming, upscale community nestled among beautiful parks, public art installations, bistros, and boutiques. Supported by Webster Arts, a nonprofit organization, the Webster Arts Fair features top-quality original art from national and regional artists, on-site food from favorite local restaurants, non-stop live music performances, and creative activities that draw 15,000 visitors and buyers from around the region each year. The Webster Arts Fair prides itself on the hospitality shown to its artists and treating crowds to delicious food, top-notch music performances, and unique, creative activities for the whole family.
 

The 2026 Webster Arts Fair will be held on June 5 - 7, 2026.

Top-notch Artist amenities include:

• Complimentary artists meals 
• Complimentary snacks and water delivered frequently to each booth
• Booth sitters available for 15-minute breaks
• Air-conditioned artist break area with flush toilets
• Close, free parking
• Affordable accommodations at Webster University dorms wtihin walking distance of the fair
• 24-hour security provided by local police
• Easy load-in and load-out with volunteer assistance available
• 150 committed volunteers

Application Information:
Applications for the 2026 Webster Arts Fair will open November 1st, 2025. All artists must submit a separate application/agreement unless applying as a collaborative team. Each member of the team must be listed on the application. Each team member must be present at the show. Artists will be required to submit a Certificate of Insurance to participate in the Webster Arts Fair. If you do no have insurance, you can purchase coverage for the weekend, through ACT Insurance (or any other company of your choosing) ACT Insurance will send the COI directly to Webster Arts and you can get a discounted rate by using this link.

Important Dates:
Call for Entry deadline: 2/5/2026
Jury notifications made: 3/1/2026
Confirmation (booth fee) Deadline: 3/20/2026
Refund deadline: 4/15/2026
Set-up date: 6/5/2026

(Must be set up by 4:00 PM or forfeit space)
Show hours: Friday: 6:00 to 10:00 PM; Saturday: 11:00 PM to 9:00 PM; Sunday: 11:00 PM to 4:00 PM

DO NOT submit a booth shot or art images with your name, business name, or signature visible. Do not include people in your booth shot. 

Categories:
Please read the category descriptions carefully. Jurors and/or the Executive Director reserve the right to reassign an artist’s chosen category. Please feel free to call or email with questions. 

IMPORTANT: All work exhibited must be created by the applying artist in his or her own studio. 
 
Artists may ONLY exhibit work in the juried category. Jewelry may ONLY be exhibited by juried artists in the Jewelry category. You may jury in more than one category, with a separate fee for each application. Please, DO NOT jury the same work in different categories. This only wastes your money.

ALL ARTISTS: PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY TO AVOID MISUNDERSTANDING. Email or call with questions.
Commercially-produced items bearing your art ARE NOT PERMITTED at the Webster Arts Fair. Examples include coasters, cutting boards, mousepads, drinking glasses or mugs, books, etc. If you have questions, please call the director for clarification. Lab-produced note cards are permitted in limited amounts if the images reflect the photography, painting, drawing, etc., that was juried. One card stand is permitted within the confines of the booth and must be shown in the booth image. Webster Arts reserves the right to consult with the artist on fixtures in the booth before invitation acceptance. Reproductions of paintings on canvas are not permitted. A limited number of lab-produced reproductions of original art are permitted. Work submitted for jury must be completed within the last 3 years.

• Ceramics/Clay: All original clay and porcelain work other than jewelry. No machine-made or mass produced work is permitted. If multiple pieces of the same design are displayed, each piece must be signed.
• Digital: Any original work for which the artist, using a computer, executed the original image or the manipulation of other original source material. Work must be in limited editions of 250 or less, signed and numbered on archival quality materials. Note: Traditional photographs taken through digital media should apply in the photography category.
• Drawing and Pastels: Original drawings created with chalk, charcoal, pastels, pen, or pencil. Prints should be properly signed in limited editions of no more than 250.
• Fiber: All work crafted from fibers including basketry, embroidery, weaving, leatherwork, tapestry, and papermaking. No machine tooling, machine-screened patterns or other forms of mass production are permitted. No factory produced wearable items, regardless of additional modification or enhancement by the artist.
• Glass: Hand-blown or fused. No forms of mass production are permitted. Jewelry must jury in the Jewelry category.
• Jewelry: All jewelry, whether produced from metal, glass, clay, fiber, paper, plastic or other materials. No commercial casts, molds or production studio work. Work must be produced in the artist’s studio. Commercially purchased clasps or chains are acceptable. 
• Mixed Media:  Works that incorporate more than one type of physical material to produce. Includes non-sculptural work as determined by the artist.
• Painting: (Oil, Watercolor, Acrylic): Works created in oils, acrylics, watercolor, etc., on paper, canvas, gesso board, etc. Reproductions on canvas are not permitted.
• Photography: Photographic prints made from the artist's original image, which have been processed by that artist are included in this category.  Prints produced through professional/commercial labs are permitted. Photographers are required to disclose both their creative and printing processes on any prints, which have been properly signed. Work must be in limited editions of 250 or signed and numbered on archival quality materials. Significantly digitally manipulated photography should apply in Digital.
• Sculpture: Three-dimensional original work done in any medium, including built-up works in wood. Jewelry must jury in the Jewelry category.
• Wood: Original hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned or carved work. Jewelry must jury in the Jewelry category.
• Printmaking: Printmaking includes prints hand-pulled from traditional methods including etching, engraving, silkscreen, stone and plate lithography, linoleum block or woodcut. Prints should be properly signed in limited editions of no more than 250. 

DIGITAL IMAGES:
* Five (5) images must be submitted for each individual media category.
* Four (4) images must be of individual pieces of work, produced within the last 3 years. No signatures or marks that identify the artist should be visible on the artwork image.
* Image number #5 must be of the artist's booth set-up, showing overall continuity and presentation of the current body of work.
* Images must be in 1920 x 1920 pixel format. For information on image resolution, please access zapplication.org/imaging_tips.phtml.
 
The fifth image is mandatory. Images must accurately represent the body of artist's work to be exhibited. This is a blind-jury process, do not submit booth images with identifiable signage or photos of the artist. IMPORTANT: Your booth image MUST accurately reflect the work to be exhibited. If your booth image shows a completely different body of work than your 4 images, your application will not be considered. If accepted into the fair, you may not exhibit work that is different than what you submitted. If you do not have a booth shot, you may use create a mock up booth digitally and explain why you do not have a booth shot.  Please provide a reasonable approximation of your set up if submitting a digital rendition. Booths that vary significantly from the booth image in quality of work, type of work, or set up may be asked to leave the fair and fees will not be refunded. Please call or email with any questions.
 
JURORS

Lindsey Pishaske
Lindsay Pichaske is a ceramic artist and Visiting Assistant Professor of Ceramics at Webster University. She received a BFA from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and an MFA from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Pichaske creates figurative ceramic sculptures that explore ideas of empathy, sentiency and materiality. She is represented by Duane Reed Gallery in St. Louis and exhibits her work broadly; recent solo and group shows were held at Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Jane Hartsook Gallery in New York City, the Fuller Craft Museum, and the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art. Artist residencies include Penland School of Crafts Winter Residency (2026), Craft Alliance (2018), and the Taunt Fellowship at the Archie Bray Foundation for Ceramic Arts (2011-2012). In 2013, she received an Emerging Artist Award from the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. 

Brock Seals
Brock Seals is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, and creative entrepreneur from St. Louis. He holds an Associate’s Degree in Fine Art from St. Louis Community College–Florissant Valley and a Bachelor’s in Fine Art and Painting from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. For over a decade, Brock has curated Art Mimosas & Pancakes, an annual art experience that celebrates local talent through visual art, music, and community engagement. His vibrant murals can be found throughout St. Louis, and his artwork has been exhibited in galleries across the country and internationally.

Robert Varela
Robert Varela is a fine metal artist based in St. Louis, Missouri. A former jeweler, Varela brings the precision and craftsmanship of his jewelry background into slightly larger, miniature narrative works that merge storytelling, humor, and design. Working entirely by hand without mold replicas, found objects, or 3D printing, he transforms sterling silver, brass, steel, and copper into distinctive, truly one of a kind pieces.

His work features animal figures and scenes that reflect on everyday life with a mix of wit and sincerity. Each piece explores texture, color, and contrast, rooted in craftsmanship and the patience required to create a well balanced composition.

Varela’s award winning work has been recognized at national art festivals including the Saint Louis Art Fair, the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, and the Kimball Arts Festival.

Jury Process
Webster Arts respects the integrity of the jury panel review process and supports the decisions made by the jurors. Webster Arts, through the Executive Director and Jury Chair, do not tamper with the decisions of the jurors, but reserve the right to determine the final composition of the show and make adjustments as necessary. The Executive Director reserves the right to invite up to five artists at her discretion.

For 2026, 100 artists will be selected for invitation. A pool of alternates is selected by the jury to be invited if space becomes available. Vacancies are filled by category. The balance of the show determines the selection of an artist from the waitlist. 

Awards:
The Webster Arts Fair is proud to exhibit the high-quality work of the selected artists and will be awarding one Best in Show cash prize and multiple Awards of Excellence cash prizes. Jurors will be onsite to select award winners. Award winners are also invited back for the 2027 fair without going through the jury process. 
 

 Criteria:

• Artist must be aged 18 or older.
• Work must show an identity of design and be made by hand the hand of the artist submitting the application. All work must be the original work of the accepted artist. No artwork from molds, kits or other commercial methods is allowed. Collaborative Partners must be indicated on the application questionnaire or apply separately. Collaborative partners must be materially involved in the creation of the art, and must be present at the show.
• Copies from the works of masters, advertisements, vintage art or photographs, and widely circulated photographs are not considered original works of art and will not be permitted.
• Work submitted for jurying must accurately reflect the work to be displayed. Booth image must reflect the setup at the show. IMPORTANT: Your booth image MUST accurately reflect the work to be exhibited. If we don't see the type of work in your booth image, you may not exhibit it. Booths that vary significantly from the booth image in quality of work, type of work, or set up will be closed. Fees will not be refunded. Please call or email with any questions.
• Work should be well conceived and expertly executed without technical faults.
• Plagiarism, production line art or factory-reproduced items (other than noted below) are grounds for immediate removal from the show.
• While the use of AI as a tool to enhance the artistic process is permissible, the submitted artwork must be primarily the product of human creativity and skill. AI-generated art, where the primary creative process is automated, will not be considered for acceptance. 
• A limited number of signed reproductions may be sold, but will be displayed in portfolios and bins, (not on panels or screens) and clearly labeled as reproductions.
• All 2D work on panels must be original and in frames, gallery wrapped canvas or other appropriate, professional presentation.
• Notecards should be limited to no more than 10% of the display. 
• ALL ARTISTS: Commercially-produced items bearing your art ARE NOT PERMITTED at the Webster Arts Fair. Examples include coasters, cutting boards, mouse pads, drinking glasses or mugs, books, etc. If you have questions, please call the director for clarification. Lab-produced note cards are permitted in limited amounts if the images reflect the photography, painting, drawing, etc., that was juried. One card stand is permitted within the confines of the booth and must be shown in the booth image. Webster Arts reserves the right to consult with the artist on fixtures in the booth before invitation acceptance. A limited number of lab-produced reproductions of original art on paper/metal are permitted.
• Work on stretched canvas should be the original art of the painter. Canvas reproductions of paintings are not permitted.
• Artists may exhibit artwork only in the ONE category in which accepted.
• Artists may enter multiple categories for jurying. A separate jury/application fee of $35 is required for each category entered. If accepted in multiple categories, multiple booths must be purchased (only one category may be represented in each booth).
• The accepted artist must be present all three days of the show and work all fair hours. If you have applied with a collaborative partner, you may rotate shifts during the fair. Representatives, spouses or children may not attend in the artist’s place. Business partners are not considered collaborators
• The Executive Director reserves the right to ask that any work that is inconsistent with the juried subject be removed.
• All artists must display an artist statement that discloses their process. Artists without statements may be ineligible for awards or re-invitation.

Booth Space and Conditions:
Booths space is 10'X10' with a minimum of 6' space behind. All booths will be located on a flat, grassy area. Artists must provide their own 10’x10’ white tents which must be weighted or tied down in case of wind, with a minimum of 40-pound weights per leg. Tents may be staked. Tents may also be rented through the Webster Arts Fair. Electricity is provided at no cost to the artist. Artists must provide their own electrical cords, which must be UL-rated, for exterior use. Artists who bring non-outdoor rated cords will not be allowed to connect to electricity. There will be no exceptions. Artists who connect to electric with non-rated cords and cause the electric grid to go down will be asked to leave, all fees forfeited, and will not be invited to return. Artists are required to provide lighting for their booth location. We encourage the use of LED lights. You may bring a fan. Please don't be a power-hog!

Fees:
Application/Jury fee: $35
Standard Booth fee: $350
Double Booth fee: $700

The application/jury fee is non-refundable. Invited artists must purchase the booth fee on ZAPP via credit card after notifications are made on or before March 1, 2026 and before the confirmation deadline of March 31, 2026. All fees are due with confirmation.

These fees do not include tents (booth) or coverings. Artists must provide their own (or rent from Webster Arts Fair for a fee) white 10’ x 10’ tents and displays.

Cancellation Information:
Absolutely no booth fee refunds will be made after April 15, 2026. Special circumstances may be reviewed by the show director. Refunds before that date will be made minus a $35 administrative fee.