Fourth Street Festival of the Arts and Crafts 2026

This is a show that truly is run by artists, for artists.

Fourth Street is celebrating its 50th year and remains totally on 4th street! The festival is in the vibrant setting of Downtown Bloomington and has an attendance of 35,000-45,000 people over the two-day period. The Fourth Street Festival was created in 1976 by a group of Bloomington area artists and craftspeople to provide a high quality outdoor art event. The Festival is planned and administered by a cooperative committee of dedicated community artists and art lovers, many of whom have been involved with the event for years.



MISSION STATEMENT

The Fourth Street Festival of the Arts and Fine Crafts strives to create an atmosphere of appreciation for art as well as an opportunity for artists to showcase their work by presenting a high quality event. We provide an educational environment to create connections with art and artists. Fourth Street prides itself on being admission free and welcoming to all.

Labor Day Weekend, 2026
Bloomington, Indiana

Saturday, Sept 5, 10 am to 6 pm &
Sunday, Sept 6, 10 am to 5 pm

You are invited to apply to the 50th Annual Fourth Street Festival of the Arts and Fine Crafts in Bloomington, Indiana. The site of the festival, Fourth Street from Lincoln Street to Indiana Avenue, is a pleasant tree-lined area close to both the Indiana University campus and downtown Bloomington. Over the years the festival has steadily increased in popularity and quality of works, drawing a crowd of 35,000 - 45,000 art-savvy patrons over the two-day period.  Fifty years ago a group of area artists and craftspeople created the Fourth Street Festival as a rigorously juried art event that would be mutually beneficial to the exhibitors and the community. This show is truly run by artists, for artists. Submissions are juried on-line by an independent peer jury.




VIEW A VIDEO of the Show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6XAOV8urVw&feature=emb_logo​

ARTIST INFORMATION & BENEFITS
125 Juried Artists 

• Projected Attendance - 35,00-45,000 art-savvy patrons
• A minimum of $3,000 will be awarded by on-site jurors
• Best of show and 1st in 2D & 3D have automatic invitations to 2026 show
• Listing on Show Website
• Brisk advertising on social media as well as newspapers and billboards
• 24-hour Security
• Complimentary breakfast and coffee Saturday/Sunday morning
• Booth Sitters

AWARDS
A minimum of $3,000 will be awarded by on-site jurors.
Awards will be presented Sunday morning at artist booths. List available at Info Booth and at artists’ breakfast.
*Note: 4th Street Art Festival committee members are ineligible for awards

MEDIUM CATEGORIES

• Ceramics:  All original clay and porcelain work other than jewelry is accepted in this category. No machine-made, mass produced work or factory made is permitted. All work must be signed and fired by the artist
   
• Fiber:  Unique, one of a kind, three-dimensional wearable and non-wearable art, created from fibrous materials. This category includes but is not limited to baskets, books, embroidery, paper, quilts, weavings, felting and leatherwork.  All work must be designed and created by the artist
   
• Glass:  No forms of mass production are permitted. This medium includes blown, kiln fired, and stained glass.
   
• 2D/2D Mixed Media: All two dimensional works except those defined in Photography and Painting.  Printed works for which the artist's hand manipulated the plates, stones or screens and which have been properly signed and numbered as a limited edition may be entered in this category.
   
• Jewelry: All jewelry, whether the work is made from metal, glass, clay, plastic, fiber or other materials must be entered in this category. Items may be made of any mix of materials and any method of construction. Main components must be created by the artist. No commercial casts, molds or production studio work is allowed. Only those artists juried in for jewelry can display - violators will be asked to remove work or risk being asked to leave.
   
• Painting Two-dimensional work created by the artist with pigment including oils, acrylics, and watercolor, as well as egg tempera, casein, alkyd, and encaustic.
   
• Photography:  Photographic prints made from the artist's original image, which have been processed by that artist. Prints made from negatives, transparencies, or digital files and manipulated with computer programs and printed on large scale ink-jet printers are included here. Works may also be collages or assemblages of photographs, made by the artist. Work should be properly signed and numbered as a limited edition.
   
• Sculpture/3D Mixed Media: Original free standing works, incorporating any materials, that are carved, modeled, cast or constructed, should be  included in this category. (Includes 3D mixed media)
   
• Wood:  Three dimensional work created by the artist that is hand-tooled, machine-worked, built-up, turned or carved in wood.

Only confirmed jewelry artists can display jewelry- violators will be asked to remove those items or risk being asked to leave and forfetting their monies/booth space.

2026 Jurors  

*
ELIGIBILITY

All work displayed must be made by the accepted exhibitor and must be original. Collaborators must be named and present for entire show. Objects assembled from commercial kits are not acceptable, nor are those made from commercial plans, nor those in which a commercially made piece is central to the design. Artists shall exhibit work only in the category in which they applied and were accepted.  If artists wish to exhibit in multiple categories they must apply and be accepted in each of the categories.  No jewelry can be sold in your booth unless you apply and are accepted in the jewelry category.  4th street reserves the right to question any applicant about their creatives processes prior before and during the show. This might  require photos or video of the studio and artist working. The festival committee reserves the right to refuse work that does not conform to these guidelines or work that is not of equal quality to that represented in the images. Artist must be present for the duration of the show - no agents allowed. Non-compliance with rules will affect participation in the show and 4th street reserves the right to enforce rules up to requiring the artist to leave the show at any time.

SCORING:
​Scoring is based on the quality of craftsmanship, design excellence and originality. The work should be well conceived, without technical flaws. The appropriate and effective use of materials and overall professionalism will be considered along with originality, technical excellence, and booth presentation.
 

STANDARDS COMMITTEE: Saturday morning

• Artists may display work only in the category into which they successful juried.
• Only artists that juried into the "Jewelry” category may display and sell jewelry
• Artists in violation of prospectus rules may be asked to leave at the discretion of the committee

PARTICULAR REGULATIONS

REPRODUCTIONS

• Giclee and offset reproductions must be signed and numbered as limited editions, and may not exceed 25% of work shown.

JEWELRY

• No commercially made jewelry or jewelry components (except minor findings).
• No jewelry can be sold in your booth unless you apply and are accepted in the jewelry category.

OTHER

• No sales of recorded music  permitted.
• No T-shirts.
• No sales of dried flowers, live plants, candles, soap, or other personal care items permitted.
• No objects made in a production facility, i.e. art operation comprised of persons other than applicant artist who are paid to design, fabricate or assemble.
• No generators of any kind permitted in the show.
• Tents of accepted artists are required to be white, and be able to sustain a constant wind of 25 miles an hour.
• Tents must have appropriate weight of at least 40 lbs per leg.
• Tent awnings/metal poles MUST be removable (for emergency vehicle access) and taken down at night for your tent's safety. No tents with permanent awnings will be allowed.

 
Fourth Street Festival of the Arts and Crafts
P.O. Box 1257
Bloomington, IN 47402-1257
Voice Mail: 812-575-0484
E-mail: 4th.street.festival@gmail
Our Website: www.4thstreet.org

 

• 125 exhibitor spaces -117 juried, (5 for working committee members and 3 award winners)
• Booth size – 10' x 10' ft
• Premium corners - number to be announced
• Booth fee – $400.00
• Only one artist's work per booth
• Booths are vehicle accessible for setup and breakdown, which is Friday from check in until barricades are placed by city officials and Sunday evening after barricades are removed by city officials.  You may dolly in anytime after check in to avoid congestion and after barricades are placed.
• Tent awnings/metal poles must be removable (for emergency vehicle access) and taken down at night for your tent's safety.
• No set up until the committee gives permission.

Refund deadline is  July 15, 2026 minus $50 processing fee.  
NO REFUNDS after this date.