Salem Art Fair & Festival 2026

SALEM ART FAIR & FESTIVAL

Show Dates: September 11, 12, and 13, 2026

Bush’s Pasture Park, Salem, Oregon

Northwest Region

 

2026 ART FAIR AND FESTIVAL HOURS:

Wednesday, September 9:   Set-up 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m
Thursday, September 10:     Set-up 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (a schedule with set-up times                                                    will be sent upon receipt of contract). 

These are artist marketplace hours:
Friday, September 11: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 12: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 13: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

 

IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2026:                                                                                                          

April 12, 2026, Midnight PST – Early Application deadline. Receive $10 off with coupon code 77Years

April 26, 2026, Midnight PST – Final Application deadline.

May 22, 2026 – Notification of jury results BY EMAIL. Please be sure that SAF&F has your up-to-date email information. If you haven’t received any correspondence from us by May 26, please check your spam folders.

June 25, 2026 – Commitment deadline for all accepted artists. Salem Art Association must receive a signed exhibitor’s contract and booth fee payment by 5:00 p.m. PST on this date.

 

APPLICATION FEE (non-refundable):                                                                                     

Discounted Early Application Fee, received by April 12, 2026, Midnight PST - $40.00 (must enter coupon code 77Years for $10 discount).  After April 12, the fee is $50.00 .                                                                                                                            

FINAL APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 26, 2026 MIDNIGHT PST – NO EXCEPTIONS. Application fee is $50.

SITE MAP: The event map will be finalized and published prior to acceptance notifications. 

JURORS FOR SALEM ART FAIR 2026

Ruth Armitage, Painting
Suzy Williamson, Jewelry
Cristi Mason-Rivera, Metalworks/Sculpture
Eileen Sorg, Drawing
Amy Fields, Ceramics
 

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Salem Art Fair & Festival is a three-day outdoor celebration of the visual and performing arts. The primary focus of the event is the juried exhibition of high-quality fine art and fine craft. Visitors can meet and talk with the artists while viewing and purchasing their artwork.  Additionally, the festival offers art activities for children, live performances on two stages, food, beer, and wine vendors.

Salem Art Fair & Festival attendance is approximately 15,000-20,000 visitors each year.The festival has a robust marketing budget for the event. While the majority of the audience is from the surrounding community, a significant and increasing number of visitors are from around the state and beyond.

The Salem Art Association (SAA) produces the Salem Art Fair & Festival. SAA is a tax-exempt art services organization dedicated to arts education, art appreciation, and historic preservation within Salem and the surrounding communities. Founded in 1919, SAA is one of the largest arts organizations in the state. Funds raised through the Salem Art Fair & Festival maintain and grow SAA’s year-round educational programs, including Community Arts Education, and the Galleries Program in the Bush Barn Art Center & Annex.

 

APPLICATIONS

Artists may apply in more than one media category but must submit separate applications for each category with different bodies of work. Each category requires a separate user id, a set of digital images and jury fee. Artists may not submit the same body of work in multiple categories.

Two artists may share a booth space and application only if they are a collaborative team. A collaborative team is defined as two artists who together produce one body of work. Every artwork exhibited in the booth must be created together. A collaborative team may submit one application, but both names must be on the application and both artists must be present in the booth during the Fair.

APPLICATION FEES

The application must include a $50 non-refundable application fee payment. Applicants pay online by credit card using ZAPP. Applications sent by mail must be received by April 12, 2026, in order to receive the Early Registration discount. The final deadline for applications is April 26, 2026. 

 

ACCEPTANCE OF INVITATION TO EXHIBIT

An artist who is selected by the jury and accepts SAF&F’s invitation to exhibit must return a signed Exhibitor’s Contract with booth fees to Salem Art Association on or before June 25, 2026. Please ensure enough time for mailing. Failure to respond by the deadline may result in revocation of the invitation. After the deadline, SAF&F will start issuing invitations to alternates.

NOTE: Applicant must keep SAF&F advised of current mailing address, phone number, and email address.

 

CANCELLATION

If an artist who has confirmed participation and paid a booth fee cancels on or before Friday, July 17, 2026, 5:00 p.m. PST, SAF&F will issue a refund, minus a $100.00 administration fee. If an artist cancels after July 17, 2026, 5:00 p.m. PST no refund will be given.

 

JURY PROCEDURE

Approximately 200 artists will be chosen to exhibit at the 2026 event. The artists are chosen through a blind jury process. The jury consists of five arts professionals, with a strong emphasis on working artists. Our aim is to have a panel of respected artists whose collective backgrounds cover as many media as possible.

The jury views the images on individual computers. Each applicant’s four images are projected simultaneously in a horizontal grouping, the booth shot being the last image. The criteria for jurying are as follows: Artistic Merit (design, vision, creativity, and originality), Craftsmanship/Technical Competence, and Presentation. The process, materials, and dimensions for each artwork, as well as the artist’s information statement, are available to the jury upon request.

Notification of jury results will be BY ZAPP EMAIL. The top 200 artists will receive invitations.

The balance of artists from the final round will automatically become the waiting list of alternates. If you are an alternate, you will receive notification BY ZAPP EMAIL. Please do not call.

Decisions of the jury are final.

 

DIGITAL IMAGES

All images must be anonymous. Please photoshop out the artist name before submitting. Please do not title any of your images with either your name or business name. Please be sure the artist name or business name do not appear in the booth shot.

The booth image is used to show how the artist will present work at the festival. If you do not have a booth image, please provide an image of a grouping of your body of work to give an idea of how you will present your work at the show.

• Please follow zapplication guidelines for the images. You may read more at: www.zapplication.org/imaging_tips.phtml.
• Four images are to be submitted for each individual media category entered by the artist.
• Three images must be of individual pieces of work.
• Image #4 must be of artist’s booth. If you do not have an image of your booth, you must provide an image of how you would group your work for display. The fourth image is mandatory. The booth shot helps jurors determine the quality of artist’s presentation and helps identify the scale of artist’s work. Note: this is a blind jury process. Please do not submit booth images with any identifiable sign or photo of the artist.
• Images must accurately represent the body of the artist's work to be exhibited at SAF&F.

Emerging Artist applicants: Please see the Emerging Artist section below for specific instructions regarding image uploading.

For additional tips on photographing your work go to: http://www.dallasartsrevue.com/resources/How-to-Photo-Art.shtml

 

MEDIA CATEGORIES

Media categories are used by the Salem Art Fair & Festival as a tool for organizing artists' images into logical, related groups for the jury's review. While a balanced show that equitably showcases works of fine art and fine craft, as well as diversity among media, is a principal objective of Salem Art Fair & Festival, the fair establishes no quota or entitlement by media category.

Please note: Mass produced postcards, calendars, mouse pads, magnets, books, etc are not permitted. Note cards and some limited reproductions are permitted but must not comprise more than 25% of the booth merchandise.

In order to ensure the quality of artwork and compliance with the Rules of the Show, booths will be monitored daily.

Ceramics: All original clay and porcelain work, other than jewelry, is accepted in this category. No machine-made or mass produced work is permitted. If multiple pieces of the same design are displayed, each piece must be signed.

Contemporary Crafts: This category consists of traditional crafts historically considered functional and may include soap, candles, beadwork, needlepoint, cross stitch, quilting, brooms, dolls and toys, calligraphy, pressed flowers, and hand-embellishments or painting on items that were not made by the artist. Wearable fibers in this category may include painting or other embellishments on fabric that was not made by the artist. Jewelers, whose process consists primarily of assembly, mainly wire wrapping, and the use of commercially produced components such as charms and findings must apply in this category.

Digital Art: This category includes any original work in which the image was executed by the artist using a computer. Work in this category must be printed on archival material and be properly signed and numbered as a limited edition, not to exceed 250 per image. Traditional photographs taken using a digital medium should apply in the Photography Category.

Drawing: Original works created using dry media, including chalk, charcoal, pastels, pencil, wax crayon, etc. or using the fluid medium of inks and washes applied by pen or brush are to be entered in this category.

Emerging Artists: See description below.

Fiber (non-wearable): All original work crafted from fiber that is not wearable, including basketry, embroidery, weaving, rug making, leatherwork, tapestry and papermaking. No machine tooling, machine-screened patterns or other forms of mass production are permitted.

Fiber Wearables: All original work crafted from fiber that is wearable (i.e. hats, scarves, shoes, clothing, belts, purses, etc). No factory produced wearable items, regardless of additional modification or enhancement by the artist, may be exhibited in this category.

Glass: Category includes original hand blown, lampworking and stained glass.  No forms of mass production are permitted.

Graphics and Printmaking: Original work where the artist has hand-manipulated the plates, stones or screens. All prints must be properly signed and numbered as a limited edition, not to exceed 250. Printmakers are required to disclose both their creative and printmaking processes.

Jewelry: All jewelry, whether the work is produced from metal, glass, clay, fiber, paper, plastic or other materials, must be entered in this category. No commercial casts, molds, individual beads, or production studio work is allowed. Jewelers whose process consists primarily of assembly and the use of commercially produced components such as charms and findings must apply in the Contemporary Crafts category.

No more than 15% of a piece may consist of commercial findings. Not acceptable are commercially purchased components (beads, glass, gems, pearls, metal, other components not made by the artist) that are strung or assembled and/or twisted on wire, with no substantial original work done by the artist (that is considered Contemporary Crafts - please see category description above).

Metalworks:  Works, other than jewelry, incorporating metal are accepted in this category. Jewelry incorporating metal must apply in the jewelry category. No production studio work is allowed.

2-D Mixed Media: Any work designed to be displayed on a wall and which combines two or more media (for example: ink & pastel, or painting and collage).

3-D Mixed Media: Freestanding work with a multi-sided orientation, which incorporates two or more materials.

Painting: Works created in oils, acrylics, watercolor, etc. are in this category. Pastels should apply in the Drawing/Pastels category.

Photography: Photographic prints made from the artist's original image, which have been processed by that artist, or under his or her direct supervision, are included in this category. Prints must meet “archival quality” standards and be properly signed and numbered as a limited edition, not to exceed 250 per image. Photographers are required to disclose both their creative and printing processes.

Sculpture: Original freestanding three-dimensional work done in any medium.

Wood: Original works in wood that are hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned or carved are accepted in the wood category.  Category includes functional wooden craft and toys.

 

EMERGING ARTIST PROGRAM

The Emerging Artist Program is limited to artists residing in Oregon or Washington. The program is designed specifically for artists who have no experience or extremely minimal experience exhibiting and selling their artwork. Artists who are just beginning their careers in the art world are encouraged to apply.

Artists may only apply to the Emerging Artist Program OR to the general show. You may not apply to both. The application fee is the same for both.

The application procedure for Emerging Artist applicants is slightly different. When uploading images, please submit FOUR images of your work instead of 3 images and a booth image. To complete your submission, upload the fourth artwork image and mark the box that states it is a booth image and select “Emerging Artist” as your Medium Category.

Four artists will be chosen as Emerging Artists. Upon acceptance, Artist will pay a reduced booth fee of $350 for a 10 x 10 booth. Artists who would like mentoring from a professional fair artist to help guide them through the details of festival preparation, display, and sales will be connected to a mentor. If requested, SAA will provide a 10x10 tent and a table and chair. Please confirm needs with Festival Coordinator. Artist is responsible for their own display.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: Artists who have previously exhibited in festivals and are now changing their medium do not qualify as emerging artists. If you have any questions as to whether or not you qualify, please contact the festival coordinator prior to applying for this program.

SAF&F will pre-screen and research emerging artist applicants to make sure they are a suitable fit for this category. If you do not qualify for the Emerging Artists Program, your application will be moved to the general show application.

 

AWARDS

Artistic excellence is the sole criterion for the festival awards. Best of Show will be awarded a complimentary booth space for the 2027 show. Four artists will receive Merit Awards of a half-price booth fee for the 2027 show. All five artists are automatically invited to return the following year.   

 

ARTIST AMENITIES

• Made to order hot breakfast on Saturday and Sunday

• Daily treats and beverages

• Artist Hospitality tent available throughout the fair

• “Artists Only” portable toilets

• Complimentary Booth sitters
• Commission free sales. Artists retain 100% of artwork sales.

• Merit Awards
 

 

RULES OF THE SHOW

1. All work must be original, handcrafted work. Artist guarantees the accuracy of the description of the work presented and the authenticity of the work as the creation of their own hands. (Please refer to “Contemporary Crafts” in the MEDIA CATEGORIES section above for the sole exception to this rule.)

2. Work done by a production studio is not acceptable. All work must be designed and executed by the accepted artist. (Please refer to “Contemporary Crafts” in the MEDIA CATEGORIES section above for the sole exception to this rule.)

3. No more than two artists may collaborate on work. Both must be included on and sign the application. Both must be present at the Salem Art Fair & Festival (SAF&F).

4. An artist may not submit multiple applications in one category.

5. An artist may apply in multiple categories with different bodies of work, but each category requires a separate application and fee.

6. Artist must be present in his/her booth for the entire three days of the SAF&F. Representatives may not attend in place of the artist. The SAF&F will require photo identification at check-in to ensure compliance.

7. All artwork exhibited in the booth must be in the same category and be of the same quality and style as the work selected by the Jury.

8. T-shirts, magnets, books, or any other mass-produced items are not allowed. Greeting cards may be sold with the permission of the Festival Coordinator. (Please refer to “Contemporary Crafts” in the MEDIA CATEGORIES section above for exception)

9. Reproductions of an artist’s original work are allowed, but must be labeled as reproductions and must be numbered (not to exceed 250). Artist may have no more than one bin of reproductions without prior permission of the Art Fair Coordinator. Reproductions of an artist’s original work may be exhibited on the walls, but must not represent more than 25% of total booth content. 

Booth Information

Note: A map will be included with the artist booth contract.

EXHIBIT FEE

*Please do not send a booth fee with your application.

•  10x10 Single - $550

•  10x20 Double - $1,100

•  10x10 Corner - $750

•  10x20 Corner - $1,275

BOOTH SPACE

Each exhibitor will be provided a space measuring from 10’x10’ to 10”x20”. Artists are to provide their own display booth, racks and/or tables in order to display their work in an outdoor environment. Rentals are available on a limited basis.

BOOTH SET-UP

Wednesday, September 9, 2026 from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Thursday, September 10, 2026, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. A schedule of set-up times will be sent upon receipt of contract. No Class A motorhomes/RVs will be permitted to drive on designated festival site.

SALES

Artists retain all revenue from the sale of their work. There is no commission taken by SAF&F. There is no sales tax in Oregon.

Application fees are non-refundable.

If an artist who has confirmed participation and paid a booth fee cancels on or before Friday, July 17, 2026, 5:00 p.m. PST, SAF&F will issue a refund for the booth fee, minus a $100.00 administration fee. If an artist cancels after July 17, 2026, 5:00 p.m. PST no refund will be given.