Alden B. Dow Museum Summer Art Fair 2026

The Alden B. Dow Museum continues the tradition. We are pleased to present the 59th Annual Summer Art Fair. Since its inception, the Summer Art Fair has held a long-standing tradition of excellence as a premier fine art and craft fair. It is held outdoors on Main street of Downtown Midland, a community noted for its cultural awareness, appreciation, arts resources and artistic advocation. The city is the home and world headquarters to the Dow Chemical Company. As such, its population is augmented by educated, affluent, corporate professionals and a diverse range of citizens.
Traditionally, the Summer Art Fair brings in thousands of visitors and is highly supported by the local community. In addition to over 100 artists, the Fair features stages with local musical entertainment, a Children's area with art activities, artists demonstrations, and great food! Admission is free to the public. Proceeds from the Fair benefit museum exhibitions, art and science classes, workshops, outreach and other educational programs of Alden B. Dow Museum of Science & Art, a non-profit organization. Our mission is to provide a forum to engage the people of mid-Michigan in the constructive and creative expressions found in science and in art.

POLICIES/ELIGIBILITY::
- The Alden B. Dow Museum of Science & Art Summer Art Fair is open to all artists who exhibit work of original concept, design and execution.
-Vendors whose primary sales come from non-art related items such as but not limited to soaps, oils, candles, cosmetics, MLM merchandise, sauces, or pet treats will not be accepted.
- All work must be the original creation of the artist applying.
- No work that has been made with commercial kits, molds, plans, prefabricated pieces or the work of mass production studios is allowed. The Fair Committee reserves the right to refuse exhibition of work not consistent with submitted images and/or these guidelines. Jewelers must be the designers and hands-on makers of their work. Purchased, facet cut gems may be used. Assembled, prefabricated jewelry is not allowed.
- Please note in image description if beads are hand-made by artist.
- Commercial prints of photographs using non-photographic methods such as 4-color printing or color copy machine are not allowed.
- Each artist is responsible for collection and payment of 6% Michigan sales tax.
- In the event you must cancel, please contact Beth Nova, coordinator of this year's Summer Art Fair, directly at nova@midlandcenter.org. Cancellation by May 1, 2026 will receive a refund minus a $25.00 cancellation fee.  NO REFUNDS after May 1, 2026.


BOOTH INFORMATION:

• A 10’ x 10’ open space is allocated to each exhibitor. Artists must provide all display equipment and weather protection.
• Booth requests are honored whenever possible. 
• Notification of location will be posted on ZAPP website.
• Artists Registration packets will be distributed to the artists early Saturday, May 31st by our Art Fair Hospitality Volunteers.
• Limited security is provided overnight on SATURDAY.
• All spaces are located on the main streets of Downtown Midland (which will be closed to Public traffic beginning 5pm Fri. May 29th through Sunday, May 31st, 7pm),
• Artists set-up times are staggered between 6am-8am Saturday morning and are designated in order of their location. Some time for tent set up will be designated on Friday night after downtown roads have been closed.

BOOTH FEES:
Do not send fees until notification of acceptance
     $250 - Alden B. Dow Museum Member
     $270 - Non-Member
     $400 - Double Booth (Member)
     $440 - Double Booth (Non-Member)

AWARDS: Award winners will be selected by a street jury on the basis of quality and originality of their work.      Best of Show: $1000 cash award      Second Place: $750 cash award      Third Place: $500 cash award ENTRY PROCEDURES: Artists may submit up to 2 entries, $40.00 for the first entry and $5.00 per additional medium. The jury process is anonymous. A new jury is selected each year comprised of artists, educators, and curators. This is a “blind” jury process which means jurors select the artists based solely on the images presented to them without knowledge of the artist name, artist location, or reference to additional information such as websites. Juror decisions are based 100% upon the equality of artwork portrayed in the images. Approximately 100 artists are accepted. Application deadline March 20, 2026 CALENDAR: March 20, 2026 application deadline   April 3, jury result posted on Zapp website Booth Fee deadline: April 17, 2026 Booth assignment posted on Zapplication website: May 10, 2024 May 30, 2026: 6am-9am artists set-up  May 30, 2026 10am-5pm Art Fair Open to the Public May 31, 2026 10am-5pm Art Fair Open to the Public May 31 2026 5pm-7pm artist breakdown

Rules/Regulations
SUMMER ART FAIR
ADVERSE  WEATHER  
POLICY AND  PROCEDURE
 
The A. B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, the Midland Center for the Arts and Midland Downtown Development Authority presents the following guidelines with regard to policies and procedures in the event of adverse weather conditions during the Summer Art Fair.  The existing general weather policy of the Summer Art Fair is that it will be held “rain or shine”.
  

• It is our policy that all art fair participants have personal responsibility for their continual awareness of the developing weather conditions as it relates to possible injury or damage to themselves and their belongings.
• In advance, we require all art fair participants to be self-informed of weather based threats.  It is our policy that art fair participants are responsible for their own personal decisions and responses as they weigh their circumstances for personal safety against the threat of adverse weather.
• The Midland Center for the Arts, A. B. Dow Museum of Science and Art and Midland Downtown Development are not liable for weather-based damages to merchandise or participant display apparatus.
• If a participant decides to dismantle their belongings before the official end of the Summer Art Fair, they must not endanger the safety of others or the ability for remaining artists to conduct their business at the art fair and must respect access to other participant’s booths, displays and merchandise.
• Depending on the location of your booth, it could mean that vehicles may not be admitted into the venue where such access would disrupt or impede remaining artists from conducting business, or art fair visitor access to venders, or compromising traffic and safety.   As such this may require manual physical movement of merchandise or display hardware to their vehicle where it is parked rather than the ability to drive the vehicle into the art fair proper to the vender’s booth space.

Booth Information

• A 10’ x 10’ open space is allocated to each exhibitor. Artists must provide all display equipment and weather protection.
• Booth requests are honored whenever possible. 
• Notification of location will be posted on ZAPP website.
• Artists Registration packets will be distributed to the artists early Saturday, June 3rd by our Art Fair Hospitality Volunteers.
• Limited security is provided overnight.
• All spaces are located on the main streets of Downtown Midland (which will be closed to Public traffic beginning 5pm May 29 through Sunday, May 31, 7pm),
• Artists set-up times are staggered between 6am-8am Saturday morning and are designated in order of their location. 

Cancellation by May 1, 2026 will receive a refund minus a $25.00 cancellation fee.  NO REFUNDS after May 1, 2026.