Fairs/Festivals
Bucktown Arts Fest 2026
Contact Information
Bucktown Arts Fest
Contact Email: inquiries@bucktownartsfest.com
Requirement Overview
- Eligible Applicant Types: Artist
- Emerging Artists: Emerging artists may apply.
- Submission Limit: 3
Media Requirements
- Images | Min: 5, Max: 5
- Total | Max: 5
Opportunity Summary
Located in one of the hottest neighborhoods on the north side of Chicago,
the Bucktown Arts Fest will celebrate its 39th year August 29-30, 2026.
What began as four artists showing their work in the park has grown into a community tradition that hosts an estimated 40,000 people each year. Known for both its grassroots atmosphere and its tradition of great artists sharing their own handmade work, the Bucktown Arts Fest is a non-profit, all-volunteer run, neighborhood celebration of the arts. All proceeds from the fest go to fund, develop and support arts education programming at Holstein Park and in the Bucktown/Wicker Park neighborhoods. Our fest is free to the public from 11am to 7pm each day. We have no gate and no donation request for entry. True to our roots, we are an arts fest put together by the community, for our community.
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General Information
Our booth spaces are available only to individual artists who are present at the Fest to sell and represent their handmade works.
Artists must be juried into the festival. Our jury is made up of artists, art professionals and senior members of the fest.
Our jury selects up to 200 artists to be invited to the fest showcasing a wide variety of mediums and styles each year. Mediums accepted are photography, painting, sculpture, prints, ceramics, textiles, wood, glass, metal and jewelry, including precious metal and gemstone jewelry.
All work must be original, handmade by the artist and available for sale. Submission of images of your work indicates your consent to their reproduction for use in the program and/or other promotional materials.
Roughly 60% of the fest is paid for by artist and food vendor fees, 40% comes from alcohol and merchandise sales, and all proceeds above our expenses go to fund, develop and support arts education programs in our neighborhood.
But we really like to spend our money on art and artists. We put a big focus on making art accessible to the public in the way of theater & dance performers, local bands, kids’ tent entertainers, local theater companies – all to dazzle and amaze our patrons. When the fest is over, we keep one year’s worth of our expenses in savings and we spend the rest to support arts education in our neighborhood.
What types of arts programming does BucktownArts Fest fund?
At Holstein Park, we pay for the teachers and the supplies for art and music classes. The park receives a small fee from each student, which goes directly to support the park. We also support the arts in local schools by donating items like band instruments and early reading books, particularly to Pulaski Elementary, which is near the park. You can see more examples of projects we’ve funded on our website.
Artists must be juried into the festival. Our jury is made up of artists, art professionals and senior members of the fest.
Our jury selects up to 200 artists to be invited to the fest showcasing a wide variety of mediums and styles each year. Mediums accepted are photography, painting, sculpture, prints, ceramics, textiles, wood, glass, metal and jewelry, including precious metal and gemstone jewelry.
All work must be original, handmade by the artist and available for sale. Submission of images of your work indicates your consent to their reproduction for use in the program and/or other promotional materials.
Roughly 60% of the fest is paid for by artist and food vendor fees, 40% comes from alcohol and merchandise sales, and all proceeds above our expenses go to fund, develop and support arts education programs in our neighborhood.
But we really like to spend our money on art and artists. We put a big focus on making art accessible to the public in the way of theater & dance performers, local bands, kids’ tent entertainers, local theater companies – all to dazzle and amaze our patrons. When the fest is over, we keep one year’s worth of our expenses in savings and we spend the rest to support arts education in our neighborhood.
What types of arts programming does BucktownArts Fest fund?
At Holstein Park, we pay for the teachers and the supplies for art and music classes. The park receives a small fee from each student, which goes directly to support the park. We also support the arts in local schools by donating items like band instruments and early reading books, particularly to Pulaski Elementary, which is near the park. You can see more examples of projects we’ve funded on our website.
Application Requirements
ARTIST RULES
1. Artists MUST be present all days of the Festival. No commercial dealers or agents are permitted to represent the artist. The Festival reserves the right to close down or remove any booth in which the artist is not present.
2. Accepted artists may not exhibit in other Festivals during the dates of the Bucktown Arts Festival.
3. All artists are required to check in at the Artist Check-In and Photo ID is required.
4. All work must be the artist’s original work, no representations, and all artwork must be available for sale.
5. Artists may exhibit artwork only in the category in which he/she was accepted.
6. No artwork from molds, kits, or other commercial methods is allowed. Ready-made objects (i.e., clothing, furniture) which have been embellished, painted, decorated, dyed, or batiked will not be accepted.
7. All Artists are responsible for collecting and paying State of Illinois sales tax.
1. Artists MUST be present all days of the Festival. No commercial dealers or agents are permitted to represent the artist. The Festival reserves the right to close down or remove any booth in which the artist is not present.
2. Accepted artists may not exhibit in other Festivals during the dates of the Bucktown Arts Festival.
3. All artists are required to check in at the Artist Check-In and Photo ID is required.
4. All work must be the artist’s original work, no representations, and all artwork must be available for sale.
5. Artists may exhibit artwork only in the category in which he/she was accepted.
6. No artwork from molds, kits, or other commercial methods is allowed. Ready-made objects (i.e., clothing, furniture) which have been embellished, painted, decorated, dyed, or batiked will not be accepted.
7. All Artists are responsible for collecting and paying State of Illinois sales tax.
Jury Details
Average number of applications submitted each year
250
Average number of artists selected from the jury to participate in the event
200
Booth Information
BOOTH SPACES
Artist booth fees are $390 for an individual artist standard booth and $290 for senior artists, ages 60 and over. These are among the lowest booth fees in the city and include a $25 City of Chicago Merchant Fee that we pay on your behalf.
Booth spaces are approximately 10’x10’.Some booths are located on the streets and some are in the park. Park spaces offer gorgeous shade, but some uneven and hilly terrain. We have done our best to remove unaccommodating spots from our map and make it a great experience for everyone and frequently find that artists who arrive at their spot initially skeptical leave the fest highly satisfied.
Booth assignments will be sent out in mid-August. All booth assignments are final. Change requests will not be accepted. Exchange, sale or switching of spaces is prohibited by BAF. Artists who do not cooperate may be asked to leave.
BOOTH SHARING
Booth sharing is available for an additional $100 fee to artists who have each juried into the Fest. The total fee for a shared booth is $490 total ($390 booth fee + $100 sharing fee)
and
$390 total ($290 booth fee + $100 sharing fee) for sharing senior artists.
BOOTH FEE DUE DATES
Artists invited to participate in the 39th Bucktown Arts Fest will be notified mid-February 2026.
The full booth fee is due by June 1, 2026.
WHERE THE MONEY GOES
BAF is an all volunteer run organization with no paid staff. All of our proceeds go to operating the Festival and to fund arts education at Holstein Park and in the Bucktown/Wicker park neighborhoods.
Refund Policy
Bucktown Arts Fest will issue booth fee refunds for requests received before the booth fee deadline of June 1, 2026. We will not refund application fees.
Additional Fees
10 x 10 Corner Booth & City Fee: $490
10 x 10 Booth & City Fee: $390
Terms to Apply
