Autumn & Art 2026

Autumn & Art is south central Kansas’ premier boutique alfresco fine art show. Held during the most beautiful time of year in Kansas, September 11-13, 2026, the show is located in a dynamic shopping, office and upscale residential area in northeast Wichita, Bradley Fair. Artist booths are set along Bradley Fair Parkway, adjacent to two beautifully manicured and landscaped lakes within easy walking distance from one end to the other, creating a peaceful, relaxed atmosphere. The venue provides easy load-in/load-out for artists and their vehicles.

A targeted advertising campaign supports the show, utilizing digital, TV, radio, and print advertising; social media; a beautiful billboard campaign; and our website: AutumnandArt.com. 

The weekend begins with a Patron Party on Friday evening, giving discerning buyers the first opportunity to explore artists and their works. The show, itself, is free and open to the general public from 6-9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Kansas hospitality is reflected in the helpful volunteers and staff on-site, ready to assist artists throughout the weekend.

In its Seventeenth year, Autumn & Art is a one-of-a-kind event in Wichita: small, high-quality, outdoor art show that provides a diverse array of art options for collectors, art enthusiasts, families and visitors of all ages.

WELCOME
Exhibit at our 17^th Autumn & Art, Sept. 11-13, 2026, in Wichita, KS.
Autumn & Art is produced by Wichita Festivals, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and member of the International Festivals & Events Association. Wichita Festivals has been producing special events in Wichita for over 50 years.  

Autumn & Art is unique; no other boutique fine arts festival of its caliber is held within 200 miles. This makes it both a valued cultural event for Wichita residents and a destination for many in south-central and western Kansas, and northern Oklahoma. The show is held at the most beautiful time of year in the region, on the weekend between other major shows held in the Midwest–the St. Louis Art Fair and Plaza Art Show in Kansas City. 

Wichita is home to entrepreneurs, founders and executives of many major corporations: Pizza Hut, Coleman, Textron Aviation (Cessna, Hawker and Beechcraft), Cargill, Bombardier, Spirit AeroSystems, Airbus, Koch Industries and others. More than 50,000 people live within a five-mile radius of the show site, in homes with values ranging from $350,000 to $5 million. In addition, the show has become a go-to event for the region’s oil and gas, manufacturing, real estate, legal, financial services and medical industry firms and families that seek to grow their fine art collections.

OUR FESTIVAL
Autumn & Art is held at Wichita’s Bradley Fair, a luxury lifestyle shopping and residential area in northeast Wichita with upscale national and local retailers and restaurants. Bradley Fair Parkway separates the shopping area from the residential and office complex, and is the site of Autumn & Art.

This year, we have added an Emerging Artist category (ages 10-17).  Of all those that apply, a jury will pick two (2) emerging artists to show this year.  All rules will apply.    These emerging artists will not be included in cash prize money. 

A maximum of 100 artist booths will be accepted for the show in 2026. Artist booths are placed on the parkway, adjacent to two beautifully manicured and landscaped lakes, providing the opportunity for easy artist load-in and load-out. In addition to a visual art exhibit and sale, the event features musicians and other performers as well as hands-on art experiences. During the opening-night Patron Party and throughout the weekend, presenting artists will have the opportunity to engage with an exclusive group of patrons and sponsors who appreciate fine art.

AUTUMN & ART 2024
6-9 p.m., Friday, September 11
10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, September 12
10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, September 13


ARTIST PROSPECTUS/APPLICATION INFORMATION
General Information
The primary focus of Autumn & Art is the juried exhibition and sale of gallery-quality fine art. Wichita Festivals, Inc., is a non-profit, 501 (C) 3 organization with the goal of providing diverse, high-quality, large-scale events for the citizens of Wichita, Kansas and the surrounding area. 

2026 Calendar of Important Dates

• Monday, February 9, application open to artists on Zapplication.org
• May 29, 11:59 p.m., deadline for receipt of all applications, images & fees
• Week of June 12th, jury process begins; ends June 22nd
• By July 1, selected artists notified via Zapplication
• July 26th, deadline to accept invitation to participate and remit booth fee
• July 26th, is also the last day to cancel booth with refund, unless the show is canceled for any reason.

Sales
Artists accepted into the show retain all revenue resulting from the sale of their work, with no commission on sales due the event organizer.

Application Process
Please follow all instructions carefully. These instructions are for all artists, including emerging artists (ages 10-17).  Incomplete applications or those submitted without a jury fee will not be considered for inclusion. Applications must be received no later than 11:59 p.m., Central time, May 29th. Do not apply if you are unable to be present throughout the published hours of the show. All work exhibited and sold must be original works of art or numbered reproductions identified as such (see Rules of the Show #1).  All artists must enter at least 4 pieces of "new" art (produced no earlier than January 1, 2025) in order to be considered for cash prizes.  Emerging artists will not be included in cash prize money..

Artists may apply in a maximum of two categories. Individual applications, digital images and jury fees are required for each category entered. Each medium will be evaluated separately. If applying in multiple categories, only the booth slide may be repeated. Artists may sell work only in the categories in which they are accepted. All work exhibited must be comparable to work shown in submitted images.  

Artists selected as a team must register accordingly through Zapplication and may only exhibit the collaborative work for which they were accepted.  Please keep in mind that no AI is allowed.

Application Fee
Each application must be accompanied by the $35 jury fee payable online through Zapplication. The jury fee is non-refundable. All applications must be submitted through www.Zapplication.org. Applications submitted in other formats will not be considered for inclusion. Award-winning artists from Autumn & Art 2025 are exempt from the jury fee.

Entry Rules
An artist must submit a total of five (5) images for each application.  We ask that the four images must be of new individual pieces of the artist’s work (work that has been produced after January 1, 2025). The fifth image must be of a display of the artist’s work, showing overall continuity and presentation (i.e., a booth image). If an image of a full booth display is not available, submit an image taken of a grouping of works representative of the works to be exhibited. This fifth image must demonstrate size and scope of individual pieces of work in relation to one another.

Artists must submit a statement of no more than 100 words describing the technique, materials used and any other creative expression of their work. Please avoid submitting booth images that show the artists name or a photo of the artist. The category chosen for entry by the artist in Zapplication will be the category for which the artist is juried and judged for awards.

Jury Process
The jury process will be conducted by a panel of distinguished arts-industry professionals, and will be based solely on the quality of work as illustrated by the images submitted. Images will be reviewed by the panel in a blind jury process, rating each artist from one to seven.

A maximum of 100 artists will receive invitations; the balance of artists receiving a score determined by the show Director will be retained to comprise a waiting list of alternates. Decisions of the jury are final. The images submitted, along with the Artist Statement, will be the only criteria used in the selection process. The work presented must be for sale and should be professionally presented. 

There will be no quotas for Autumn & Art. Artistic excellence and a well-balanced show are the criteria for selection of exhibitors. Wichita Festivals, Inc. strongly supports the jury-review process and decisions made by the panel, and will not routinely circumvent or alter their selections.  However, WFI reserves the right to make specific changes and to determine the final composition of the show. The President/CEO has the final authority to make such adjustments as deemed necessary. Wait-list artists will be contacted should an opening become available.

Artist Awards
Seven thousand dollars ($7,000) in total prize money, as well as jury-fee exempt status for the following year, will be awarded. Notification of award winners and distribution of prize money will take place at a reception on Saturday evening, September 12th. All participating artists are invited to attend. Select art professionals who are not show participants and have not served as jurors for the show will serve as judges. Artistic excellence and show presence (impact of the artist’s body of work and engagement with show attendees) will be the criteria for selecting award recipients.  Emerging artists will not be awarded cash prizes.

Booth Fees/Acceptance to Exhibit
Each artist selected by the jury has until midnight, July 26th, to accept the invitation to participate and submit the booth fee required. Failure to meet this deadline may result in revocation of the invitation and selection of an artist from the waiting list. Date of receipt of completed applications will be noted. Those artists seeking a corner location will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis from the date the application is received. 

Booth fees include:

• Four complimentary meals
• One 110 outlet and electricity per booth
• City of Wichita Transient Merchant License. 

Kansas State Sales Tax information will be provided to those artists who do not have a State Sales Tax number at check-in Friday, September 11.  Those artists who wish to set up on Thursday night, September 10th, must purchase an early load in of $50.00, which provides for security of their site that night.  Artists are responsible for including and remitting sales tax due on all sales to the Kansas Department of Revenue.

Regular booth fee:     $500
Double booth fee:      $800
Corner booth fee:       $600
Corner & Single Interior booth fee: $900
Emerging Artist (ages 10-17) Regular booth fee:  $200, which includes basic tent (only emerging artists).
A full refund of booth fees is available until Friday, July 26th.  No refunds will be made after this date.

Media Categories

Ceramics–All original clay and porcelain work, other than jewelry, is accepted in this category. No machine-made or mass-produced work is permitted.

Digital Art–Includes any original work for which the original image, or the manipulation of other source material, was executed by the artist using a computer. Work must be printed on archival quality paper, be properly signed and numbered as a limited edition. Traditional photographs taken through a digital media should apply in the photography category.

Drawing–Works created using dry media including chalk, charcoal, pastels, pencil, wax crayon, etc. are to be entered in this category.

Fiber–All work crafted from fibers such as 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 may be exhibited.

Glass–The expression of art through transparent or translucent objects made from blowing or fashioning glass.

Graphics and Printmaking–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. Printmakers are required to disclose both their creative and printmaking processes.

Jewelry–All jewelry, whether produced from metal, glass, clay, fiber, paper, plastic or other materials, can be entered in this category. No commercial casts, molds or production studio work is allowed.

Metalworks–All non-sculptural, non-jewelry works crafted from metals.

Mixed Media/Two Dimensional–Includes work incorporating more than one type of physical material to produce; includes non-sculptural work as determined by the artist.

Mixed Media/Three Dimensional–Includes work incorporating more than one type of physical material to produce; includes non-sculptural work as determined by the artist.

Painting–Works created in oils, acrylics, watercolor, etc. 

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.  Photographers are required to disclose both their creative and printing processes.

Sculpture–Three-dimensional original work done in any medium.

Wood–Original works in wood that are hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned or carved.


Rules of the Show
 

1. All art exhibited and offered for sale must be art originally produced by the artist. Quality reproductions of two-dimensional originals, signed and numbered by the exhibiting artist are the only acceptable form of sales outside the original works. Artists must define “reproduction" or “limited edition" through their Artist Statement and each piece must be clearly and individually labeled as a “reproduction." Reproductions must be in signed editions of no more than 750.

2. Any change in the body of work by the juried artist is not considered juried and may not be exhibited or sold.
3. Artists may only exhibit or sell work they juried in the category in which they were accepted.
4. Ceramic, fiber works and jewelry must be handmade by the artist.
5. Artists must be present during the show hours.
6. A picture ID is required at check-in by all accepted artists.
7. No pets allowed per City Ordinance 6.04.055.
8. All booth decorations must be placed within the booth space.
9. “Sale” and/or “Discount” signs are strictly prohibited.
10.  Exhibitors may not sell notecards, calendars, postcards, t-shirts, etc.
11.  Artists are responsible for proper insurance and protection of work and setup. Wichita Festivals will not be responsible for damage to work or setup equipment due to weather or other incidents.
12.  Artists are responsible for collecting and reporting all taxes due.
13.  All work submitted for jury evaluation must be for sale.

PRODUCER CONTACT INFORMATION
Wichita Festivals, Inc.
444 E. William
Wichita, KS  67202
316.267.2817
316.267.5901, fax
info@wichitafestivals.com
Debbie Conley, Accounting Manager

Rules of the Show
 

1. All art exhibited and offered for sale must be art originally produced by the artist. An artist must submit a total of five (5) images for each application.  We ask that the four images must be of new individual pieces of the artist’s work (work that has been produced after January 1, 2025).  Quality reproductions of two-dimensional originals, signed and numbered by the exhibiting artist are the only acceptable form of sales outside the original works. Artists must define “reproduction" or “limited edition" through their Artist Statement and each piece must be clearly and individually labeled as a “reproduction." Reproductions must be in signed editions of no more than 750.

2. Any change in the body of work by the juried artist is not considered juried and may not be exhibited or sold.
3. Artists may only exhibit or sell work they juried in the category in which they were accepted.
4. Ceramic, fiber works and jewelry must be handmade by the artist.
5. Artists must be present during the show hours.
6. A picture ID is required at check-in by all accepted artists.
7. No pets allowed per City Ordinance 6.04.055.
8. All booth decorations must be placed within the booth space.
9. “Sale” and/or “Discount” signs are strictly prohibited.
10.  Exhibitors may not sell notecards, calendars, postcards, t-shirts, etc.
11.  Artists are responsible for proper insurance and protection of work and setup. Wichita Festivals will not be responsible for damage to work or setup equipment due to weather or other incidents.
12.  Artists are responsible for collecting and reporting all taxes due.
13.  All work submitted for jury evaluation must be for sale.
14. All artists MUST apply via ZAPP, to be a considered participant in Autumn & Art.

Booth Fees/Acceptance to Exhibit
Each artist selected by the jury has until midnight, July 26, 2026, to accept the invitation to participate and submit the booth fee required. Failure to meet this deadline may result in revocation of the invitation and selection of an artist from the waiting list. Date of receipt of completed applications will be noted. Those artists seeking a corner location will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis from the date the application is received. 

Booth fees include:

• Four complimentary meals
• One 110 outlet and electricity per booth
• City of Wichita Transient Merchant License. 

Kansas State Sales Tax information will be provided to those artists who do not have a State Sales Tax number at check-in, Thursday or Friday, September 11th or 12th. Artists are responsible for including and remitting sales tax due on all sales to the Kansas Department of Revenue.

Regular booth fee:        $500
Double booth fee:         $800
Corner booth fee:          $600
Corner & Single Interior booth fee: $900
Thursday load-in pass:  $50 add-on
Emerging Artist (ages 10-17) Regular booth fee:  $200, which includes basic tent.

A full refund of booth fees is available until July 26th, 2026.  No refunds will be made after this date, unless the show is cancelled for any reason.
 

A full refund of booth fees is available until July 26th, 2026.  No refunds will be made after this date, unless the show is cancelled for any reason.