CenterFest Arts Festival 2026

Now in its 51st year, CenterFest Arts Festival is the longest running outdoor juried arts festival in North Carolina. Located in Durham's vibrant Downtown District, the event is a favorite among visual artists, performing artists and visitors. CenterFest is particularly lauded by exhibitors for its artist services amenities, including complimentary breakfast, attentive staff, abundant volunteers, and easy load-in/load-out.  CenterFest’s vibe is complemented by Durham’s acclaimed “foodie” culture, dynamic entertainment and historic districts, and a cutting edge creative community.

CenterFest is Sunshine Artist's #1 Fine Arts Festival in North Carolina, and is ranked #22 nationally.

COVID-19 Policy:
Durham Arts Council is currently planning to hold CenterFest 2026. If this show does occur, it will be in compliance with current CDC Guidelines, North Carolina State Guidelines, and with the authorization of the City of Durham and the Durham County Health Department. If the show occurs, your jury fee payment will be non-refundable. If the show is cancelled due to COVID, all payments will be refunded.

At a glance...

• Major signature festival of Durham and Triangle
• CenterFest is Sunshine Artist's #1 Fine Arts Festival in North Carolina, and is ranked #22 nationally out of thousands of arts festivals across the United States.  
• 30,000+ visitors and art buyers
• Friendly and supportive festival staff & volunteers
• Easy Load In/Load Out
• Reserved free artist parking nearby
• Booth sitters available
• Indoor restrooms at Arts Council building
• Overnight security
• Strong media partnerships with radio, television and social media
• Marketing support from Discover Durham, Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, and Downtown Durham Inc.
• Strong regional Triangle market that draws visitors from multiple counties
• VIP event for targeted art buyers
• durhamarts.org/centerfest/ lists artist profiles, schedules, directions & maps
• Complimentary breakfast both days of the festival
• Merit awards of $1,000, $600, $500, $400, $300 plus Citizen's Choice Award.

Fees and Venue Snapshot
Festival location: Downtown Durham
Public Admission: Free, suggested donation
Parking: Available for vehicles and trailers, near festival site
Application Fee: $40 (non-refundable)
Single Booth Fee: 10' x 10' booth spaces: $330
Double Booth Fee: 10' x 20' booth space: $630
Corner Space Premium: additional $85 fee
Early Load In:  Limit of 15 artists- first come first served with a $85 fee. Early load in MUST enter the site between 8:30 pm - 9pm on Friday, September 18. Any later and you will not be let into the site. Artists have until 11 pm to set up for early load in.  Standard exhibitor set up hours are 6am - 9am on Saturday, September 19.
Electricity: Available for $100 fee (with advance reservations/payment)
Security: City police onsite during the day and overnight
 
Festival Dates & Hours
Friday, September 18
9pm: Optional early load in and exhibitor set up first come first served with a $85 fee. Early load in MUST enter the site between 8:30 pm - 9pm. Any later and you will not be let into the site.

Saturday, September 19
6am - 9am: Exhibitor set up
10am - 6pm: Festival Hours
10am: Merit Judging Begins

Sunday, September 20
8:30am - 10:30am: Exhibitor set up
11am - 5pm: Festival Hours

Artist Awards

• Best of Show: $1000
• First Place: $600
• Second Place: $500
• Third Place: $400
• Best Durham Artist: $300

Mediums

• Basket Weaving
• Clay (chiefly functional)
• Digital
• Drawing
• Fiber (decorative)
• Fiber (wearable)
• Glass
• Jewelry
• Leather
• Metal
• Mixed Media
• Painting
• Photography
• Paper
• Printmaking
• Sculpture (non-functional)
• Wood

Application Process
All artists who wish to participate in CenterFest 2026 must submit this online application with images and application fee, even if they have been juried into CenterFest in past years. Returning artists are rejuried every two years; artists new to the festival, artists who have not been juried in the previous year, or those wishing to exhibit a new media will be juried. CenterFest reserves the right to decline acceptance to artists who were juried into the festival in previous years, if they were found to have been in violation of rules and regulations in the past. If the applicant elects to pay fees by check, checks should be made out to the Durham Arts Council.

Restrictions on Work
Electrostatic prints, imports or commercially manufactured items, including cast molds (except for original molds designed by the artist), items made from “kits,” paper/plastic flowers, live plants or any consumable items (food, soap, lotions, candles, etc.) and AI generated art are NOT ALLOWED at CenterFest. Work done by a production studio is not acceptable. A production studio is defined as a process consisting of multiple individuals, other than artists, who design, fabricate and assemble the artwork contained within the application. CenterFest wants artwork made by the hands of the artists selling the work - if the hands of other artists make the artwork, please do not apply. CenterFest reserves the right to question any applicant about his/her creative practice prior to jurying and prior to the festival. This may include, but not be limited to, requiring photos and/or video of the studio and artist working.

Reproduction Policy
Iris or Gicleé prints, off-set lithographs, laser and ink-jet prints are acceptable reproducible processes for sale only when in compliance with the following restrictions: Each piece created with one of the above reproducible methods must be clearly labeled “Reproduction” and have title, price, and method of reproduction visible. These may only be displayed in one bin, size not to exceed 2’ x 3’ and/or on one wall of an artist’s booth regardless of number of artists sharing a booth or number of booth spaces purchased. AI generated art is not allowed at CenterFest.

• Prints Allowed: Conventionally printed photographs*, digitally produced photographs/collages/paintings/graphics* (laser and ink jet prints), original lithographs and serigraphs, monotype, monoprint, intaglio, relief printing, planographic printing, stencil printing, and artist-manipulated xerography. * All photographic prints, conventionally or digitally produced, must be printed by the photographer, or under the photographer’s direct supervision. They must be labeled with all relevant output information (ex: silver gelatin print on fiber paper; Iris print on Arches watercolor paper).

Selection Criteria
In order to maintain the quality standard of CenterFest, we re-jury each artist every two years. CenterFest acceptance is based on artistic merit (excellence and creativity in concept, design, and technique) as determined by the CenterFest jurors. All decisions are final.

Durham Arts Council is committed to a policy of non-discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, gender preference, marital status, or political affiliation in all programming and employment. Durham Arts Council’s CenterFest is committed to providing equal access for all visitors and participants. Those unable to comply with the application requirements listed above because of a disability should contact the CenterFest office at cscott@durhamarts.org prior to May 1st, 2026 so that every effort at reasonable accommodations may be made.

Images
The most common reason for rejection during jurying is quality of work sample. Some helpful hints in photographing your work:

• Keep the background plain.
• Avoid group shots - one object per frame.
• Present a consistent body of work.

Artists working in more than one medium, or who have two or more distinct bodies of work within the same medium, are welcome to submit applications for each body of work. Please be aware that multiple applications require an application fee for each submission. Artists are limited a maximum of three applications. For each application, artists are required to submit five images of their work, and one photograph of their booth display.

Artist Attendance
The applying artist must accompany all exhibits on both days of the festival, exhibiting work only in the categories for which the artist was screened and accepted.

Enforcement
Work exhibited must be consistent with the application images submitted by the artist and follow CenterFest guidelines. DAC reserves the right to remove any work in question from the show, as well as the exhibitor if DAC directives are not followed. Removal of exhibitor by DAC would result in a forfeit of all fees; participation in future CenterFests may be refused. If you have questions regarding this policy, please contact DAC at cscott@durhamarts.org before the May 1st, 2026 deadline.


Rainout Procedure
CenterFest is a “rain or shine” event; no rain dates! Artists should be prepared to exhibit in the case of light rain. In the case of heavy rain, the Festival Committee will consider hazards and needs of participants in making any decision about suspension or cancellation of any part or all of the festival. No refunds will be made due to inclement weather or an artist’s decision not to participate. Should an artist choose to leave before the end of the festival has been declared, future participation in CenterFest may be jeopardized.

Security
While there will be 24-hour uniformed site security during CenterFest weekend, Durham Arts Council is not responsible for any artwork, supplies, tents, or other items left unattended in your booth or on festival grounds. During non-festival hours, anyone on the festival site may be asked by security to provide identification.

CenterFest offers single and double booth options. Booth spaces are located on the side of main downtown streets facing the street with festival guests using the middle of the street as the main walk way. Selected CenterFest artists have the option of requesting early load in, specific booth locations, corner booths, and electrical hook-ups - these options may be subject to additional fees and other considerations; see below for specifics.

• All applicants must pay a (non-refundable), $40 Application Fee. $40 Application Fee is due with initial application. Accepted artists will pay all additional booth/site fees when confirming their participation in the festival.
• 10' x 10', Single Booth spaces are $330. Artist requests for specific single booth locations will be honored, whenever possible.
• 10' x 20', Double Booth spaces are $630. These spaces are limited and are assigned as available. Artist requests for specific double booth locations will be honored, whenever possible.
• Artists requesting a Corner Booth Space agree to pay an additional $85 fee for this premium space. These spaces are limited and assigned as available. Artist requests for corner booth locations will be honored whenever possible - fee will be refunded if Corner Booth Space is unavailable.
• Artists may request to be scheduled for Early Load In to the CenterFest site. For a $85 fee, artists can enter the site between 8:30pm and 9pm on Friday, September 18. Artist may remain on site until 11 pm to complete set up.  Standard exhibitor set up hours are 6am - 9am on Saturday, September 19. Space on the Early Load In schedule is limited at 15 artists- first come first served. Artists must arrive on site at between 8:30 pm - 9pm- any later and they will not be let into the site for set up. PLEASE NOTE: Artists with accessibility requirements due to verified disability may load in on Friday starting at 8:30pm, at no cost (please indicate in the "special requests" section) but must request this accomodation by July 20, 2026 to guarantee availability.
• Electricity is available at artist booths for $100. Electrical hook-ups are limited to certain booth spaces in the festival footprint - this may impact the artist's range of choices if requesting a specific booth location.
• Each booth is allotted 1 complimentary breakfast per day. Please note that we are no longer able to provide lunch during the festival.
•  All booth spaces are on an asphalt surface. All tents must be anchored with weights. CenterFest requires you to weight your tent and recommends 25lb pole weights or heavier. Artists must supply all of their own tents and exhibit needs (a limited number of tents may be rented through the Durham Arts Council - interested artists should inquire with cscott@durhamarts.org)
• Booth displays may not include "sale" signs, signage that extends beyond the footprint of the booth, or signage that is otherwise obtrusive to surrounding artists. All signage must be professional in appearance. Handwritten signs are permitted as long as they meet these standards.
• All accepted artists are required to display an Artist Statement in their booth as an educational tool for festival visitors. This should be no longer than 250 words and should include an explanation of the process(es) used to create the applicant’s art.
• Durham Arts Council will be using themes from America250 in festival programming.  For visual artists we are looking at a new, one-time merit award tied to a work or body or work which responds to the chosen themes.  More information will be provided in the acceptance materials and artists can indicate if they wish to participate.

Refund Policy
We understand that occasionally an artist will need to withdraw from the festival after having been accepted. You will be refunded 100% of your booth fees if you notify the Arts Council in writing by August 10, 2026. After this date, there are no refunds. Application fees are non-refundable. Should you choose to not set up your booth for the first day of the event for any reason, you will not be allowed to set up your booth on the second day of the event.

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