CBIZ Penrod Arts Fair 2026

We are extremely excited to announce that this year's 59th annual CBIZ Penrod Arts Fair will take place on its traditional weekend (the first weekend after Labor Day).

Please join The Penrod Society on Saturday, September 12, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, at Newfields, A Place for Nature & The Arts at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, for the 59th annual CBIZ Penrod Arts Fair! The Penrod Arts Fair is an Indianapolis institution and a tradition cherished by patrons and exhibitors alike as one of the largest and best single-day, outdoor art fairs in the country. The Society's mission is to support artists, students, arts organizations,  and cultural and educational activities in Central Indiana. Come join us this fall, and see why the Penrod Arts Fair is truly “Indiana’s Nicest Day!”  
 
A select number of interested applicants will be invited to participate in our 13th annual Merchants Bank “Evening with Penrod” event, which features local food, beverages, performing art, and artist booths. Merchants Bank “Evening with Penrod” will take place at Newfields the night before the Fair, Friday, September 11, 2026, from around 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET.  Evening with Penrod patrons will wind their way through entire outdoor event and therefore we encourage artists to light their tent as patrons will still be present after dusk.
 

The Penrod Society is an Indianapolis-based, all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization, whose mission is to support arts-related cultural and educational activities in Central Indiana. The Society's mission is to support artists, students, arts organizations, and various other non-profits whose missions and programming include arts-related outreach and cultural and educational activities in Central Indiana. The Society achieves its mission, in part, by hosting various events and distributing the proceeds through a grant process.
 
For each of the 60 years since the Society’s founding, the Penrod Arts Fair has been the Society’s signature event and most significant fundraiser.  And, for the last several years, the Society has kicked off the Fair with its high-end “Evening with Penrod” event the night before the Fair.  “Evening with Penrod” has quickly grown into a popular and must-attend event for local supporters and patrons of the arts.

Key Dates for the 59th Annual CBIZ Penrod Arts Fair:
(dates in italics approximate and subject to change) 

March 18th:  Artist applications open
May 25th:  Artist application deadline @ midnight ET ("Application Deadline")
June 1st:  Jury process begins
June 10th: Jury process completed
June 15th:  Accepted artists notified by e-mail
July 12th:  Deadline for invited artists to accept invitation and pay booth fees ("Acceptance Deadline")
July 14th: Certain wait-listed artists notified of acceptance by e-mail
July 17th: Deadline for invited waitlist artists to accept invitation and pay booth fees ("Waitlist Acceptance Deadline")
August 7th: Deadline for artist cancellations (if partial refund desired) ("Cancellation Deadline")
August 14th: Artist credential packets and booth assignments sent by e-mail
August 14th: List of accepted artists posted to Penrod website
September 11th: Artist set-up (10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET; rain or shine)
September 11th: 13th Annual Evening with Penrod at Newfields (6:00 p.m. ET; rain or shine)
September 12th:  59th Annual Penrod Arts Fair (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET; rain or shine)
September 12th:  Artist tear-down (5:30-8:00 p.m. ET; rain or shine)

 
The Penrod Arts Fair Is a Juried Show of up to Approximately 350 Artists and Galleries:
 
We anticipate that up to approximately 350 artists and galleries will be selected for this year’s CBIZ Penrod Arts Fair (the “Fair”).  The selection of artists and galleries will be made by a jury comprised of professional artists and gallery owners.  Our jurors are selected from prominent members of the Indianapolis and regional arts communities.  Additionally, there will be judge-awarded prizes for “Best in Show” and runners-up.  We do not collect a sales commission from our exhibitors.

We look forward to receiving your application.  Thank you again, artists!
 
Permitted Work/Mediums:
 
(A)  The Fair is open to and welcomes all individual artists and co-artists who make their own original fine art and/or fine crafts by hand, as well as art galleries that sell those items.  All work must be original and, except in the case of art galleries, must be made by the artist, or jointly by the co-artists, who is/are present at the Fair.  We define a “gallery” as an applicant that plans to sell works from multiple different artists who are not co-artists, as opposed to, for example, a single artist who plans to sell only his or her own works or co-artists who plan to sell only their jointly-created works.
 
(B)  We accept the following mediums:  acrylic, ceramics & ceramic sculpture, glass & glass sculpture, jewelry, metalwork & metal sculpture, musical instruments, oil, papermaking & book arts, pastel/pencil/charcoal, pen/ink, photography (standard & digital), printmaking, stencil, stonework & stone sculpture, tempera, textile/fiber/leather, watercolor, and woodworking & wood sculpture.  If you believe that your work is appropriate for the Fair but does not fit neatly within one of these categories, we also offer a 2D mixed media & miscellaneous category and a 3D mixed media & miscellaneous category.  If you have a question regarding whether your work would be appropriate for the Fair, please contact the Artist Chairman at artists@penrod.org.
 
Prohibited Items:
 
The following items are NOT permitted at the Fair:  any work that is not your own or that you did not make by hand (not applicable to art galleries), imported items, commercially manufactured items, items manufactured in production houses, buy-and-sell items, and kit-made or pattern-made items.  If you plan to sell any of these items, please do not apply.  If you are found to be selling any of these items at the Fair, you will be asked to leave the Fair, and your application to any future Fairs will be rejected.  Please respect the purpose and integrity of our Fair.  Representatives of The Penrod Society, including the Artist Chairman, will serve as the sole and final arbiters of whether an item is appropriate for the Fair.
 
Please review the “Event Summary,” “Rules/Regulations,” and “Booth Information” sections, as well as our Legal Agreement (click the “VIEW LEGAL AGREEMENT” link, below), for further information, terms, and conditions.

Submitting an Application:
 
(A)  Each artist must submit a separate application through the ZAPP online application system.  You may submit one (1) application per artist and only one (1) medium is allowed per application for judging.

(B) You are required to submit a total of four (4) digital images:  three (3) digital images of samples of your work that are both (a) comparable in style and quality to what you will exhibit at the Fair and (b) representative of your work produced in the last two (2) years, and one (1) digital image of the booth display that you plan to use at the Fair.  Follow ZAPP guidelines for uploading images and for size and quality specifications.  The quality of your images is very important, as they are the basis upon which the jury will make its decisions.

(C)  In order for your application to be processed, you must fully complete and submit the online application, including by uploading your digital images (as discussed below) and pay, using an accepted credit card or PayPal, a non-refundable $40 application fee for all artist areas.   
 
(D)  The jury’s decisions are final and are not subject to review.  Artists who display work at the Fair not comparable to what was juried in will be required to remove the non-juried work.  Artists who fail to comply will be asked to leave the Fair, and your application to any future Fairs will be rejected.  Please respect the purpose and integrity of our Fair.  Representatives of The Penrod Society, including the Artist Chairman, will serve as the sole and final arbiters of whether an item is appropriate for the Fair.   
 
(E)  In order to submit a ZAPP application for the Penrod Arts Fair and pay the application fee, you must confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions stated throughout this application and in our Legal Agreement, which you may review by clicking on the “VIEW LEGAL AGREEMENT” link, below.
 
Notification of Acceptance and Waitlist Policy:
 
(A)  The Penrod Society will notify you via e-mail regarding whether you have been accepted to participate in the Fair as an exhibitor.  You must accept this invitation and pay the required booth fee through ZAPP as described in the “Booth Information” section, below.
 
(B)  We reserve the right, as in prior years, to maintain a waitlist; however, we cannot guarantee that a spot on the waitlist will result in your participation as an exhibitor at the Fair, even if cancellations occur.  To the extent we have space available, certain wait-listed artists will be notified of acceptance by e-mail on a rolling basis and if you are accepted from the waitlist, you will have until the later of (a) the Waitlist Acceptance Deadline and (b) 5 days after you are so notified of acceptance to accept your invitation and pay the required booth fee through ZAPP (described in the “Booth Information” section).
 
(C)  We will e-mail all accepted artists their entry credentials, booth assignment, and any other pertinent information in mid-August, approximately one month before the Fair.  All booth assignments will be final at that time.  The credential packet will include timing and detailed instructions for entering the Fair grounds, parking your vehicle, and setting up and tearing down your booth, as described in the “Booth Information” section, below.  A list of accepted artists and their booth assignments will also be listed on our website (www.penrod.org) in mid-August, approximately one month before the Fair.
 
 
Cancelation/Refund Policy:
 
In the event you need to cancel your participation in the Fair after paying your booth fee, we will refund fifty percent (50%) of your booth fee if your written notice of cancellation is received by the Artist Chairman at artists@penrod.org on or before the Cancellation Deadline.  The refund amount is not negotiable.  There will be no refunds for cancelations after the Cancellation Deadline.  The ZAPP application fee will not be refunded upon cancelation or for any reason.  We understand that life is unpredictable and that unexpected issues arise, but please note that serial cancelations in multiple successive years may result in us asking you not to return to future Fairs.
 
Please review the “Event Summary,” “General Information,” and “Booth Information” sections, as well as our Legal Agreement (click the “VIEW LEGAL AGREEMENT” link, below), for further information, terms, and conditions.

Booth Fees and Rules:
 
Only one (1) artist or gallery is allowed per booth, except in the case of co-artists who jointly create individual works.  We do not permit booth sharing by artists who are not co-artists.  Single-sized artist booths (10’ x 10’) are $400, double-sized artist booths (10’ x 20’) are $750, and gallery booths (10’ x 20’) are $1,000.  For artists wanting to participate in the Evening with Penrod event, there is an additional $50 fee per booth. (Art gallery applicants must select the gallery booth option.  We define a “gallery” as an applicant that plans to sell works from multiple different artists who are not co-artists, as opposed to, for example, a single artist who plans to sell only his or her own works or co-artists who plan to sell only their jointly-created works.)  Booth fees must be paid through ZAPP, using an accepted credit card or PayPal.  Your booth fee covers admission for you and one (1) assistant or co-artist who must arrive with you in the same vehicle.  Tickets for additional assistants, co-artists, or family members will be available for purchase at a discounted rate.  Only one (1) vehicle (with or without a trailer) per exhibitor or co-artist team is allowed on the Fair grounds at any time.  No pets, bikes, or motorcycles are permitted.
 
Arrangements and Logistics:

(A)  The general set-up period for all artists will be on Friday, September 11, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. ET.  All artist vehicles must be off the Fair grounds by 3:30 p.m. ET on Friday.  Friday set-up is strongly encouraged.  However, if you seek and obtain the Artist Chairman’s written permission by e-mail (artists@penrod.org) at least two weeks prior to the Fair, you may set up on Saturday, September 12, 2026, from 5:15 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. ET.  All artist vehicles must be off the grounds by 8:00 a.m. ET on Saturday.  Saturday set-up is discouraged unless absolutely necessary in view of your personal circumstances.  Tear-down will begin on Saturday no later than 5:45 p.m. ET.  Set-up and teardown will occur, rain or shine, on the dates and times above.

(B)  Between Friday and Saturday, overnight security is provided on the Fair grounds.  No exhibitor will be allowed to remain on the grounds overnight for any reason.
 
(C)  Both the Fair and Evening with Penrod at the IMA will be held regardless of weather, rain or shine.  There is no “rain date” for either event.  While of course we always hope for bright, sunny days for both events, rain has significantly affected the Fair only a few times in its history.  No refunds will be issued in the event of rain, other bad weather, or due to any other circumstance beyond the control of The Penrod Society that may adversely impact, delay, or lead to the partial or full cancellation of Evening with Penrod and/or the Fair.
 
(D)  You and your assistant(s) or co-artist(s), if any, are solely responsible for the transportation, display, custody, and sale of your work at the Fair and, if you participate, during Evening with Penrod.  You must provide your own tent, tables, chairs, easels, and all other booth and/or display items that you may need; The Penrod Society will not supply any of those items.  Utilities, including, but not limited to, electricity and internet access, are not available and will not be provided.  Generators are not permitted.  Your tent and booth items should not exceed the following dimensions:  10’ x 10’ for single-sized artist booths; and 10’ x 20’ for double-sized artist booths and gallery booths.
 
(E)  Members of The Penrod Society will be available to assist you on Friday and Saturday, including with set-up and tear-down once your vehicle is properly positioned on the Fair grounds.  At your option and with your expressed approval, during set-up members of the Society will assist you with unloading your work and other items from your vehicle and moving the same to your booth location.  Similarly, at your option and with your expressed approval, during tear-down members of the Society will assist you with packing your work and other items and moving the same from your booth location to your vehicle.  And, from time to time, with your expressed approval, members of the Society may assist you in other ways that involve them handling your work or other items.  As a condition of your accepting the assistance of any member of the Society as previously described, and although members of the Society will use the utmost care and caution when handling your work and other items, you agree that the Indianapolis Museum of Art, The Penrod Society, the Penrod Arts Fair, Evening with Penrod at the IMA, and those organizations’ or events’ respective officers, directors, representatives, members, volunteers, employees, agents, contractors, heirs, successors, alter egos, and assigns, including, but not limited to, the Artist Chairman, will not be responsible for any loss, theft, or damage related to your work, booth items, vehicle, or any other property that you may bring to the Fair.
 
Please review the “Event Summary,” “General Information,” and “Rules/Regulations” sections, as well as our Legal Agreement (click the “VIEW LEGAL AGREEMENT” link, below), for further information, terms, and conditions.

 

Cancelation/Refund Policy:
 
In the event you need to cancel your participation in the Fair after paying your booth fee, we will refund fifty percent (50%) of your booth fee if your written notice of cancellation is received by the Artist Chairman at artists@penrod.org on or before the Cancellation Deadline.  The refund amount is not negotiable.  There will be no refunds for cancelations after the Cancellation Deadline.  The ZAPP application fee will not be refunded upon cancelation or for any reason.  We understand that life is unpredictable and that unexpected issues arise, but please note that serial cancelations in multiple successive years may result in us asking you not to return to future Fairs.