Gasparilla Festival of the Arts 2027 - Emerging Artists

The Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is proud to showcase the work of emerging artists representing a diversity of styles and media through the Festival’s Emerging Artists Program (EAP). The purpose of the Emerging Artists Program is to recognize and showcase the work of up-and-coming artists who wish to establish themselves in a professional visual arts career.  Fifteen emerging artists are selected to present and sell their work in the Festival from the field of applicants through a collaborative selection process involving the EAP Juror and a special committee comprised of members of the Festival’s Board of Directors and Emerging Artists Committee. Once selected, these artists are invited to participate in the Festival as “emerging artists” without paying a booth fee.  The Festival provides each emerging artist with a 10'x10' display tent to showcase their work. The emerging artist is responsible for everything inside of the tent, including display tables, shelves and anything else they believe will help best present art and sell to patrons.  

In addition, each emerging artist will receive $450 to reimburse expenses.  This stipend is paid on Festival weekend.  Emerging artists do not compete with the other Festival artists awards.  However, their artwork is reviewed by the Festival Awards Juror who will award one emerging artist with the Emerging Artist Award which includes a $1,500 cash prize.

To be considered eligible as an Emerging Artist:

• Applicants not have an established record as a professional artist showing their work in museums, major galleries or major juried art exhibitions;
• Applicants must not make more than 25% of their total annual income from the sale of their artwork;
• Applicants must not be employed professionally as a visual artist working in the medium they intend to present at the festival;
• Artists must be at least 18 years of age by the first day of the Festival (March 6, 2027). 

Applicants who fail to meet these requirements will be excluded from consideration.  By submitting an application, you confirm that, to the best of your knowledge, you meet the above eligibility rules.  Decisions regarding eligibility are made at the sole discretion of Gasparilla Arts.  

We realize that situations vary.  If you have a question about eligibility, before you decide on your own, we encourage you to email EmergingArtists@gasparillaarts.com.  Our Jury and Rules Committee will consider your situation and advise.  

Emerging artists must abide by the same Festival rules governing other Festival artists.  Please review those rules here.  Each applicant must submit three digital images of artwork produced no earlier than three years prior to the year of application.  In applications for GFA 2027, work samples must not be completed before January 1, 2024.  All submitted images must include the date of completion, medium and dimensions.  A description of each piece is optional but recommended.  The images must represent the type of work that will be displayed in the booth and only work of the quality and type illustrated in the artist’s application may be exhibited in their booth at the Festival.  Applications must be submitted electronically through ZAPP by 11:59pm on November 30, 2026.  Gasparilla Arts reserves the right to extend the application deadline, but will not shorten it.  Emails with the results of the jury process will be sent to all applicants in mid-December.

In addition to the booth and stipend mentioned above, emerging artists will have the opportunity to participate in several mentoring sessions with established artists and arts administrators intended to build skills and knowledge that will be helpful in a professional career as a visual artist.  Past mentoring topics have included skill building for traveling festival artists, accessing new markets (retail, interior design, galleries), tax concerns for artists, and an introduction to grant writing.  Topics for the mentoring sessions are subject to change.  Some sessions may occur in person, but all will be available on Zoom and recorded so that those who reside outside of Central Florida can still participate.  

Please refer to the Festival website for complete rules and regulations at: https://gasparillaarts.com/application-rules

All application fees are non-refundable.

Artists who are selected for the Emerging Artists Program and participate in the Festival are not eligible to apply for the EAP in future years.  If an artist is selected but chooses to withdraw at least 28 days prior to the first day of the Festival, they are eligible to reapply for the EAP in future years but will not automatically be selected and will have to be selected by the juror.  If a selected artist chooses to withdraw with 27 or fewer days remaining before the first day of the Festival, they are no longer eligible to apply for the EAP in future years.  In all of these cases, artists are welcomed and encouraged to apply for the main festival in the years after they have applied for and/or participated in the EAP.    

The Festival is an outdoor festival and makes no representations or guaranties as to attendance, foot traffic, weather conditions, or the availability of the Festival site. The Festival site is a park owned by The City of Tampa, and in severe cases, the Festival site may be closed in whole or in part.  This is a risk assumed by each artist and there will be no refunds due to weather or other events that impact attendance at the Festival or cause a park closure.

Only work of the quality and type illustrated in the artist's application may be exhibited at the Festival. The Festival Rules Committee may eject an artist from the Festival for exhibiting work not represented in their application.

Each artist is limited to one 10' x 10' space. Only one medium category may be exhibited in the artist’s booth.  An artist may not submit multiple applications in the same medium but may submit separate applications (and pay separate application fees) in up to 3 different media.  Each application should only include pieces in a single medium.  For example, if an artist is a painter and a sculptor, they should not include both paintings and sculptures in a single application.  However, they may submit an application with three images of their painting and a separate application with three images of their sculpture.

Artists may load-in their booth on Thursday or Friday before Festival Weekend.  Load-in will be discussed in depth during the lead-up to the Festival.  Please note that Emerging Artists must be available to load-in no later than the Friday before the Festival and be present at the festival during all open hours (Saturday, 9am - 6pm, Sunday, 10am - 5pm).  If you are coming from outside of the Tampa Bay area, you should plan to arrive in Tampa no later than 1pm on Friday.  This will be discussed at length during EAP meetings.

A two-person team or partnership collaborating on a single product may qualify as a single exhibitor if this is adequately explained in the application. Each artist's name must appear on the completed application and both artists must be present for the entire Festival.

The City of Tampa requires proof of auto insurance for all vehicles accessing the Festival site. By submitting your application, you confirm that you will have a valid auto insurance policy for your vehicle for the duration of the Festival, including during load-in, setup, and load-out. If you do not have valid auto insurance, you must notify the Festival and your vehicle will not be allowed to access the Festival site.

The Festival provides each emerging artist with a 10'x10' display tent to showcase their work. The tent will be supplied and installed on a concrete pad by a tent company and will include the weights necessary to hold down the tent walls in normal weather.  Artists should keep watch on the weather leading up to the Festival and should bring extra supplies and weights to protect their art/booth in the event of inclement weather.  The Festival will not have such supplies on hand for artists' use.

Everything inside of the tent on which art is displayed for sale (tables, shelves, hanging systems) is the responsibility of the artist.  Artists should act as though they were creating a gallery to present and sell their work.  It is up to the artists as to how detailed they wish to make their display.  During the Mentoring program, the Emerging Artists Committee will provide examples of past years' displays for reference.  

Application fees are non-refundable.