Statesboro Festival of the Arts 2027

The 3rd Annual Statesboro Festival of the Arts is located at The Market at Visit Statesboro and surrounding campus in downtown Statesboro, GA! This rapidly growing early Spring event is a fantastic weekend for artists and patrons alike. It includes juried art vendors, live music, activities for children, a food truck court, and plenty of southern hospitality.

Committed to catering to the needs of the visual artist we offer convenient set up all day on Friday, March 19th ending with a VIP Invitational Patron Preview event from 6-8pm. Generous awards, booth sitters, set up support low entry and booth fees, security during set up and overnight security are just some of our fabulous amenities for artists.  

The Market at Visit Statesboro boasts a 7,500 square feet facility with roll - up garage doors and an incredible view of the cultivated greenspace and picnic areas leading to a boardwalk and bridge that connects you to historic downtown Statesboro in just a short stroll. The Market itself allows indoor space for 30 vendors and the ample Visit Statesboro campus has a spacious paved lot for additional outdoor vendors, a stage, and more. It's the ideal setting to showcase and sell your one of a kind works of art. 

Festival Site
The Market at Visit Statesboro and surrounding campus
228 South Main St.
Statesboro, GA 30458
 
Festival Dates
Saturday, March 20-Sunday March 21, 2027
Artist set up- March 19, 2027
 
Application Deadline
December 15, 2026 11:59pm EDT
 
Application Submission Requirements

• The Statesboro Festival of the Arts (SFA) only accepts applications submitted through ZAPPlication.org.
• Each application must include five digital photographs: four photographs must clearly show work the artist intends to exhibit and one photo must be an image of the artist’s booth. Because the jurying process is blind, the booth shot must not have signage, branding, symbols, or attributes that reveal the artist’s identity.
• Each artist must pay a nonrefundable $15 fee for each application submitted as part of the application process on ZAPPlication.org.
• Artists who want to present work in more than one medium will need to complete and submit applications and pay the application fee for each category.
• Collaborative teams of no more than two artists are welcome to apply.
• Applicants must be 18 years and older.

Admission

• Saturday and Sunday Admission (open to the public) -Free

Important Dates

• Monday, December 15 2026 - Deadline for artists to submit applications.
• January 4, 2027 – SFA emails notification of acceptance to artists.
• ,January 31, 2027 - deadline for artists to submit booth fee and signed contract.
• February 15, 2027 - Final date when artists can cancel their festival participation and receive refund of their booth fee minus a $50 administrative charge.

Festival Hours

• Friday, March 19, 9am-4pm- Artist set up; after hours set up available upon request
• Saturday, March 20, 10am-5pm - open to the public (Artists may complete set up 8am-10am)
• Sunday, March 21, 10am-4pm - open to the public

Festival Timeline

• 9 am-4 pm             Artist check-in and register. Photo ID required at check-in.
                                  After hours available upon request.
• 6:00-8:00 pm          VIP Patron Preview Event

• ​10 am-5 pm              First day of festival.
• 10 am-5 pm              Judges visit booths to determine the award winners.
• 6:30-8:30pm            Artist Reception and Award Ceremony

• 10 am-4 pm               Last day of festival.
• 4 pm-6 pm                 Festival closes and artists breakdown and load-out.

Artist Reception & Award Ceremony
In addition to the VIP Preview on Friday evening we are pleased to host an Artist Reception on Saturday, March 21 from 6:30-8:30pm. Sponsors of the Festival will be invited to attend. RSVPs required.

Jury Process 
This year's jurors and judges are Rachel Green and Colleen Beyer Stewart.

Rachel Green is a Professor of Art at Georgia Southern University in Savannah, Georgia where she teaches environmental art and fibers.  She has been creating fiber pieces, installations and sculptures addressing environmental and cultural issues since moving to the Georgia coast in1986. Her recent exhibitions include Whimsical Surrealism, View Arts Center, Old Forge New York, National Juried Show, December 12, 2025- March 7, 2026, Detritus Upcycled, Viridian Artists, New York, New York, Group Invitational Exhibition, curated by Vernita Nemec, September 3-September 28, 2024 and Fluid Realities, Metro Art Studios, Bridgeport, CT, National Juried Exhibition, Juror Alex Bacon, Curatorial Associate at the Princeton University Art Museum, August 11, 2024-September 21, 2024. 

Colleen Beyer Stewart is the Visual Arts Teacher and Department Chair at Harlem High School. She earned her BA in Studio Art at the University of West Georgia and her MFA in Drawing and Painting at Georgia Southern University in 2011.  
When she’s not teaching, she focuses her time on creating personal and public artwork alongside her husband and fellow GSU art alum, Wesley L Stewart. You can find her work throughout the Augusta region: the historic community of Harrisburg in Augusta at Hillside Park and under John C Calhoun at Eve St and Crawford Ave, along the Augusta Canal, and at Phinizy Nature Park. 
Her work is influenced by nature, botanical forms and mark-making. Her biggest influence while creating is the book, The Human Side of Plants by Royal Dixon. “What secrets we may learn from the plant nature and habits and characteristics to help us in understanding the origin, purpose, and extent of life, can be found only by an intimate acquaintance with the inner life of the plants.” 
 

• Working independently and collaboratively, jurors evaluate each application without knowing the identity of the artist. The blind jury process ensures all work receives fair, open, and respectful attention and consideration.
• Jurors assess an applicant's artwork by reviewing the digital photographs and the artist’s statement. The five digital photographs should be high quality images: four images must represent the body of work the artist intends to exhibit and one image must be a view of the artist’s booth. The booth photograph cannot feature signage, branding, symbols, or attributes that reveal the artist’s identity or trade name.
• Reflecting on aesthetic merit, originality, technical proficiency, and marketability, jurors review and assign scores using ZAPPlication.org. Each application receives a numerical score from each juror. The scores fall between one of the two ranges: 1-3 for lower scoring applications and 5-7 for higher scoring applications. This scoring system does not allow jurors to assign a score of 4. The scores are totaled and averaged for a final score. Jurors record scores anonymously.
• SFA will create a list of selected artist vendors and a wait list by category based on jury scores. Artist will be notified of their status through Zapplication. 
• Scores and comments are confidential and are not available for review by artists.

Awards
SFA celebrates the visual arts by distributing $5,000 in cash prizes. The 2027 judges have the discretionary privilege of selecting honorees and presenting the awards. Their decision is final.

Parking
After set-up, artists should move their vehicles into the spaces reserved for artist parking. SFA will provide a parking pass for one vehicle that artists should place inside their car on the driver’s side of the dashboard. Vehicles parked in handicap spaces during festival hours and that do not have official handicap tags will be towed at the owner's expense. 

Sales and Sales Tax
Exhibitors are responsible for overseeing the promotion and sale of their work during festival hours. All proceeds earned from sales belong to the artists. By law, artists must collect sales tax on work sold during SFA. The sales tax in Statesboro, Georgia is 8%. The State of Georgia Department of Revenue provides tax forms for artists on their website for easy access. We will also have copies at registration.
 
Security
SFA provides security during set up on Friday from 9 pm to 5 pm. 24-hour security begins at 5 pm on Friday, March 19th, 2027, and continues through the close of the festival at 5 pm on Sunday, March 21st, 2027. However, SFA and festival organizers urge artists to be diligent and alert by securing their booths as they would at any other event or festival. Exhibiting at the SFA is at the discretion of the artist and every artist participates at his or her own risk. The SFA, Averitt Center for the Arts, and The Market at Visit Statesboro do not insure the personal property of any exhibitor/artist. All exhibitors/artists participate as independent contractors. 

Media Categories 

• 2-D and 3-D Mixed Media: Work created using more than one medium.
• Ceramics: Functional, decorative, and/or sculptural work created using clay and/or porcelain. Clay or porcelain jewelry will not be accepted in this category.
• Drawing: Work created using dry media such as pencil, charcoal, or chalk or made using fluid materials such as ink or washes that are applied by pen or brush.
• Fibers: Decorative, and/or sculptural work created using fiber. 
• Furniture: Functional or decorative furniture.
• Glass: Functional, decorative, and/or sculptural work created using glass. 
• Jewelry: Functional, decorative, and/or sculptural work created using precious and/or non-precious materials. Precious materials include but are not limited to 14K gold, sterling silver, precious stones, and enamels. Nonprecious materials include but are not limited to glass, ceramics, paper, fiber, wood, leather, polymer clay, and semi-precious stones.
• Metal: Functional, decorative, and/or sculptural work created using metals.
• Painting: Acrylic/Oil: Work created using acrylic or oil paint.
• Painting: Watercolor/Pastel: Work created using watercolors or pastels.
• Printmaking: Works created using traditional printmaking techniques that involve plates, stones, and/or screens. Artist produces each print as part of a limited edition series, using archival quality materials. Artist must sign and number each print. Artist must provide details about his or her technique and disclose his or her creative and printmaking processes.
• Photography/Digital Art: Work created using an artist's original photographic negative or work created from an artist directing or supervising the digital image process. Artist must use archival quality materials and print images in limited edition series, signing and numbering each image. Artist must provide details about his or her technique and disclose his or her creative and printing processes.
• Sculpture: Three-dimensional work created by assembling, firing, welding, molding, casting, carving, shaping or combining materials such as plastic, text, light, stone, rock, marble, metal, glass, or wood.
• Wood: Functional, decorative, and/or sculptural work created using wood. Work must be hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned, or carved.

 

Rules and Regulations

1. Statesboro Festival of the Arts (SFA) requires artists to be present and available during festival hours. SFA requires both members of a collaborating team to be present and available during festival hours.
2. Artists must remain at the festival site until 4 pm on Sunday, March 21. Artists who breakdown and leave early compromise their standing with SFA and the Averitt Center for the Arts and may forfeit their ability to exhibit in future festivals.
3. An exhibit must feature original, handcrafted art, created by the artist or collaborative team who applied to the festival. An artist must guarantee that the work presented is authentic and created as indicated in the artist’s application.
4. All work must be available for sale.
5. Artists must exhibit artwork that reflects the quality and craftsmanship of the pieces presented in their applications. Artists must exhibit artwork specific to the categories indicated on their applications and artwork that clearly relates to the body of work selected during the jury process. SFA will remove artists whose work is inconsistent with the quality and craftsmanship presented in their applications.
6. Artists can sell reproductions in browse bins.  Artists are responsible for understanding and abiding by the specifics set forth in Policy for Selling Reproductions.
7. Artists cannot exhibit or sell subcontracted work for another artist. 
8. Artists cannot exhibit or sell work made using commercial casts/molds, kits, or patterns.
9. Artists cannot exhibit or sell copyrighted designs imports, t-shirts, stationary, plants, velvet paintings, commercially or factory-produced merchandise, etc.
10. Artists and their agents, associates, and assistants should maintain high standards of professionalism. Festival organizers reserve the right to remove an exhibitor whose conduct and/or merchandise are unacceptable and whose participation conflicts with the rules and regulations of Statesboro Festival of the Arts.
11. Artists participate at SFA at their own risk and assume responsibility for maintaining liability insurance that covers any damages or losses during the festival.
12. Open to artists 18 years of age or older who exhibit work of original concept, design and execution. 
13. A valid driver’s license/picture ID will be required at check in. 
14. All sales will be handled by the exhibitor. 
    1. 1. It is the exhibitor's responsibility to collect and remit payment of Statesboro, Georgia sales tax (9%).  Sales tax forms will be included in the exhibitor packets at check-in or are available on the State of Georgia website.
15. This is a family-oriented show. The Festival Committee reserves the right to ask the artist to remove questionable work including erotic and macabre art. Tasteful nudes are acceptable. 
16. We will use Images of Exhibiting Artists’ work for advertising, and promotional materials for this or future years of SFA. Please inform the coordinator if you prefer your images not be used.  
17. No animals are allowed in exhibit areas-inside or out, other than registered emotional support animals or those providing assistance to persons with disabilities.  
18. No discount or ‘on sale’ signage permitted. 
19. Artists who wish to show work in more than one medium (ie, painting and ceramics, weaving and woodwork, etc.) must apply with a complete portfolio application for each media they wish to display and pay separate application fees for each. The SFA reserves the right to refuse either or both applications, or request the artist limit their inventory to only one medium. Submitted images of art works may not be repeated from one application to another, except for the booth image which may be used for both applications.  
20. Artists accepted into their specific medium may ONLY display work in that medium. The festival committee reserves the right to refuse exhibition of work not consistent with submitted images.
21. Failure to follow the rules and regulations may result in artists removal from the festival and participation in future festivals. 
22. A 10'x10' white tent is required for all outdoor artists. Side panels are reccommened. 

Policy for Selling Reproductions
We allow artists to sell reproductions of original 2D artwork at a small percentage of total work being sold. SFA defines a reproduction as a machine-made, duplicate image of an original work. Machine-made reproductions are images produced on an off-set press or a serigraph press and/or images produced from a computer that prints using an ink-jet or electrostatic printer. This definition includes giclees and reproductions that include additional enhancements.

• Artists must provide buyers with information that discloses the process used to create reproductions.
• Reproduction inventory must be 20% or less of total booth artwork.
• Artists applying in the Digital Art and Printmaking categories must sign and number their prints/works. In general, the remainder of this policy does not apply to these media categories, as they are inherently reproductive in nature.
• Artists must present and sell reproductions in a browse bin that is located inside the artist’s booth.
• All work hung on the booth walls for artists in the Painting, Drawing, and Mixed Media Categories must be original works of art, not reproductions. For these categories, reproductions may ONLY be shown in browse bins.
• Artists cannot refer to or label reproductions as prints. The word, print, references work created by traditional printmaking techniques.
• Artists must attach a label on the browse bin, that clearly identifies the works as a “reproduction of an original.”
• Artists cannot sell original work and reproductions in the same browse bin.
• Artists must produce reproductions in limited editions of 350 or less and must number and sign each image.
• SFA will remove artists who ignore, disregard, undermine, and/or violate these policies. 

Booth Fees and Sizes

• Standard Booth- Outdoor
  • Fee: $100, Size: 10’ wide x 12’ deep​​​​​
• Corner and Indoor Booth
  • Fee: $125, Indoor Size 10' wide x 10' deep, Corner size: varies based on location
• Double Booth (limited number available)
  • Fee: $200, Size: 20' wide x 12' deep  

The number of specialty booths available is limited. Organizers assign double booths, indoor booths and corner booths on a first-come, first-paid basis.
 
Booth Assignment
SFA and its festival partners are responsible for assigning booths and attempt to accommodate requests for specific booth locations whenever possible. All booth assignments are firm and nonnegotiable. Artists may not swap booth locations without permission from the festival coordinator.
 
Booth Display

• Artists can decide how they best want to showcase their work; however, the overall booth presentation should be representative of the image provided in the application. Although the indoor venue has a roof, tents/canopies are allowed. Additional lights are encouraged for interior booths. 
• The floor in the pavilion is concrete, and all spaces are handicapped accessible. Even though the venue is covered, the sides will be opened with garage style doors. Exhibitors should plan to accommodate rain and some breeze/wind. 
• Outdoor locations are on concrete.  The majority of booth locations are on level ground, but a few many be slightly sloped.
• Artists must furnish their booth display, which includes tables, chairs, contents, etc. Artists need to be certain their booth and its contents easily fit into the area provided and can withstand large crowds and weather. Visit Statesboro, Averitt Center, and SFA are not responsible for damage to artists' booth or work. 

Booth Set-Up

• Exhibitors can register and set up between 9 am and 4 pm on Friday, March 19. During registration, artists should be prepared to show a photo ID. 
• SFA does not provide dollies, hand trucks, wagons, or other moving equipment. We will have a few on hand but encourage artists to bring their own.
• During set-up, artists may unload from the nearest parking space or from a space that is close to their booths. Driving vehicles into the indoor venue is strictly prohibited. Temporary parking is close to the pavilion, unloading booth equipment and artwork is ideally easy and quick. Please be conscious of other artists' time and space, and if necessary, unload belongings from your vehicle and then move it to a further-away space to allow another artist a close unloading spot.
• At 6 pm, the VIP Patron Event will begin. 

Booth Breakdown and Load-Out
Artists can begin breakdown and load-out at 4 pm on Sunday, March 21. All booths must be completely removed from the festival site by 6 pm on Sunday, March 21.
 

 

REFUND POLICY
Important dates for our refund policy:

• January 31, 2027- deadline for artists to submit booth fee and signed contract.
• February 15, 2027 - Final date artists can cancel their festival participation and receive a refund of their booth fee minus a $50 administrative charge.
• After February 15, 2027, a refund (less the $50 administrative charge) is at the discretion of the festival director. SFA will be as accommodating as possible for instances such as illness, family emergencies, and other unavoidable contingencies.
• Usually, refunds can be issued directly through Zapplication to the method of payment originally used. After February 15, 2027 SFA may need to issue refunds by check.