Utah Arts Festival 2027

Our Commitment to Equity:

The Utah Arts Festival is committed to the inclusion of people of all races, ethnicities, abilities, gender identities, and sexual orientation. We believe that art should be accessible to everyone and representative of all. We reject racial injustice of any form. We believe that this is an active process that requires continuous commitment to recognizing inequities and working to mitigate them.

Important Dates:
 
February 25th: Application, four images & $45.00 jury fee due.
February 27th - 28th: Jury
March 12th: Notification of jury decisions.
April 9th: Booth rental fee due.  
April 23rd: Final withdrawal date to receive booth refund.
June 23rd: Artist Check in / Booth Set Up 
June 24th - 27th: UTAH ARTS FESTIVAL



Show Dates:
June 24th - 27th, 2027

Show Hours:

Thursday, June 24th - 5 pm - 11 pm (Artists have the option of closing at 9 pm)
Friday, June 25th - Noon - 11 pm (Artists have the option of closing at 9 pm)
Saturday, June 26th - Noon - 11 pm (Artists have the option of closing at 9 pm)
Sunday, June 27th - Noon - 11 pm (Artists have the option of closing at 8 pm)

 
The Festival is open to all artists within the accepted medium categories. Participation in any previous Utah Arts Festival does not guarantee acceptance. By signing, the exhibitor assures that they have direct, hands-on involvement in the creation and execution of each piece of work to be exhibited.  

Work generated by or with assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prohibited.
Images must be representative of the work to be shown at the Festival.
Accepted artists must be on-site throughout the entire Festival.
No work from commercial molds, kits or manufactured work will be accepted.
Paintings, graphics, prints and photographs must be appropriately framed or matted.
Exhibitors are prohibited from selling non-original promotional items (i.e., posters, postcards, calendars, stickers, DVDs etc.) at the Festival.

Reproduction Policy – In an attempt to foster an appreciation and value of the arts, we believe it is important to offer the public the opportunity to buy affordable reproductions of original work being offered. This is possible only if our patrons understand exactly what they are buying and the process behind it. 

The following guidelines have been established:
1. All work must be original, handcrafted work or reproductions that comply with our stated Reproduction Policy. Artists guarantee the accuracy of the description of the works presented and the authenticity of the work as the creation of their own hands. Work generated by or with assistance of Artificial Intelligence is prohibited.
 2. Work done by a production studio is not acceptable. All work must be designed and executed by the accepted artist.
 3. Collaborating artists, if accepted, may show only their collaborative works. Both artists' names must appear on the application. Collaborations are intended to be true artistic collaborations rather than business collaborations. The creative contribution of each artist in the collaboration must be identified on the application. The artist/artists who sign the contract MUST be present at the show. 
 4. Artists must be present with their work for the entire four days of the Utah Arts Festival. Representatives may not attend in place of the artist. The Utah Arts Festival requires photo identification at check-in to ensure compliance. 
 5. Artists may only show work in categories and body of work selected by the Jury. All work exhibited must be of the quality, category and spirit of work of that shown in the images juried.
 6. Only reproductions that comply with the Reproduction Policy are allowed (see special notes per media category). All reproductions must be clearly and individually labeled as such. No other terms such as “print” or “offset lithograph” may be used. Labels must say “reproduction.”

Media Categories

Media categories are used by the Utah Arts Festival as a tool for organizing artists' images into logical, related groups for the jury's review. While a balanced show that equitably showcases both works of fine art and fine craft as well as diversity among media is a principal Utah Arts Festival objective, the Festival establishes no quota or entitlement by media category. Work generated by or with assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prohibited.

2-D Mixed Media: This category includes 2-dimensional work that incorporates more than one type of physical material to produce. Artwork in this category should not exceed more than two inches in depth. 
3-D Mixed Media: This category includes 3-dimensional work that incorporates more than one type of physical material to produce. Artwork in this category should be viewed from multiple angles and should exceed two inches in depth. 
Ceramics: All original clay and porcelain work is accepted in this category including wheel formed and hand-built pieces. No machine-made or mass-produced work is permitted. If multiple pieces of the same design are displayed each piece must be signed.
Digital Art: This category includes any original work created solely by the artist utilizing computer technology to craft visual images.  If work is a limited edition, it must be properly signed and numbered and labeled as such, not exceeding an edition of more than 1000.  Traditional photographs taken through a digital media should apply in the Photography category.
Drawings / Pastels: Works created using dry media including chalk, charcoal, pastels, pencil, wax crayon, etc. or from the fluid medium of inks and washes applied by pen or brush are to be entered in this category. Reproductions must be in signed editions of no more than 1000.
Fiber: All work crafted from fibers including 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, regardless of additional modification or enhancement by the artist, may be exhibited.
Glass: Items either kiln formed, hand blown, torched, slumped, or mosaiced are included in this category. No forms of mass production are permitted.
Graffiti/Street Art: Original artwork including paintings, drawings, mixed media, digital reproductions, prints (stencil work), wearables, and sculpture made by artists with backgrounds in graffiti/aerosol/street art should apply in this category. Reproductions must be in signed editions of no more than 1000.
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. All photogravures, photocopies and/or offset reproductions will be rejected. Printmakers are required to disclose both their creative and printmaking processes. Reproductions must be in signed editions of no more than 1000.
Jewelry: All jewelry, whether the work is produced from metal, glass, clay, fiber, paper, plastic or other materials must be entered into this category. No commercial casts, molds or production studio work is allowed. No more than 15% of a piece may consist of commercial findings.
Metalwork: Metals may be cast, hammered, embossed, welded or forged including twisting and manipulating to create works of art. Includes all non-jewelry work crafted from metals. No production studio work is allowed.
Painting: These are original compositions created by the artist. Works created in oils, acrylics, watercolor, or other fluid mediums are in this category. Reproductions must be in signed editions of no more than 1000.
Photography and Digital Photography: Photographic prints made from the artist's original negative 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 on prints. These categories include any original work for which the original image, or the manipulation of other source material, was executed by the artist using a computer. Work in this category must be in limited editions, signed and numbered on archival quality materials. Reproductions must be in signed editions of no more than 1000.
Sculpture: Three-dimensional original work done in any medium are included in this category. Work in this category can be hand built, formed, or sculpted by the artist.
Wearable Art: This category includes clothing, handbags, scarves, hats, belts, shoes, etc. No forms of mass production are permitted.
Wood: Original works in wood that are hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned “lathe work” or carved are accepted in the wood category. Works can be functional or non-functional.

Jury & Selection Process
Four images must be submitted with the application and jury fee. Images must be cohesive and clearly represent the style and quality of work intended for exhibition at the Utah Arts Festival. 
Image quality is very important. Each image should show the artwork clearly against a solid background. One piece of artwork per image. Artists are selected by a blind jury, do not include any images that include the artists themselves in the image.  Images are juried in a process based upon point totals, utilizing a 1 through 5-point system. Artists' work is not identified by name during the jury process. Images are reviewed by jurors on a monitor in order of the date received, within each category.  
 
For exact image preparation please see Zapplications specifications at https://artist-help.zapplication.org/doc/image-requirements 
Jurying is conducted by a panel of experienced art professionals, artists and consumers and is based solely upon the quality and cohesiveness of work as illustrated in submitted images. A limit of approximately 160 artists will be accepted. Additional artists will be chosen for a wait list. All decisions of the jury are final. Notifications will be made by Friday, March 12, 2027.  Acceptance information will not be given over the phone prior to notification.  All notifications will be sent via email. 

Artist Amenities
At check in, each artist will receive a credential for themselves and a credential for an assistant that will allow access all days of the Festival, along with 4 general admission tickets to use as they please. The Festival provides participating artists a light dinner buffet during set up on Wednesday, June 23rd. During the Festival, artists will not have access to the Patio. The Artist Marketplace Headquarters will have snacks and drinks during load-in and water throughout the Festival. 
The Festival does not provide parking for the artists, nor do we compensate artists for parking. There are numerous parking lots and structures nearby, as well as some off-street parking that can accommodate vehicles, trailers, and RV’s. 
Information packets detailing all show and set-up information will be available at the end of May.
 

Artists may display only work in the media categories in which they are accepted, and it must be comparable to work shown in submitted images. It is the Festival’s exclusive right and responsibility to remove work that is inconsistent or deviates from the style or quality of the submitted images or is otherwise not in compliance with the rules. In any dispute over Festival policies, the decision of the Executive Director shall prevail. Since interaction between artists and the public is fundamental to the Utah Arts Festival, the artist must be onsite during the Festival. Assistants are permitted; however, they may not take the place of the artist at the Festival. No more than two assistants per booth. 
Optional reduced artists hours: While artists are encouraged to stay open for the full hours of the Festival, we realize the long hours and are offering the following, optional, reduced hours: 5pm – 9 pm on Thursday, Noon - 9:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and Noon to 8 pm on Sunday. While artists may choose to begin to load out on Sunday at 8 pm, early load out on Sunday is with handcarts only until the Festival closes at 11 p.m. Tent structures cannot come down until the Festival closes and the site is cleared of patrons per the Fire Marshal.
Four onsite juries will present Best of Show and Awards of Merit along with one award for People’s Choice. All nine award winners will be invited to the 2028 Utah Arts Festival, bypassing the application fee and the jury process. Best of Show and People’s Choice will have their 2028 booth fees waived. We reserve the right to rescind an award if the work is later identified as mass produced or violates our reproduction policy.
 

The Artist Marketplace is an outdoor summer venue. Artists will be allocated a minimum of 10'x10' space for their display booth with 200 watts electrical power per booth. Artists must provide their own 10'x10' canopy, display equipment, lighting, extension cords and 5/8 diameter rope or ratchet straps to tie off to weights. 
The Festival will provide all artists with cement weights or Festival placed stakes to secure their booths. Utah is noted for its summer winds and for the safety of all the artists and patrons, we require artists to tie off to the weights/stakes. If you do not secure your booth with the required weights / stakes, you will not be allowed to open and may be disqualified from the show with no refund. Tent rentals are available upon request. 
Booth fees are $650 per booth. A limited number of corner booths are available for an additional $100. These booths are available on a first come, first served basis and go quickly. Corner placements are determined solely by the artist marketplace coordinators. A select number of 10 x 20 booths will be available at the coordinator’s discretion. 
Booth Requests are accepted but are not guaranteed. Much consideration is given to the layout of the show each year and many factors determine where an artist is placed. If there are any medical conditions, special circumstances, or other critical issues they will be accommodated to the best of our ability but must be indicated on the booth request prior to booth placement. Once the layout has been completed changes may not be possible. To keep the Artist Marketplace looking fresh and fair to all the artists, we do not put artists in the same booth or area as the previous year. Artists who are accepted for consecutive years will be placed in a different area for a minimum of three years. Only after that time is an artist eligible to return to a specific area. If an artist requests a booth they have had within the past three years those requests will be disregarded, and booth selection will be exclusively the decision of the Artist Marketplace coordinators.