Destination Clare Art Sculpture Walk 2027

 The Clare Outdoor Art Sculpture Walk is in its 6th year. The year round exhibit featuring various artists' art sculpture installations across Clare County, Michigan.  Applications are accepted until February 28, 2027

The Clare County Arts Council welcomes all artists to apply for the 6th annual Destination Clare Art Sculpture Walk 2026. All entries must be submitted by 2/28/2027.  The selection committee will choose the top ten entries based upon artistic merit, creativity, public safety and durability in an outdoor setting. Finalists will be notified by March 31, 2027 with sculptures installed in May 2027  The exhibit will run approximately from May 11, 2027  through  April 2028.

There are different categories for finalists could possibly win additional recognition and money. An honorarium of $1000 will be paid to selected participating artists upon installation of their sculpture. In addition, in May, a jury will be assembled to award $2500 for the Best of Show which will be awarded at an Opening Event the evening after all art has been installed.  The People' Choice award ($1,000) will be given to the piece that receives the most votes from exhibit attendees through March 2027.  

We highly encourage all artists to attend the Opening Reception and encourage you to interact with several selected high school students that will be in attendance with their art work. This is part of CCAC's youth outreach program to encourage and recognize young emerging artists throughout Clare County. 

As an additional benefit for selected artists, for 2027, CCAC has instituted a RE-LOAN program to extend your sculptures going into the 2028 season. This is an optional program that you can participate in only if you desire to do so. CCAC will contact you by February 2028 to see if you are interested and be willing to loan your sculpture for an additional year. CCAC would pay you a stipend of $750 and then CCAC would move your sculpture to a new community in the Clare County area. This includes communities of Farwell, Lake Station and Harrison. This past year, CCAC had requests from Gratiot County. They took 5 sculptures through the reloan program. This will be the fourth year of the Re-Loan Program and it has been very successful and greatly appreciated by these communities.   

All art submitted and accepted by CCAC shall be listed "For Sale by Artist" and CCAC shall have the opportunity for purchase with a 20% commission discount. Please check to see if the price you submit matches the price you originally entered into CAFE when you downloaded into your CAFE gallery. If there is a discrepancy in the price, the lower of the two will be used as the sculpture sale price. 

CCAC hopes to purchase one entry to become a permanent display within the community.

It is a requirement to provide a complete Artist Bio, Artist Statement and Sculpture description and story for each piece entered. Please update any old descriptions and CCAC needs current and complete information to print on the brochures to give patrons a better experience when observing your work. Also, please provide complete details of the dimensions and weight of your piece plus how it needs to be secured to our cement bases. (take note of the base sizes we have available in our legal agreement section.) A cement base will be used. You have the option to provide your own base.  

• Artist Bio
• Artist statement is used by the judges to compare the statement to ensure it matches what is submitted. The Statement should not be longer than three sentences.
• Send up to three pictures of what you are submitting for consideration. Do not submit your whole portfolio.
• Entry can vary is size with the smallest pedestal of 18" x 18" and the largest size is 4' x 7'.  Please note the base size with your entry.
• Each artist will need to provide the size of their entry by length, height, width and weight.
• The committee will need a description of how the art will be secured to the concrete base and if a mechanical lift or other specific tools will be needed for installation

All residents of the USA are eligible to apply