Artist APplications are closed

Application Entry Deadline: Friday, January 31, 2025 11:59PM CST. 

Applications to the 2026 Stevens Point Festival of the Arts will be accepted and processed only through Zapplication.

Jury/Application Fee: $30. Paid through ZAPP and non-refundable. 

Images: 4 images of artwork.  1 booth shot.  5 images total. 

Total number of booths: 50 

Booth Fee: $130 for 10'x10’ booth. A few booths are 6x15' for $130.

• An additional $25 for electricity.
• No corner booth requests
• No double booth requests

Artist Presence: Required 

Contact: Jessie Fritsch - FoA Council Chair 

Phone: 715-252-4125

Email: artfestival@stevenspointfoa.com

Event Address: O'so Brewing Company inside Artist & Fare 1800 Plover Road, Plover, WI 54467

• Saturday, November 1 Aritst Applications open through ZAPP. 
• Saturday, January 31, 2026 : Application Deadline through ZAPP at 11:59PM CST
• February 1-7: Jury Process 
• Friday, February 13, 2026: Jury results with be emailed. Those juried into the festival will be emailed invitation to exhibit at FoA along with the artist contract. 
• Sunday, March 1, 2026: Booth fee and ZAPP acceptance due.
• Sunday, March 1: Cancelation deadline for full refund, minus a $25 processing fee.
• No refunds after March 1, 2026
• Friday, March 20: Booth assignments and festival information email by.
• Saturday, April 11, 2026: Artist check-in and load-in. 3pm-9pm
• Sunday, April 12, 2026: 52nd Stevens Point Area Festival of the Arts

• Saturday check-in and set-up.
• Artist lounge and storage area located near artist booths.
• Booth sitters and energetic volunteers.
• Awards and ribbons: Dick Schneider Best of Show ($500), Brenda Gingles 3-D Award ($250), John Morser 2-D Award ($250). Three Award of Excellence Awards. ($150). All winners are invited back and jury fee paid for in 2027. 
• Complimentary coffee from The Mission Coffee House. 
• Complimentary donuts and fruit from the FoA.
• Breakfast/Lunch is available for purchase at Artist & Fare. 
• Participating artists gallery on website with link to artist’s website.
• Event marketing: including electronic postcard, posters and lobby cards, social media ads, newspapers, signage and banners across Central WI, and great word of mouth promotion.
• Free and ample parking for artists.
• Menards and Metro Market (Grocery Store) located near Artist & Fare. 
• Hotels and Restaurants located near Artist & Fare. 

All artwork must be original and produced by the exhibiting artist or collaborative artists. The FoA maintains high standards of quality in fine art and fine crafts.

Multiple Applications: Artists may only exhibit in the media for which they have been accepted.  A separate application is required for each medium. Artists can submit up to two applications. Only artists accepted in the jewelry category may exhibit jewelry.

Collaborating Artists: If two artists have collaborated in the joint creation and production of the art displayed, they may together show their work in the booth and will be listed jointly in the program, website, and social media.  

$30 Jury Fee. A non-refundable credit card or PayPal purchase, payable through ZAPPlication, must be made with each application. Checks will not be accepted. A booth fee is NOT required at the time of application

Statement: A brief statement of 500 words or less describing the artist’s creative process, materials, and techniques is required in application.

Acceptable Media Categories: 2-D Mixed Media, 3-D Mixed Media, Ceramics, Digital Art, Drawing/Pastels, Fiber, Leather, Glass, Jewelry, Metal, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Stone, and Wood

The FOA council has the right to remove artwork not representative of images presented for jury or that do not abide by the fine art requirements.

• Jewelry made from strung, commercial beads are not considered handmade by the artist and will not be accepted in the FoA.
• Production studio work is prohibited.
• Items bought elsewhere and sold as original art are not allowed.
• Reproduction prints can only make up 25% of the artist’s display.  The council prefers reproductions be placed in clearly marked bins. 

Submit 4 images of artist’s current work and 1 booth shot, for a total of 5 images.

• No names, signatures, or studio names can be on the photos, artwork, or booth shot. This is a blind jury process. Your application will not be viewed if you do not follow this requirement. 
• The quality and presentation of the artist’s booth are very important to us. The purpose of the booth image is to ensure a consistent presentation of the artist's work. The represented images submitted with your application give the jury an idea of their overall presentation at the festival.

The jury consists of three guest jurors. These jurors change each year. The FoA Board/Council is not part of the jury process. 

• Artist’s images, artwork description, and artist’s statement are reviewed by the jurors.
• Each application is given a score 1(low) - 5(high) with 3 eliminated from use. The artists with the highest scores are invited to exhibit.
• Event jurors will view artist images on individual computer monitors over a five day period.
• The FoA is a small show of only 50 artists and we are committed to keeping the show balanced, appealing, and unique to artists, patrons and guests.

• Artists will be emailed their jury status on Friday, February 13, 2026
• Invited: Artists will be emailed an artist contract. They will have until Sunday, March 1, 2026 to accept invitation and pay booth fee. 
• Waitlist: Artists who received high scores but are below the initial cut-off will be placed on the waitlist. Artists on the waitlist will be contacted if space in their respective medium becomes available. Spaces become available upon cancellation.
• Not Invited:  Artists not chosen to exhibit at the 2026 festival will be emailed their jury scores. We ask that artists please respect our decisions and do not request feedback as to why they did not get into the festival.

All work exhibited and sold at the FoA must be original and made by the exhibiting artist. Artists are required to display their artist’s statement with information about materials and techniques in their booth.

Image use for Promotion: Images used in jury process will be used for FoA promotional purposes. Artists must grant permission of use of their jury images for the promotion of the festival on the FoA website and social media. FoA will add watermarks for images used for promotion to prevent image theft.  

Artist Acceptance and booth payment on ZAPP: Due Sunday, March 1, 2026. Exhibiting Artists are required to fill out and sign an artist contract.  Electricity requests, booth sitters, art raffle participation, and optional lunch delivery are all stated on this contract.  

Artist Attendance: Artists must be present during the event and must personally staff their booths. No representatives will be permitted.  

Security: Items left in the booth Saturday night are at the artist’s own risk. Artists must have their own insurance against damage and loss. Artist bears all risk and responsibility for any loss, theft, or damage to their work or other personal property despite cause.  

Booth Set-up: There will be afternoon and evening on Saturday set-up on April 11, 2026, or on Sunday, April 12 at 6:30am. Most booths are 10'x10’ with a few booths 6x15". 

• Artist check-in is located in the atrium near the entrance of Artist & Fare.
• Artist load-in with garage doors are located at multiple area. Load-in map will be provided by Friday, March 20. Vehicles are NOT allowed to drive into the venue. Carts will not be provided.
• All parking is free Artist & Fare. Please respect patron and guest parking the day of the event and all artists and volunteers should park farthest away from the Artist & Fare.
• No tent tops allowed in the indoor venue. 

Booth Fee: $130 The FoA charges a booth fee of $130 that must be paid in full by Sunday, March 1 by credit card or PayPal through ZAPP. No booth refunds will be given after Sunday, March 1, 2026. Cancellation prior to March 1, 2026 will be refunded their booth fee minus a $25 processing fee.  

Booth Size: Most booths are 10'x10' . Some spots must be flexible with a 6x15' booth. 

Additional Fees: An additional $30 for electricity.

Upgrades for electricity must be requested on your contract and paid by March 1. There are only a limited number of spaces in the Atruim. 2025 Award winners are placed in the atrium. 

Floor Protection: All artists using a heavy display system or loading system must take proper precaution to protect the floors Artist & Fare.

Tidy Booth: We ask that artists keep all packaging materially neatly stowed away in their booth. There will be an artist storage area located in the Artist & Fare and O'so Brewery to keep additional packaging, extra bins, and backup work.

How images are viewed by jurors:

Computer monitor

Within a medium category, applications are sorted and viewed by:

Application ID (number generated when application is started by artist)

Jurors score applications using the following scale:

1 - 5

Number of jurors scoring applications:

3

The show organizes the jurors for a:

Single jury panel that scores applications for all medium categories

Jurors score

Separately from various locations

Average number of applications submitted each year:

140

Average number of artists selected from the jury to participate in the event:

52

Average number of exempt from jury artists who are invited to participate in the event:

10

How returning artists are selected:

Received an award

Selected by show director or board

Am I allowed to observe the jury process?

No, the jury process is closed