The 57th Street Art Fair invites you to apply to be part of the momentous 755h anniverary event in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, June 4-5, 2022. The fair features a range of glass, jewelry, leather, photography, printmaking, painting, sculpture, wood, ceramics and fiber art from artists around the country. The jury is seeking high-quality fine art, created entirely by the artist, one piece at a time. Applications must be received by January 15, 2022 to be considered for the jury.

Known as the Midwest’s oldest and juried art fair, the 57th Street Art Fair hosted two successful Virtual Fairs in 2020 and 2021 and attracted almost 200 artists and thousands of attendees in-person in 2019. The upcoming two-day fair is scheduled for June 4 and 5 and headlines Chicago’s busiest festival season. The fair provides an outstanding opportunity for exhibiting artists to sell to thousands of enthusiastic shoppers.

For info on regulation and policies, please visit http://www.57thstreetartfair.org/regulations–policies. Artists interested in applying are asked to visit https://www.zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=9620 and can also apply directly via www.zapplication.org. Artists may apply in up to two categories but must submit a separate application and separate images for each medium. If accepted, the artist may exhibit only in that category for which they have been juried. Artists may not apply more than once in the same category.

A selection committee will jury applications. The jury comprised of professionals working within the art community review a set of three images provided by each artist. The process, materials, dimensions for each image and artist information statements are made available to the jury. Artistic excellence is the sole criteria for selection of exhibitors. The panel is convened to discuss their rankings and the artists with the top scores will receive invitations to exhibit and considered for a coveted Newcomer Award. High-scoring artists who are not initially invited to exhibit will be added to a wait list and offered the opportunity to exhibit should an invited artist decline to participate in the Fair.

No artwork from mass-produced studios, collectives, or items made with commercial kits, molds, patterns, plans or pre-fabricated pieces are allowed. Artists may not exhibit work purchased in part or in entirety from other artists for resale. Artwork must be first and foremost an artistic expression. Utilitarian purposes must be secondary. Only original artwork produced entirely by the exhibiting artist or co-artists’ hands may be exhibited. No reproductions or work produced by artists other than the exhibiting artist are allowed at the 57th Street Art Fair. Work assembled from commercially produced units is also disallowed. Artists may have a small number of discreetly displayed postcards, posters or other promotional material to give customers, but such items may not be sold in the booth. The Fair does allow a limited number of notecards of work being exhibited to be sold. These materials, while allowed, should not take away from the focus on the display of the work itself.

ART MEDIA CATEGORIES
Ceramics
This includes original clay and porcelain work, functional or sculptural. No artwork from mass-produced studios, collectives, or items made with commercial kits, molds, patterns, plans, or prefabricated pieces are allowed. Artists may not exhibit work purchased in part or in entirety from other artists for resale.
Digital Art
Includes any original work in which the original image, or the manipulation of other source material, was executed by the artist using the computer. (Digital photo editing within the confines of what could be done in the darkroom is allowed in the photography category.) Work must be signed and numbered limited editions, using archival papers, inks, and emulsions.
Drawing
Acceptable art includes items created using dry media such as chalk, charcoal, pastels, pencil, wax, crayons, etc. or a fluid medium of ink on archival material. Reproduction prints are not allowed.
Fiber
Unique, one of a kind artwork crafted from fibers, including embroidery, basketry, weaving, and tapestry created by the exhibiting artist alone are accepted. No machine-tooled work, machine-screen printing or other forms of mass production are accepted.
Glass
Functional and sculptural work using kiln forming, blowing, molding or casting as well as cold working processes are permitted. No forms of mass production or reproductions are permitted.
Jewelry
Jewelers must be the designers and hands-on makers of their one of a kind work. No commercial casts, molds, or production studio work. No reproductions.
Leather
One of a kind unique pieces created by the exhibiting artist are welcome. No machine tooled, machine-screen printed or other forms of mass production accepted. No factory-produced wearable items, regardless of additional modification or enhancement by the artist, are allowed. No reproductions.
Mixed Media
This category includes works, both two and three-dimensional, that incorporate more than one type of physical material to produce. Includes non-sculptural work as determined by the artist. Original one of a kind pieces are accepted. No reproductions are permitted.
Painting
Acrylic oil, gouache, and watercolors are accepted in this medium. Reproduction prints are not allowed.
Paper
Flat and three-dimensional, unique, one of a kind works made with paper by the exhibiting artist are accepted. No reproductions are permitted.
Photography
Includes traditional film photography, hand colored images, emulsion transfers, and digital photography that has not been manipulated to achieve results beyond what could be done in a traditional darkroom. Only artist’s original source material is acceptable. Work must be in editions, signed and numbered on archival material and all work displayed in the booth must before sale. Signage of an overtly commercial nature listing the availability of numerous sizes, print surfaces, and/or other framing options is prohibited.
Printmaking
Only hand pulled original monoprint, serigraph, lithograph, etching, woodcut and other relief techniques allowed. Prints must be in limited editions, signed and numbered on archival material.

Sculpture
Unique, one of a kind, art that is three-dimensionally sculptural and original work done in any medium by the exhibiting artist is welcome. No reproductions or mass-produced work.
Wood Objects/Hand-Crafted Furniture
Unique, one of a kind, original hand-tooled, machine worked or carved work made entirely by the exhibiting artist is accepted. No reproductions or mass-produced work.
Collaborative Work and Multiple Applications
Artists may apply up to two different categories, but you must submit a separate application and separate images for each medium. If you apply in more than one category, the artist must have a booth shot if accepted in each category.

If artists apply and are accepted as a team, they may only exhibit the collaborative work they were accepted for. No more than two artists may collaborate on work. Both must be included on and sign the application. Both must be present at check-in and throughout the Art Fair. The collaborative work must have the signature or mark of both collaborators. A description of each member’s involvement in the creation of the artwork must be in the Artist’s Statement. A collaborating Artist is defined as participating in the creation of artwork; not a business manager/partner, spouse, or assistant.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are accepted, you may exhibit only in that category for which you have been juried. Artists may not apply more than once in the same category.

ABOUT 57TH STREET ART FAIR
The 57th Street Art Fair provides a juried venue for juried creators of quality fine art and fine craft to engage with the art-buying public. A community-based event established in 1948 by a local artist and managed by local volunteers, the 57th Street Art Fair showcases artists’ original work entirely designed, created, and produced by exhibiting artists. For more information, please visit http://www.57thstreetartfair.org