Art Fair College Application

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is proud to announce its third annual art fair, taking place from October 3-4, 2026, in Bentonville, Arkansas. This year marks the first time Crystal Bridges will host college artists to display and sell their art. This is an exciting opportunity for emerging college artists to participate in an art fair with decreased barriers to entry and connect with a community of like-minded artists.

College artists from across Arkansas and the surrounding region will be selected to showcase their fine artworks in various mediums, including ceramics, wood, textiles, glass, drawing, painting, mixed media, jewelry, photography, metal/iron, and sculpture.

Crystal Bridges Museum Art Fair
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Event Size
100 professional exhibitors
15,000+ attendees

15 collegiate artists

15 high school teen artists

Timeline
Application Posted (Internal Only): January 2026
Artist Application Deadline: June 5, 2026
Artists Notified: June 16, 2026
Registration Deadline: July 1, 2026

Load In and Artist mingle: October 2, 2026
Art Fair: October 3-4, 2026

Art Fair Hours
Saturday, October 3: 10-6 PM
Sunday, October 4: 10-4 PM

Museum Hours
Friday, October 2: 10 – 8 pm
Saturday, October 3 10 am – 6 pm
Sunday, October 4 10 am – 6 pm

Artists must submit images of 3-5 artworks and a short bio about themselves and their work. All images must be in .jpg, .tiff, or .png, high resolution file.

Registration Fee

If selected, artists are required to pay a $25 registration fee. Scholarships are available. Please inquire as needed.

Eligibility Criteria
The following rules and policies ensure fairness to all participating artists and festival guests. Any failure to comply will result in immediate removal from the CBMAA Art Fair.

Artwork must be handmade, skillfully created, and produced by the artist.

All reproductions must be clearly labeled “REPRODUCTION” or “LIMITED EDITION REPRODUCTION.”

All work must be for sale.

Artists must comply with the logistic rules that will be sent in the Artists Information Packet after acceptance.

Artists must personally host their display booth throughout the CBMAA Art Fair.

Artists who sell out of their work must remain with their booths for the duration of the CBMAA Art Fair.

CBMAA reserves the right to remove any artist from the present or future CBMAA Art Fair for breach of the written participation rules, the laws of the State of Arkansas, or for disruptive/abusive behavior.

Artists are expected to comply with all regulations and respect artistry standards.

Artists may not

Exhibit or sell work by other artists.

Display imported items and/or mass-produced work

Exhibit in any other art fair in Northwest Arkansas the weekend of October 3-4, 2026, if they are participating at the CBMAA Arts Fair.

Display ribbons or awards from any other or previous shows.

The jury is comprised of three art professionals.

The jury will review applications by viewing each artist’s set of images individually on a monitor, without identifying information. A well-balanced show of artistic excellence, quality, creativity, and overall impression of work are the criteria for the selection of exhibiting artists. An additional number of artists may be retained for a waiting list of alternates based on the scores received in their category. Decisions of the jury panel are final. The jury panel review process is closed.

The CBMAA Art Fair committee supports the jury review process and decisions made by the panel and will not, as a normal course of business, circumvent or alter these selections. CBMAA Art Fair committee reserves the right to reject any application if it does not comply with the rules outlined in the application process.

Spaces

College artists will be located inside a large tent with other college artists. Each artist will be provided with one 6-foot rectangular table to display works.

Display materials must be brought by artists.

Artist Amenities:
Booth sitters and volunteer support
Artists’ lounge with snacks and drinks
Assistance with load-in and load-out
Host families are available, for overnight stays