Prospectus

Overview

The American Craft Council’s four annual, juried craft shows convene a vibrant community of more than 1,500 of the country’s most talented craft artists – ranging from those just beginning their careers to masters in the field. Exhibiting artists represent the broad aesthetic, technical, and material diversity of the craft field, from age-old traditions to cutting-edge technologies.

We hope you will join us for what promises to be a spectacular season showcasing the highest quality craft in the country.

Attendance and sales

American Craft Shows collectively reach nearly 50,000 craft enthusiasts and collectors in Baltimore, Atlanta, St. Paul, and San Francisco. Our attendees are a well-educated and design-savvy audience that appreciates and invests in craft. Annual artists’ sales total more than $14.4 million.

Marketing support

ACC is dedicated to reaching broad and diverse audiences for our shows. Our public relations firms have a pulse on the local marketplace in each of our show cities and annually obtain 286 million media impressions (valued at more than $2.6 million) in national, regional, and local media.

We also feature our artists’ work on the ACC website, in digital and print ads, on social media, in special show preview sections of American Craft magazine, in show directories, and on street and bus banners, billboards, and more.

Our special show programs, Make Room and Style Slam, connect artists with professionals in the interior design and fashion industries while helping show attendees better understand how to incorporate craft into their homes and wardrobes. Our Let’s Make Inspiration Stations bring the process of making right onto the show floor, giving attendees a glimpse of how the handcrafted objects at the show are created. Participation in these programs has also garnered media coverage, wholesale orders, and commissioning opportunities for our artists.

ACC also provides social media toolkits, tutorials, and mentors to make it easy for our artists to help promote their own businesses and the shows as a whole. Free and discounted passes are provided so you can welcome new and returning customers.

GRANT OPPORTUNITY

Are you an emerging fiber artist or new to the American Craft Shows? We’re excited to announce the Randall Darwall Fiber Grant, a new opportunity created in honor of a longtime ACC show artist, to help you participate in our marketplace.

Questions?

For questions about the show or application process, please email our staff at shows@craftcouncil.org.

Applications and eligibility

We encourage you to apply if you produce original work in any of the following categories: basketry, ceramics, clothing and accessories, decorative fiber, furniture and lighting, glass, jewelry, kaleidoscopes, leather, metal, mixed media, musical instruments, paper, stone, toys and puzzles, and wood.

Deadline: August 15, 2018

Late deadline: August 19, 2018. A $25 fee will apply.

Jury results will be emailed to applicants in late September 2018.

New and emerging artists

ACC encourages new and emerging artists to apply. An artist may choose to check this box on the application if he/she has not exhibited in any Council show. These exhibitors, if accepted, receive special signage and are promoted through marketing efforts as “New Artist.”

We also have an emerging artists program – now in its fifth year – that provides lower booth fees, smaller exhibiting spaces, and more extensive exhibitor support. NOTE: The application process for the emerging artists program is separate from that for traditional booths. Visit craftcouncil.org/hippop to learn more and apply.

What is eligible?

Three-dimensional, handmade craft that meets these standard statements: 3D printed work is eligible; however, all work, printing, and design must be executed by the artist or printed under the direct supervision of the artist. No production work by third-party printers will be allowed.
Small-studio production work made under the direct supervision of the applicant. Direct supervision requires that the artist oversees production work as it occurs and provides constant direction, feedback, and assistance. All work must be produced in the United States or Canada. ACC reserves the right to require authentication of the production process at any time during the application and exhibition process.

What is not eligible?

Commercially manufactured art
Work assembled (wholly or in part) from commercially available kits. Such items, exhibits, and/or exhibitors may be removed from the show without prior notification and/or refund of booth fee.
Two-dimensional art such as paintings, prints, or photographs
Mixed media work that uses paint and canvas as its primary medium
Screen-printed material
Etchings or web- or sheet-fed offset printed work
Works that incorporates materials acquired from the killing of endangered species
Elephant/mammoth ivory (this includes fossilized ivory)
Dried or silk flower arrangements
Soaps
Bonsai
Embellished commercially-made objects (such as T-shirts, note cards, etc.)

The Council’s decision is final with regard to acceptability of exhibitors’ work.

Standards

To ensure a high level of quality in the work exhibited in American Craft Council shows, each jury is instructed to adhere to these guidelines in making decisions:

Work is handmade and reflects excellence and the unique vision of its maker
Work is well-conceived and skillfully executed without technical faults
All work must be the design of the applicant and made in the United States or Canada by the applicant or under his/her direct supervision.

Collaboration

Administrative requirements dictate that there is one primary artist listed on each application, as the shows are organized by artist names. Artists may also add secondary collaborative partners. This means they will be listed side-by-side in the directory, booth signs, etc. unless the primary artist directs us otherwise. The primary artist or collaborative partners must be present at the show.
Artists working together may apply as one if they collaborate on every piece. If accepted, they may exhibit only pieces that are part of the collaboration.
Secondary collaborative artists are defined as being an integral part of the design and making of the work.
If two artists have unrelated work, operate separate businesses, and wish to share a booth space, both artists must submit images in their respective medium categories and be accepted individually. The minimum shared booth size for two artists is 10 x 15 ft. For three artists, it’s 10 x 20 ft.

General policies

The Council reserves the right to:

Invite up to 20 percent of the artists at each of our shows, to ensure balance in the show
Refuse submissions that fail to meet the high level of quality as stated in the standards statement
Require removal of objects at a show that are inconsistent with the application submission. Exhibitors must display work consistent with the type and quality represented in their submission.
Remove an artist from the show if all work is not the design of the applicant and made in the United States or Canada by the applicant or under his/her direct supervision
Cancel any show that does not receive sufficient, appropriate applications
Retain all fees for image submissions, show applications, space reservations, and booths as these fees are non-refundable. Exceptions to this policy may be considered in extraordinary circumstances. Cancellation by the exhibitor will result in forfeiture of all fees paid up to the date of cancellation.

How to apply

Submit five digital images to the annual jury by midnight (PST) August 15, 2018, via Juried Art Services, the online application system (juriedartservices.com) Each application will be given one jury score for all 2019 shows.
We encourage returning applicants to submit at least two to three images of new work. Marketing and promotional efforts focus on new pieces.
Mark the checkbox for each show you would like to apply your 2019 score to

Image requirements and specifications

The image that is submitted must be an accurate representation of the object as it was originally photographed. Acceptable manipulations include: size of the file, background, lighting, shadows, contrast, color correction, and/or adjustments that do not affect the object itself.

Professional photography is highly recommended as it best highlights the quality of your work for jurying and allows us to use your images for show marketing purposes. We suggest using a white background in your images. ACC retains the right to use application images in show marketing materials, including social media.

Submitted images should be high resolution (a minimum of 300 dpi at 5 x 7 in.). Juried Art Services requires that images be be between 1400 and 2000 pixels on the longest side. Refer to the help menu on the Juried Art Services website and review the application checklist. Contact Juried Art Services directly for technical assistance.

Artist information

All information collected in the application is used in show directories and online artist listings (name, secondary artist name(s), company name, city, state, website URL, and/or email address). Please review this information carefully for accuracy before submitting your application. Your information will be published as entered.

Acceptance criteria
Applicants are asked to classify their work by identifying the principal material in which they work (ceramic, fiber, glass, metal, etc.) or the primary type of work they create (furniture and lighting, jewelry, etc.). This is how work will be scored and listed in the show directories, etc. ACC retains the right to reclassify applications if the category selected on the application does not fit the type of work pictured.

Jewelry applications - IMPORTANT

Jewelry images must all be submitted under jewelry. Do not include jewelry images in any other category submission, or they will be removed.
Any artist who wishes to exhibit jewelry, as well as other types of work, must submit separate applications in the appropriate categories.

Multiple bodies of work

If an artist makes two distinct bodies of work in the same material, he/she may wish to submit a separate application for each. Applicants may not submit the same image more than once in the same category.
A single application representing multiple bodies of work in the same material must proportionately reflect what the artist intends to exhibit at the show. For example, if one type of work predominates in the artist’s display, it must predominate in the files submitted. The Council reserves the right to enforce the same proportion in your display.
If an artist wishes to apply with more than one application, he/she must apply with separate online application IDs, digital images, and application fees.
If there are multiple applications and only one is accepted, only work represented in that application may be exhibited. If both are accepted, the work may be exhibited in any proportion.

Invited vs. wait-listed

If one application is accepted and another is wait-listed, the wait-listed work may not represent more than one-third of the entire booth. Once the artist’s number on the wait list is reached, the artist may include the wait-listed work in his/her booth in any proportion.

Jury categories

Each application will be grouped into one of four jury categories. A separate jury of seven people will score each of those four categories. Each jury will consist of four current exhibitors and three art professionals. Jurors will review and score applicants remotely for one week in August.

Clothing and wearable accessories
Jewelry
Glass and ceramics – functional or sculptural work for interiors/exteriors
All other media – functional or sculptural work for interiors/exteriors

Jury process

When scoring applications, jurors consider the images and their descriptions. All other application information is used for administrative purposes only.
Average jury scores are tabulated by the digital jury system to produce a single score, which is applied to each show.
Invitations to exhibit are issued to artists in each material classification with the highest scores.
A wait list in each media is created from the scores immediately following those invited to exhibit. The Council reserves the right to balance its shows through artists on the waitlist.
Individual scores are not released, and the Council does not provide an explanation of why an artist’s submission was or was not accepted.

Deadlines

· Application deadline for 2019 shows is August 15, 2018, at midnight (PST)

· The late application deadline for 2018 shows is August 19, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. (PST). A $25 late fee will apply for all applications received August 11 – 17.

· Jury results for all shows will be emailed to show applicants in late September 2018.

Application fees

· $15 processing and handling fee for each set of images

· $30 application fee for each show you would like those images applied to

· All application fees are non-refundable and are not transferable. The Council assumes no responsibility for the receipt of incomplete applications.

· $25 late fee will apply for all applications received between August 11 – 17

Booth fees

Booth fees vary by show location and cover the following:

· Space rental

· Booth sign

· Exhibitor badge plus one assistant badge

· Stock storage and empty crate removal and storage

· Listing in print show directory

· Listing on show website

· Eight free guest passes

· Discounted guest passes for public days

· National, regional, and local advertising campaigns

· Social media kit for artists

· Social media campaigns

Booth fees DO NOT cover:

· Ancillary decorator services such as pipe and drape, carpet, shipping, etc.

· Electricity (exception: San Francisco show)

· Exhibitors are responsible for having the outside and back of their booths visually presentable, as these are visible from the adjoining booths. Exhibitors must provide their own booth or rent a booth from the show decorator.

Exhibitor Terms and Conditions

Accepted exhibitors must agree to abide by the general terms and conditions of the American Craft Shows below.

Exhibitors must be full-time residents of the United States or Canada.
Exhibitors must be professional, capable of producing work of consistent quality, and responsible for fulfilling orders obtained at a Council show.
All work in Council shows must be original and created by the exhibitor or under the exhibitor’s direct supervision. Exhibitors must display only their own work, not work made by others.
All work must be original and handmade in the United States or Canada. Small studio production work under the direct supervision of the applicant is acceptable.
Exhibitors must present work consistent with the type and quality represented in the application submission. In addition, work of inferior quality or inordinate proportions of work not represented in the image submission are not permitted.
Exhibitors must attend their work in person for the duration of the show. Exhibitors’ employees may not substitute for the exhibitor. Sales representatives are never permitted.
Booth displays must remain intact until the show ends.
Exhibitors must be current members of the American Craft Council at the time they exhibit in a Council show.
Exhibitors must have a valid state sales tax permit from each state in which they are participating in a Council show. Exhibitors are responsible for collecting and reporting sales tax where applicable.

Awards of Excellence

The Awards of Excellence recognize as many as 18 participating artists every year at the American Craft Shows in Baltimore, Atlanta, St. Paul, and San Francisco. Awarded by a juror, the Awards of Excellence are given in recognition of excellence in quality of work or for individual booth design. Awardees receive $500 and automatic eligibility to exhibit at that show in the following show season.

An additional Award of Excellence is presented to a participating Hip Pop artist at each show. Recipients receive automatic eligibility to exhibit at that show in the following show season and a discount of up to $550 on their booth.

In addition to the awards for individual work and booth design, ACC is proud to partner with the following organizations, who hand out their own awards of excellence at the Baltimore show: the Collectors of Wood Art, the James Renwick Alliance, and the Society of North American Goldsmiths. Recipients of each award receive a prize of $500 and automatic eligibility to exhibit at that show in the following show season.