Call Description

Event Details

Ada Arts Council is excited to announce The Ada Arts Festival on June 13, 2026! This event will include a Fine Art Juried Show showcasing approximately 100 jury-selected local and regional fine artists and select craft artisans, local community performances, and the area’s finest food trucks.

The event will be held at Ada Township Park, on the corner of Buttrick and Grand River Drive SE in Ada, MI - a beautiful green space that will provide a wonderful backdrop for showcasing fine art.

• When: June 13, 2026
• Time: 10am-5pm
• Where: Ada Township Park: 1116 Buttrick Ave SE, Ada, MI 49301
• What: Ada Arts Festival
• Who: 100 Regional and Local Artists
• Jury Fee: $30
• Booth Fee: $175
• Outdoor festival, open rain or shine
• Setup: June 13, 2026
• Loading in from 6am to 9am
• Move all vehicles to complimentary designated parking by 9am.
• Artists set up and ready to open by 10am. Shoppers come early!
• Assigned spaces: 12' x 12' booth area for 10' x 10' canopy
• Drive-up access for most spaces
• On site complimentary artist-only parking available

Artist Amenities Provided

• Complimentary morning coffee
• Complimentary snacks and water delivered throughout festival
• Roaming booth sitters for artist breaks
• Booth signage and name tags
• Reserved and complimentary artist-only parking
• Extensive festival marketing and promotion
• Post-event survey for feedback

Promotion

The comprehensive campaign includes radio, periodicals, banners, posters, online listings, and social media. Artists are encouraged to join/follow the Ada Arts Council Facebook and Instagram pages and share the event.

Application Requirements

Fees & Payment

• Jury Fee: $30 non-refundable (due with application, credit card only online)
• Booth Fee: $175 (due upon acceptance and not later than 4/15)
• Late payment results in removal from participating list and placement on waiting list
• Sales Tax: Must collect and remit Michigan Sales Tax (6%)
• Refundable Booth Fee: Cancel in writing on or before April 30th for a full booth fee refund minus $50 administration fee

Booth Setup Requirements

• Provide your own white tent, tables, and displays
• MANDATORY Tent Weights: Minimum 50 lbs per leg for standard 10' x 10' canopy (extra weight recommended in wind)
• Weights must be securely attached to each leg and tethered to canopy using ratchet straps or sturdy rope
• Approved weights: Commercial tent weights, concrete-filled PVC pipes/buckets, securely strapped gym weight plates
• NOT allowed: Ground stakes, unsecured/unstable items
• Awnings are permitted if they don't encroach on your neighbor's tent.
• All tent and materials must remain within tent walls (fire department compliance)
• Keep boxes and packing materials hidden from view
• Maintain clean area throughout event and during teardown
• Pack out all trash
• Non-compliance will result in tent removal and potential dismissal
• No early teardown permitted

Display Requirements

• Work displayed must match quality, balance, scope, and volume of application images
• Reproductions must be limited and clearly marked as "reproduction" (not "print").
• Novelty items are allowed but limited to 5% of your total booth space (stickers, buttons, magnets, coasters, notecards)
• Mass-produced, cluttered, or commercial appearances prohibited
• Jewelry requires its own application, it cannot be a novelty item. Artists will be asked to remove jewelry items if they were not accepted into that category

Attendance

• Artist(s) must be present and attend the entire festival
• If collaborative artists share a booth, BOTH must be present
• Booths expected to remain open entire day
• Be prepared to protect work from rain or wind

Utilities

• No electricity provided
• No generators allowed
• No WiFi available

Eligibility Criteria

Artist Qualifications

• Fine art and fine craft disciplines accepted
• Artists may only exhibit works in the media category they were juried into
• Work must match type and quality submitted for jurying
• Non-juried artists' work is not permitted
• Collaborative artists are allowed as long as both are present and the application was submitted as collaborative.

Application & Jury Process

• Applications reviewed and scored based solely on submitted photos and artist statement
• Blind review: Jurors do not see names, websites, or previous exhibition history
• High-quality, current images strongly recommended
• Submit images that are JPEG or JPG files under 5MB with a minimum of 1200 pixels on the longest side.
• Submit 3-4 pictures of your product
• One picture of your booth
• (5 pictures max)
• Work submitted must have been created within the last 2-3 years.
• Notification via email
• Ada Arts Council may reassign your category if another better represents your work
• Waitlist developed based on jury scores
• Waitlisted exhibitors will be contacted if cancellations occur

Media Categories

The Ada Art Festival seeks balanced representation across diverse, quality media types:

Clay - Original functional/non-functional clay and porcelain work (excluding jewelry). No machine-made or mass-produced work. Multiple pieces of the same design must be signed.

Drawing - Works in dry media (chalk, charcoal, pastels, pencil, wax crayon) or fluid media (inks, washes applied by pen or brush).

Fiber - Work from fibers including basketry, embroidery, weaving, leatherwork, tapestry, papermaking (wearable or non-wearable). No machine tooling, machine-screened patterns, or mass production. No factory-produced wearables regardless of modifications.

Glass - Functional or decorative, kiln-formed or crafted by glass blowing, molding, casting, etching, or engraving. No mass production or altered prefabricated objects (e.g., pressed wine bottles). Excludes glass jewelry.

Jewelry - All jewelry from any material (metal, glass, clay, fiber, paper, plastic). No commercial casts, molds, or production studio work. Note: If more than 50% of displayed work is jewelry, apply in this category.

Metalworks - Non-jewelry works crafted from metals such as decorative yard stakes or wall decor. No production studio work.

Mixed Media - Two or three-dimensional works incorporating multiple physical materials. Includes Sculptural and non-sculptural work as defined by artist.

Painting - Works in oils, acrylics, watercolor, etc. Reproductions limited to 25% of booth, properly signed and numbered as archival prints in limited editions, clearly labeled as non-original.

Photography - Prints from artist's original images, processed by artist or under direct supervision. Creative and printing processes must be disclosed.

Printmaking - Hand-manipulated plates, stones, or screens, properly signed and numbered as limited editions. No photocopy or offset reproductions. Creative and printmaking processes must be disclosed.

Sculpture - Three-dimensional original work in any medium, any size. No commercial casts, molds, or production studio work.

Wood - Original hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned, or carved wood works.