DEADLINE: to March 3, 2019.

Open Studios Boulder is excited to announce the third annual Boulder Plein Air Festival — a week-long celebration of remarkable landscapes, scenic cityscapes, unique workshops, and wonderful free events from April 28th through May 5th,2019. We invite you to apply to be one of up to 30 juried artists in the festival — making art on location in beautiful Boulder County, Colorado.

We have created this event to benefit artists. Fees collected from applications and commissions from sales during the Festival will help to pay for the costs to manage Festival events, host the Festival exhibit in downtown Boulder, as and provide award money and other costs associated with putting on the festival.

Application fee is $50/artist. There are no additional fees for juried artists to participate in the Festival.

Commission split for the Festival: Open Studios will retain a 40% commission on sales of art created during and for the Festival, April 28 - May 5, 2019). Artists will receive 60% of their art sales, to be paid no later than May 15, 2019 (ten days after the close of the Festival). 

Artists who would like to participate in Festival paint-outs may do so without applying to be Juried and will be referred to as "Community Artists." The daily paint-out participation fee for Community Artists is $35/artist/day. Artists who register for three or more paint-outs will pay only $25 per paint out.

JURIED ARTIST participation includes: 

-Features in the festival printed catalog (circulation c.8,000, available to the public on April 8, 2019),

-Features in social media posts received by our extensive following on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter,

-Features in email marketing from Open Studios to our targeted list of nearly 4,000 art lovers in Colorado’s Front Range,

-Eligibility for numerous awards and prize money in BPAF 2019,

-Boxed lunch available at all scheduled paint-outs during the week of the Festival,

-Hospitality at all scheduled paint-outs during the week of the Festival (snacks, water, sunscreen, a covered spot to take a break, etc.),

“Spot sitting” while artists take a break, use the rest room, etc. during paint outs and quick draw.

Daily (non-juried) artist participation:

The public is welcome to participate in the Plein Air Festival at one or more of the scheduled paint-outs and exhibit their work at the final Festival exhibit. Participation as a non-juried artist does not require an application. Non-juried artists can register for paint outs on the BPAF website in advance or on-site at the paint-outs.

Participation fees are $35/day. If an artist registers for 3 or more paint-outs in advance, the fee will be reduced to $25/paint-out.

Daily participation fees include:

Boxed lunch each day,

On-site hospitality (snacks, water, sunscreen, a covered spot to take a break, etc.)

“Spot-sitting” while artists take a break, use the rest room, etc. (must text us to let us know!)

Artists’ Timeline

Application: December 20 - March 3 (closes at midnight): Application open through CallforEntry.org.

March 8, 2019: Jury process completed and invitees determined.

March 9-10: Notification of acceptance/rejection/waitlist.

March 15: Signed contract due to Open Studios.

March 16: Waitlist artists offered placement as invited artists opt out.

March 18-20: Artist review of catalog & website

March 25: Catalog delivery to printer

April 8: Printed catalog released

Sunday, April 28: Juried Artist Check-in

Friday, May 3, 9am - NOON: Art drop off at Rembrandt Yard Gallery

Friday, May 3, 6 – 9:00pm: Exhibit Reception, RY Gallery

Saturday and Sunday, May 4 & 5, 11am - 5pm: Exhibit open to the public

Sunday, 5pm: Art pick-up

-----

Juried Artists can expect from Open Studios:

• An Artist Handbook of Boulder Plein Air Festival 2019 procedures and deadlines made available on-line.
• Review of their information in printed catalog and website before marketing to the public.
• Art images displayed on website pages and printed catalog to be the art they submit on the application. We will make every effort to include artists’ preferred images, but due to design requirements, we might need to choose another image.
• Artist listings in printed catalog and website to be available for review by March 15.
• Any changes to artists’ listings in printed catalog or on website to be completed by March 25 (provided we are made aware of changes by March 18).
• Printed catalog to be available by April 8.
• Open Studios will make every effort to promote individual juried artists through social media and email marketing as well as printed marketing (catalog and ads). Artists can help OS do this by letting us know where they will be painting during the festival and tagging Open Studios (@openstudiosboulder) on all social media posts.            

Open Studios expects from Juried Artists:

• Read all information about procedures and deadlines related to the lead-up to and week-of the BPAF. Please make note of all information available in the application and Artist Handbook.
• Sign the agreement and receipt and understanding of Artist Handbook and return by deadline (March 15)
• Inform us of any changes in contact information as soon as possible.
• Keep track of and follow deadlines set out in the Handbook and added to the timeline as they become available.
• Review information on the website and in the printed catalog within the time specified and respond to Open Studios with any changes by the deadline.
• Participate in the BPAF by working on-site, en plein air, in Boulder County for at least 4 of the 6 days of the festival.
• Participate in the Quick Draw on the Pearl Street Mall during the festival.
• Create at least 7 pieces during the festival week for the exhibit.
• Tag Open Studios (@openstudiosboulder) and use #BPAF2019 in social media postings about their participation in the Festival.
• When choosing your images for the application, please order your preferred image first. This is the image we will use (unless changes are necessary to accommodate graphic design) for publicity for the BPAF when promoting individual artists and the Festival as a whole.

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria