September 15 & 16
Park Forest, Illinois
Downtown
100 Artists
Deadline: June 30
The 57th Annual Park Forest Art Fair will be held on Saturday, September 15 and Sunday, September 16 in downtown Park Forest. Hosted by the Tall Grass Arts Association, this is the second, oldest juried fair in the Chicagoland region. Known as an exceptionally artist-friendly fair, artists from all over the country display works in a variety of media from paintings and photographs to jewelry, sculpture, wood, glass and fiber arts.
Artists typically report that fair-attendees do not simply walk past booths but stop to chat with the artists, as well as purchasing their artworks. Several artists have exhibited continually for over three decades. Each year, they are joined by new artists. In 2011, several second generation artists joined their artist-parents at the fair. Tall Grass provides breakfast and dinner for artists on Saturday and a variety of prizes. The fair features musical entertainment all day, both days, many art-related activities for children and food vendors. The fair is advertised on WFMT and WBEZ radio during prime drive time, local newspapers and social media such as Facebook and other websites.
The application for jurying can be downloaded from the Tall Grass Arts website at www.tallgrassarts.org. Once juried, artists need not jury again but will automatically be invited to return to exhibit at the fair.
For additional information, contact the gallery at (708) 748-3377, contact fair chairperson Janet Muchnik at jmuchnik@sbcglobal.net, check the Tall Grass Facebook page or website.
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Comments
Can anyone comment on the sales at the Park Forest IL, downtown art show. Rolling acceptances vs. a deadline make me think the quality may not be as high as some other shows. Comments telling that the customers stop and talk to the artists don't tell me how good the sales are. Please help with more current feedback.
Thanks for the reminder about the booth fee. It is $175, probably one of the lower fees in the Chicagoland region, especially for an art fair that is 57 years old, the second oldest juried fair in Chicagoland and extremely artist-friendly. The jurying is open from January to the end of June. We hold a jury several times within that period so people can make a commitment early. There is no fear of being closed out of participating. We use a large Village Green and main street in DownTown Park Forest for the event. The best thing about the fair, as reported by artists, is that the attendees stop and talk to the artists. Saturday tends to be looking day. Sunday tends to be shopping day. It's a lovely fair. Janet Muchnik, President of Tall Grass Arts Association.
Also, according to their information, they have a rolling jurying system. So they have been filling slots since February. How does this work? And is it worth it for an artist to send off an application at this late date. I hadn't heard about Tall Grass before and wondered.
I downloaded the application, which discloses a $35 jury fee, but I can find nothing about the booth fee. Before I apply, I need to know if I can afford to be accepted! Anyone on this list know the answer?