About the Festival
The Des Moines Arts Festival is one of the world's most respected juried art festivals, hosting approximately 195 artists in a beautiful urban street setting surrounding the 4.4 acres of John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park and the Krause Gateway Center designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Located downtown on Locust Street and Grand Avenue between 16th and 10th Streets, the outdoor festival attracts more than 150,000 people each year. The festival is a 16-time winner of the Grand Pinnacle Award from the International Festivals and Events Association.
Artists retain 100% of their sales. Booth space is 10'x10' with a $625 fee (additional $170 for corner booths; limited Double-DEEP booths at $1,120 available). Electric is included. The application fee is $45 (November 2 – January 17) or $55 (January 18-24). Applications require 4 images of work plus 1 booth image; images may not include identifiers. All exhibiting artists are required to use a professional-grade white tent and provide proof of general liability insurance with minimum $2,000,000 coverage naming the festival as additional insured.
Awards
- $1,500 for Best of Show
- Three Juror Awards of $1,000 each
- Up to five Awards of Excellence at $1,000 each
The festival offers $10,500 in cash awards total.
Artist Benefits
- Comprehensive and aggressive marketing and media campaign spotlighting artists and their original artwork
- Top-notch & experienced Artist Relations Volunteer Team
- Booth sitters, complimentary water, and a snack wagon delivered throughout the day
- Favorable hotel rates at downtown hotels within walking distance of the festival site
- Responsive online artist gallery and high-octane social media campaign
- Access to indoor air-conditioned restroom facilities
- Exclusive "Express Lane" concessions
- 24-hour security and Des Moines police
- Electricity included in the booth fee
- Art Bucks program (gift certificates sold in advance of the festival exclusively for artwork)
- Leisurely and accessible set-up
- Booth amenities include at least 121 sf, street location, and storage
Emerging Iowa Artist Program (EIA)
Iowa residents currently enrolled in or recently graduated (within one year) from a university, college or art school anywhere in the U.S. are eligible to apply to the Emerging Iowa Artists (EIA) program. Emerging Iowa Artists do not pay a booth fee and exhibit under a festival-provided tent. The application fee is also waived as long as the applicant uses the provided coupon code (EIA2027) when submitting their application. All applicants are required to provide proof of residency and enrollment at the time of application.
Emerging Artist Program
Unlike the Emerging Iowa Artist Program, the Emerging Artist program is for artists at any stage in life who are embarking on a career in the art fair industry. Artists must have less than three years of experience. Use coupon code ImNew2027 at checkout for a lower application fee. Upon acceptance, Emerging Artists will pay a lower booth fee of $350 (and may not occupy a corner).
Jury Process
The jury is comprised of five (5) individuals: two invited from the pool of exempt artists and three professionals. Round One is a complete overview of all applicants, with each artist's set of images projected for eight seconds. Round Two is the first scoring round, each artist's images are projected while the artist's statement is read aloud, and the jury scores 1 through 7 (no 4). Round Three removes all artists scoring below the median, then re-scores the remainder by a show of hands. Round Four and beyond continue this process until the show is balanced.
Image Requirements
- Submit five (5) images: four (4) images of individual pieces of work created exclusively by the applying artist(s), plus one (1) booth image
- Images of individual work may not include a signature or name
- Booth image must show the entire booth, outdoors, with no people or animals, and no identifying marks
Important Dates
- November 2, 2026 — Application Available
- January 17, 2027 — Application Soft Deadline
- January 24, 2027, at midnight CST — Application Hard Deadline
- February 10-12, 2027 — In-Person Projection Jury in Des Moines, IA
- March 4, 2027 — Notifications Emailed (following REVEAL)
- March 31, 2027 — Deadline to confirm participation and submit the Artist Agreement and Booth fee
- May 1, 2027 — Booth fee refund deadline
Rules
All work exhibited must be original art produced by the exhibiting artist(s). Work done by a production studio, in classes or workshops, "Buy-sell" and/or imports, work from kits, commercial designs, or work generated exclusively by Artificial Intelligence is prohibited. All artists associated with the juried work must be present to exhibit.