Evanston Art and Big Fork Festival 2027

About This Call

The 14th Annual Evanston Art and Big Fork Festival is held on the closed streets of downtown Evanston, Illinois, a city of 75,000 people just north of Chicago and home to Northwestern University. Festival hours are 11am-6pm on Saturday and 10am-5pm on Sunday. Admission is free to the public.

The festival features art in all price points, including paintings, sculpture, photography, jewelry, one-of-a-kind furniture and home accessories, mixed media work, glass, wood, wearable art, and art made from recycled materials. All artwork submitted must be created, designed and made or made under the direct supervision of the accepted artist(s), and all artwork shown must be for sale. Artists keep all their sales income from the show.

Application deadline is January 18, 2027, with notifications of festival status on February 18, 2027. Registration forms and show fees are due March 18, 2027. Booth spaces are 12' wide by 10' deep at $675, or 20' wide by 10' deep at $1,350. Corner fee upgrade is an additional $200. Equipment rental (tents, tent weights, tables, chairs) and additional services are available for additional fees. Amdur Productions staff provides on-site support throughout the festival, including load-in assistance on Saturday morning and overnight security. Artists must be present during all festival hours.

General information

• Artist Sales: Artists keep all their sales income from the show.
• Staff Support: Amdur Productions staff is present on site throughout the entire festival to assist artists from load in to load out.
• Load-in: Artist load-in will be Saturday morning. Artists will be able to drive up to or very close to their booth space and unload their vehicle.
• Equipment Rental: Tents, tent weights, tables and chairs available for rent. Fees apply.
• ProPanel Rental: Limited "pro-panel" walls available for artists on a first come/first served basis. Fees apply.
• Set Up/Take Down Help: Booth set up and take down assistance is available on a scheduled pre-reserved time. Fees apply.
• Hotel Rooms: Amdur Productions works to provide discounts at local hotels for each festival.
• Marketing: A large multi-layered marketing plan supports this show with digital advertisements, radio, posters, street banners, social media, and direct mail postcards.
• Security: Overnight security is provided.

Rules and regulations

1. All artwork submitted to jury, displayed and presented for sale at festivals must be created, designed and made or made under the direct supervision of the accepted artist(s). All artwork shown must be for sale.
2. An artist may apply in more than one category, but not twice in the same category.
3. Jewelry created through fabrication and casting is allowed if the original casts are made by the artist. No commercial casts/molds allowed in production.

Applications are reviewed by jurors viewing images on a computer monitor, scored on a 1-7 scale by a single jury panel that scores applications for all medium categories, with jurors scoring separately from various locations. The jury process is closed to observation. On average, about 250 applications are submitted each year, with about 140 artists selected through jury and about 12 returning artists invited exempt from jury, often based on having received an award.