American Craft Made Baltimore Application

Key dates.

Application Open: April 9, 2025
Information Session: April 30, 2025
Application Deadline: May 30, 2025
Acceptance Notification: August 15, 2025
Move-In Dates: February 18–19, 2026
Event: February 20–22, 2026

 

Booth and application fees.

10×5 ft. booth = $850
10×10 ft. booth = $1500
10×20 ft. booth = $2700
Corner fee = additional $400
Additional booth sizes are available

Application Fees: $45 application fee

All ACC members are eligible to receive a 50% discount on all application fees for American Craft Council events. Can’t find your code? Email [email protected] to retrieve.

All application fees are non-refundable and not transferable. The American Craft Council assumes no responsibility for incomplete or ineligible applications.

 

Noteworthy highlights for 2026 applicants.

• All ACC members are eligible to receive a 50% discount on all application fees for American Craft Council events. Can’t find your code? Email [email protected] to retrieve.
• Location Update: American Craft Made Baltimore will be held in Halls A, B, and C of the Baltimore Convention Center, which connects to the Charles Street Lobby. This was the location of American Craft Made Baltimore in 2024.
• New Medium Category—Printmaking: New this year, the American Craft Council is including a new Printmaking media category.
• Applicant Information Sessions: Both new and returning exhibitors are encouraged to participate in ACC’s virtual information session on April 30, 2025 to learn more about applying for and participating in 2026 American Craft Made Baltimore.
• Volunteer Program: ACC has launched a volunteer program, which provides free booth sitting services and other assistance for artists on site.
• Peer Support Program: New this year, ACC is opening its Peer Support Program available to all exhibitors. Once only available to early career artists, all exhibitors will have the option to opt into the program as either an experienced artist or someone newer to exhibiting who seeks mentorship. Based on preferences, ACC staff will match exhibiting artists who can support each other up to and during the event.
• Artist Networking Opportunities: Building community is a big part of ACC’s mission. As part of American Craft Made, ACC hosts a number of opportunities for artists to connect during the event, including an ACC membership lounge and an evening artist reception and award ceremony.
• Early Career Artist Support: New this year, the American Craft Council is launching a revamped program to support makers who are early in their career. The Early Career Artist Program is a new, comprehensive offering that includes access to discounted “emerging artist” booths at the American Craft Made Baltimore fair.

 

Rules and regulations.

Exhibitors who wish to apply with multiple media are required to submit a separate application for each one. ACC limits the number of applications to three per artist. If an applicant submits an application that includes more than one media category, ACC will ask the applicant to resubmit with only one medium. For example: All jewelry images must be submitted under the medium of Jewelry. If an applicant creates glass vessels and glass jewelry, they must submit them with separate applications and images, as Jewelry is considered a separate medium from the general Glass media category.

 

Eligibility criteria and exhibitor requirements.

• Applicants must reside in the United States or U.S. territories
• Applicants must be 18 years of age or older at the time the event occurs.
• Submitted work must be small-studio production made under the direct supervision of the applicant.
• Direct supervision requires that the artist oversees production work as it occurs and provides constant direction, feedback, and assistance.

ACC reserves the right to require authentication of the production process at any time by requesting documentary evidence.

Artists working in the following media are eligible to apply and participate:

• Basketry
• Ceramics
• Clothing
• Clothing – Accessories
• Fiber and Textiles – Non-Wearable
• Furniture
• Glass
• Jewelry – Enamel
• Jewelry – Metal
• Jewelry – Non-Metal
• Lighting
• Metal
• Mixed Media
• Paper
• Printmaking (new!)
• Wood

ACC does not accept:

• 2D work such as paintings, photographs, or graphics (including etchings and web- or sheet-fed offset printed matter).
  ACC does accept printmaking
• Manufactured work (work made by a machine rather than the human hand)
• Embellished commercially-made objects (e.g., tee shirts, note cards, etc.)
• Works assembled from commercially available kits
• Work that is not produced by the applicant or under the direct supervision of the applicant.
• Apothecary or food products.
• Work that incorporates unsustainable and/or endangered species or materials.

 

Exhibitor requirements.

In addition to meeting all eligibility criteria, applicants must be able to meet the following requirements to participate in American Craft Made Baltimore:

• Exhibitors must present work consistent with the type and quality represented in the application submission.
• All booths must have 8-foot tall “walls” that cover the interior of the entire booth. Exhibitors must either rent pipe and drape or hard walls from the general contractor or provide their own 8-foot “wall” structures. If the artist does not meet this requirement, drape will be provided at the artist’s expense.
• Exhibitors must be present for the duration of the event. Exhibitors’ employees or sales representatives may not substitute for the exhibitor.
• Exhibitors must have a valid state sales tax permit from each state in which they are participating. Exhibitors are responsible for collecting and reporting sales tax where applicable.

Booth fees include the following:

• Floor space rental
• Booth sign
• Ability to unload and load vehicles (in a union contracted convention center)
• Artist support calls led by ACC staff
• Access to ACC’s Peer Support Program
• Booth sitting services
• Wi-Fi (limited to checking emails and completing sales transactions)
• Exhibitor and assistant badges
• Stock storage
• 24-hour security
• Listing in the printed event guide available on-site
• Listing on the event page on craftcouncil.org
• Free and discounted guest passes
• Digital promotional kit

Booth fees DO NOT include:

• Furnishings such as pipe and drape, carpet, shipping, etc.
• Electricity
• Empty crate removal and storage
• Shipping and dryage

 

Jury details.

Average number of applications submitted each year: 600
Average number of artists selected from the jury to participate in the event: 400
Average number of exempt from jury artists who are invited to participate in the event: 5
Vendors that are excluded/ineligible: Food and beverage, painting, photography, drawing.
How images are viewed by jurors: Computer monitor
Within a medium category, applications are sorted and viewed by: Random order
Jurors score applications using the following scale: 1 – 7
Number of jurors scoring applications: 4

The show organizes the jurors for a single jury panel that scores applications for all medium categories. The jurors score separately from various locations and the jury process is closed to observation.

 

Refund policy.

If an artist withdraws (cancels) from the event, all fees are nonrefundable except in a handful of cases (please see below).

Exceptions for refunds:

• Bodily harm resulting in an inability to exhibit
• Unexpected death in the family/close relations
• Act of god (accidents, natural disaster)
• Testing positive for coronavirus
• All cancellations must be made in writing to ACC event staff.