American Craft Fest St. Paul Application

Details about applying.

Photo requirements.

Applicants must submit five clear images of their work, and ACC encourages the applicant to submit one booth image in addition to the five. Images must be high-resolution files (.jpg, .tiff, or .png) with a resolution of 72–300 ppi and must be representative of the body of work that will be exhibited at the event. Ideally, images must be 1400 px on the longest side. The maximum file size is 5 MB. For more details on image requirements and uploading files, please visit this Zapplication page. Images, bio, and Q&A within the application may be used by the ACC Marketing Department to promote artists, artist’s work, and/or American Craft Fest.

*The ACC is not a blind jury; there is no need to omit names, logos, or other indicators of who the applicant is in their images.

*The American Craft Fest application encourages a booth image, but it is not required. If the applicant does not have one readily available, ACC encourages them to create a mock booth for a photo. Alternatively, the applicant may submit an additional product image as a suitable substitute.

Artist statement + additional information.

Applicants must submit a short (600 characters or less) artist statement. The goal of writing this statement is to provide the jury with context between the images the applicant is submitting and their identity as an artist. This should convey a narrative of who the applicant is as a maker, what they make, and how they make it. The artist statement should draw the jury into your work. If accepted into the fair, this statement may be used by the ACC marketing department to promote artists, artists’ work, and/or American Craft Fest.

*The ACC is not a blind jury; there is no need to omit names or other indicators of who the applicant is in their statement. ACC recommends writing in the first person for the statement and avoiding academic language.

Early Career Artist Program.

The American Craft Council’s Early Career Artist Program provides artists with the resources they need to professionalize their passion. Building on the benefits of ACC membership, which includes access to real-time and recorded professional development workshops, discounted application fees, peer-to-peer mentorship, and opportunities to access exclusive grants.

*Participation in our Early Career Artist Program is not required for acceptance into American Craft Fest, although it is preferred. Artists in ACC’s Early Career Artist Program receive priority access to American Craft Fest participation.

Jury process.

Applicants will be selected to participate in the 2026 American Craft Fest St.Paul by a jury of American Craft Council (ACC) staff. Jurors individually score each application based on work samples, application answers, quality of product images, brand, composition, and command of medium and technique.

Each factor, listed below, is graded on a scale from one (low) to seven (high).

• Imagery, Brand, Originality: clear and concise application images. The work should showcase the artist’s individual voice, feature high-quality images, and form a cohesive body of work.
• Craftsmanship, Composition, Command of Medium and Technique: The work submitted demonstrates command of the medium and a commitment to craftsmanship. The artwork’s compositional elements flow together and form a cohesive body of work.
• Presentation, Storytelling, Narrative: Through the artist statement and submitted images, the applicant understands and communicates their work through a clear and concise narrative, and can provide insightful context for their body of work or approach to craft.

Once final jury scores are submitted and compiled, artists will be notified of the results and may be invited to participate or be placed on a waitlist based on the scores of their work and curatorial needs for a balanced show. Applicants who wish to apply for multiple mediums must submit an application for each medium, with a limit of three applications per artist.

Waitlist policy.

Artists are assigned wait list numbers by jury score and category. ACC will begin inviting artists from the waitlist as spaces open and will continue to invite waitlisted artists up to a week before the show as spaces open in their categories. ACC cannot predict when or if a space in a category will become available or guarantee that a waitlisted artist will receive their first choice of location.

When a waitlist space becomes available, ACC will call and leave a message in addition to sending an email. Applicants have 48 hours (Monday through Friday) to respond whether they would like to take the space or not.

If an artist submits multiple applications, is accepted under one of them, and is waitlisted for the others, the waitlisted work may not represent more than one-third of the booth under the accepted application. However, if the artist’s number on the waitlist is reached, the artist may choose to include the waitlisted work in any proportion.

Event marketing.

The American Craft Council promotes American Craft Fest regionally and nationwide through digital marketing, social media, email marketing, direct mail, and public relations activities. Particular emphasis is placed on promotion within the Twin Cities area.