General Info
The 31st Annual South Portland Art in the Park Show & Sale will be held Saturday, August 14, 2010 in Mill Creek Park from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Artists may check in starting at 7:00 a.m.
Art in the Park is open to all artists who wish to exhibit original paintings, drawings, photographs and prints. There will be a Judges’ Cash Award Competition and Sponsor's Choice selections as described below. All exhibitors, regardless of whether they enter the Judges’ Cash Award Competition or designate works as Sponsor’s Choice selections, must submit an official entry form and pay the $65 entry fee. If you cancel before August 1, you will be refunded $40; Art in the Park will retain the $15 advertising fee and a $10 administrative fee. If you cancel on or after August 1, you will be refunded $40 only if another artist registers for your spot.
The artists’ section of the park will accommodate 185 artists while allowing plenty of room for relaxed viewing by the public. Therefore, only the first 185 applicants will be accepted. A reserve list may be established. Artists submitting entries after June 30, 2010 will not be listed in the festival brochure.
Space Assignments
Applicants will be assigned spaces as completed applications are received. If you wish placement next to another artist you must send your applications and fees together. We will not hold spaces open. Both applications must be sent in and the fees paid together to assure that you get adjoining spaces.
Because of changes in grounds keeping, the actual park layout may change from year to year. Your location last year may be different this year even though your number remains the same. Art in the Park will accommodate requests for particular sites if the site is still available at the time the request is received.
Please let us know if accommodations are needed for a disability.
Parking
Parking inside of the park grounds during show hours will not be permitted. You may access the park to unload if your location is along the Bandstand side of the pond, but you must exit to one of the parking areas before 9 a.m. Plan to enter the park for unloading by way of a paved driveway off Broadway or Cottage Road. Art in the Park discourages artists from leaving before 5 p.m., as the public perceives the show is closing, decreasing foot traffic for other artists. No cars will be permitted back in the park for tear-down before 5 p.m.
Type of work accepted
All paintings, drawings, prints and photographs are acceptable for exhibition; however, only original works that are framed or otherwise ready to hang are permitted in the Judges’ Cash Award Competition. If there is any question about the admissibility of a certain work, the Committee will base its judgment solely on whether the work meets the admissibility criteria as described, is prepared for hanging and is ready for a purchaser to display. The Committee may, in its discretion, permit no more than 6 sites to be assigned to artists displaying and selling art that does not meet the criteria as described, if it finds that the art proposed for the site is likely to enhance the show by providing a different viewing experience for the public and is not likely to detract from the general character of the show as a display of fine art. The Committee will not permit crafts or “paint by number” paintings in the show for competition or display. Block print, woodcuts or numbered prints are not acceptable in the Judges' Cash Award Competition; however, artists are encouraged to exhibit such materials at their stands. All work entered must be your own original work and not a commercially produced item for which you are acting as sales agent. Artists whose work generally meets the permitted criteria may also display and sell works other than those generally permitted as long as they do not take up more than six (6) SF of display space.
If you need to cancel
In the event you register and are accepted but find that you cannot be here to exhibit, please inform us immediately. You may not give your space to another artist. If you cancel before August 1, you will be refunded $40 of your $65 registration fee. Art in the Park will retain the $15 advertising fee and a $10 administrative fee.
Reserve List
The Committee reserves the right to create a reserve list. Those artists placed on a list will be so notified and their numerical placement indicated. Please provide a phone number or an e-mail address where you or your representative can be reached during normal business hours. Vacancies may be filled through our ability to contact the applicant or the representative by telephone or e-mail over a reasonable time period – usually one (1) business day.
Confirmation of Registration
You will receive a postcard acknowledging receipt of your registration and your site number within two weeks of its receipt. Three weeks prior to the event you will receive final instructions, two numbered stickers which you must affix to your entries in the Sponsor's Choice Competition to be viewed at your stand, and a sticker for the Judges’ Cash Award Competition at the Judges’ Tent.
You are encouraged to set up easels to sketch or paint or do quick portraits. This benefits the festival and will add to the atmosphere.
Storm Delay or Cancellation
In the event rain is predicted for all day Saturday, the festival will be held on the following day, Sunday, August 15, and the same rules will apply. If it rains on Sunday as well, the festival will be cancelled until next year and $40 of the registration fees will be returned. Mist, fog, and scattered showers will not result in delay or cancellation.
Display Guidelines
Every applicant must exhibit a minimum of five (5) pieces of artwork. Except for Sponsors’ Choice and Judges’ Cash Prize Competition submissions, works displayed do not have to be framed or otherwise ready to hang. Other than Sponsor’s Choice selections, they may or may not be offered for sale. Collection and payment for sales and other taxes will be the sole responsibility of the artist.
The entry you submit for judging is only for the cash prizes. You will receive a sticker to be attached to the work before bringing it to the Judges’ Tent. Sponsor’s Choice selections will be made at your stand. Sponsor’s Choice Sponsors pay $400 in advance for their purchases. Each Sponsor’s Choice selection designated by the artist should therefore be a $400 value. This may be one $400 work or a combination of smaller works totaling $400 in value. You will receive two tear-off stickers that you must affix to the framed works you are offering as Sponsor’s choice selections.
Artists are expected to provide their own stands for display, as well as rain coverings. Space provided will accommodate stands no longer than 15' nor greater than 10' in depth. Please center your display on the numbered stake and leave room for foot traffic.
Judges’ Cash Awards
Each site number in the show is permitted to enter one piece of art in the Judges’ Cash Award Competition. This painting or photograph must be framed or otherwise ready to hang and must have your competition number attached to the front in a visible manner. When two or more persons are included at one site (e.g. art association, senior citizen group, shared space, etc.) only one competitive entry is permitted in the Judges’ Cash Award Competition from that site.
All Cash Award judging will be done in the Judges’ Tent beginning at 9 a.m. sharp. Please bring your work to that area with the numbered label attached to the front.
Prizes are as follows:
ONE - $800.00 Judges’ Award to Best-in-Show. This is a cash prize and the artist retains ownership of the painting.
ONE - $600.00 Judges’ Award to Second Best-in-Show. This is a cash prize and the artist retains ownership of the painting.
ONE - $500.00 Judges’ Award to Third Best-in-Show. This is a cash prize and
the artist retains ownership of the painting.
ONE - $400.00 Judges’ Award to Fourth Best-in-Show. This is a cash prize and
the artist retains ownership of the painting.
ONE - $500.00 Best Photo In Show. This is a cash prize and the photographer retains ownership of the photo.
FIVE - $150.00 Merit Awards. These will be awarded by the judges on the basis
of attributes deemed worthy of special mention and consideration. The artist
retains ownership.
Sponsor's Choice Selection
Sponsor's Choice sponsors pre-pay $400 to purchase a painting or photo from the show. Sponsor's Choice selections are chosen at the artists’ stands. You will be provided with two labels to designate the works you agree to sell for $400 as a Sponsor’s Choice. When the sponsor makes a selection, you must designate that work as “SOLD.” Sponsors will advise the committee as to the artists whose works have been chosen. The names and site numbers of artists chosen as Sponsor’s Choice purchases will be announced at noon along with cash prize winners. Checks will be given out after noon. Paintings you designate with the Sponsor's Choice stickers should not be offered for sale to the general public until after 11:30 a.m. If a sponsor selects your work, it must be sold for $400.00. Your signature on the application indicates your understanding of this and your willingness to participate in the festival as we have described it.
