CALL FOR ARTISTS 2024

We welcome you to apply to the 2024 Pelham Art Festival

For Information about the Youth Artists Call, click here

Pelham Art Festival is a not-for-profit corporation and is recognized as one of the premier spring Art Festivals in Ontario. We host nationally and internationally acclaimed Canadian artists and welcome thousands of visitors, art lovers, and collectors to the Festival every year. Collectively our visitors spend over $50,000 annually on buying art, contributing to the economic prosperity of the participating artists and the cultural vibrancy of Pelham.

Important Dates:

37th Pelham Art Festival – In Person Show

November 1, 2023 - Accepting Applications
January 31, 2024 - Application Deadline at 11:59 PM: $25 application fee
February 15, 2024 – Final Date for late applications: Deadline at 11:59 PM:$50 application fee
April 15, 2024 - Final day to cancel participation for a booth refund; application fee will not be refunded.
May 10 - 12, 2024 - 37th Pelham Art Festival at Meridian Community Centre; participation includes Pelham Art  Festival Online - May 1st - 31st, 2024

Pelham Art Festival - Online Show

November 1, 2023 - Accepting Applications
January 31, 2024 - Application Deadline at 11:59 PM : $25 application fee
February 15, 2024 – Final Date for late applications: Deadline at 11:59 PM: $50 application fee
April 15, 2024 - Final day to cancel participation for a gallery page refund - application fee will not be refunded
May 1 - 31, 2024 – Pelham Art Festival Online

Conditions for Submissions:

  • Artists and artisans are invited to submit their application to participate in the juried 37th Annual Pelham Art Festival. They may select either the In-person Festival at the Meridian Community Centre or the Online Festival on the Pelham Art Festival e-commerce website to sell their new work. In 2024, once again, those artists selecting the In-person Festival option may participate in the Online Festival at no extra cost. 
  • Please read through our Application Guidelines on the What To Submit For 2024 Festivals page under the Resources menu on the website.  Applicants for the In-person Festival agree to offer sales from their booth from Friday May 10 at 7:00 pm to Sunday May 12 at 4:30 pm.

2024 Festival Guidelines:

  • Returning and new artists working in all mediums; painting, photography, sculpture, glass, woodturning, textiles, jewellery and more, are welcome to apply. Your work will be juried for quality and to ensure that a wide variety of mediums are showcased, all artwork submitted for jurying must be for sale. 
  • Artists are encouraged to submit artwork created within the last three years.
  • Pelham Art Festival accepts 80% original artworks and 20% may be reproductions such as giclée or limited-edition prints. All works must be hand-made by the artist. Machine-made or mass-produced works are not permitted and will result in an automatic disqualification.
  • Read our Reproduction Policy carefully before an application is submitted.
  • PAF reserves the right to make adjustments to the show to be in accordance with the Provincial and Regional Public Health guidelines.

Why take part in the Pelham Art Festival?

  • We welcome 2,000+ visitors in-person, and 5300+ online to our Festival annually,
  • We offer artists the opportunity to learn how to provide good quality images to promote work for the Online Festival and Pelham Art Festival through extra training and support as needed. 
  • Plus, participation in our Festivals provides the additional opportunity to be showcased through our social media channels on Facebook and Instagram with an engaged audience that continues to grow.
  • Pelham Art Festival and our Online Festival: PAF is a well-respected Festival. Our network of artists say they love the atmosphere and feel warmly welcomed. Our online community continues to grow exponentially, and we expect an even more expansive reach in 2024.
  • Ongoing professional development: Dedicated support and guidance from our team through application workshops, juried art, and social media workshops (how to grow your digital outreach and social media skills) as needed.
  • An opportunity to receive recognition if selected for an award for exceptional artwork by qualified judges or curators; also a Peoples' Choice award at the In-Person Exhibition.  

Online Festival:

  • Introduced in 2020, the online festival, totalling 11 days in the past, will run from May 1st to the 31st in 2024… a full 31 days.
  • Online sales experience: Showcase your artworks in our Online Festival on a user-friendly e-commerce platform where participating artists' and artisans' artwork is is for sale online with full e-commerce service between May 1-31, 2024.
  • Free Pelham Art Festival and online resources and support: Assistance and troubleshooting for your artist and product pages, training, volunteers to assist you in setting up your PAF booth display and comprehensive artist information is available.
  • You can choose to join the Pelham Art Festival from anywhere in Canada and beyond. Participating artists can sell artworks and tap into the Golden Horseshoe art market with our Online Festival, safely from the comfort of their own home. 
  • An opportunity to be recognized for exceptional work if selected to be included in one of this year's Curated Collections; also a chance to be considered for the Best in Category/Subject awards, selected by qualified curators. This set of awards is an 'Online only' feature.                                                                                                                                  

Marketing of the Festival:

  • Every effort is made to help you promote and sell your artwork and for art lovers to see and purchase pieces both in-person and online.
  • We offer a successful and comprehensive marketing campaign: Benefit from our multi-platform marketing and promotions resulted in a Facebook reach of 84,443 (2022's figure was 33,653) and Instagram reach of 7,619 for the month of May 2023, as compared to 2,046 in the same period of 2022. 
  • Our social media ad campaign, which is included in your entry fee, reached 84,097 during the 2023 festival with 201,082 paid impressions...a healthy increase from last year (figures for 2022 were 26,312 with 59,284 paid impressions )
  • We are committed to the artists who participate in Pelham Art Festival and as such, want to assure you that a strong social media, digital and ad print campaign is implemented before and during the festival to garner attention and interest to both the in-person Pelham Art Festival and Online Festival.

Pelham Art Festival provides a welcoming place for all artists and art enthusiasts, and we are committed to equity and inclusion.

Join us at the Meridian Community Centre 100 Meridian Way in the Village of Fonthill, Town of Pelham, in the heart of the Ontario Niagara Region.

If you are applying from outside of Canada, it is your responsibility to get the appropriate paperwork to enter Canada to sell your works. We do not provide invitations to artists for visa applications. All travel, accommodations, shipping and customs expenses are your responsibility. We recommend working with a licensed customs broker to import your works into Canada. Our recommendation for international artists is to apply for Pelham Art Festival Online.

Since the Festival is a fundraising event, the Festival Committee reserves the right to place on a waitlist returning artists who consistently experience little to no sales to offer opportunities for new artists to display and sell their work. In such an event, the request to return will be held on a waitlist in order of receipt until April 1, 2024 at which time, those artists will be notified regarding their application status.

PAF 2024 Festival Fees:

On-line Show Only: $150 for 31 days of sales potential on PAF e-commerce platform followed by an online gallery presence for a whole year.

In-Person Show:   Single booth - $150.00        3 Panel Booth - $225.00

                               Corner booth - $150.00        Double Booth - $300.00   

If you chose In-Person, there is no cost to promote and sell your work on your PAF online gallery. The booth prices include the Online festival.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          NB: Artists must keep their artwork for sale at the In-Person show for the full three days and cannot remove their work before Sunday at 4:30 pm.

Please Note: A 15% commission is applied for all sales between the period of May 1-31, 2024 and for two weeks following the Festival if a sale results as a consequence of the artwork being seen at the Festival, either online or Inperson. We encourage artists to keep their work in the online gallery to help us create a presence in the art community and to help our advertisers who graciously support us. Money made at the festival continues to support our local libraries, provide art scholarships and support local art education programs in the community schools upon request.

How do I find out if I will be accepted into the Festival?

You will receive your application results by email around February 21, 2024. You can also see your results by logging into your Artist Dashboard shortly after February 20, 2024. No phone calls please – results will not be given over the phone. All decisions are final. The Pelham Art Festival will not appeal any decisions. To make sure that your results letter does not accidentally end up in your spam folder make sure that you add “[email protected]” to your address book as a safe sender.

Do I need to have my own website or social media accounts? 

  • No, you do not need to create your own website since you will be able to continue to use the Pelham Art Festival website after the show for 12 months to showcase your work! 
  • Our platform is accessible for artists who do not have their own website or e-commerce, and you can list your artworks for sale directly from your PAF webpage between May 1-31, 2024.
  • Your work will also be showcased on our social media channels Facebook and Instagram to a vibrantly engaged audience.
  • You can also link your social media accounts. We highly recommend promoting your participation in PAF via your social media channels if you have them, but it is not a requirement.

Where Do I Find Support?

Admin support will be available for you if you need it through help.[email protected]
Please state the title of your question in the heading of your email so your question will be forwarded to the person who can help you. 
with the subject line: PAF 2024 Photographing Your Art for the Online Application + Your Name 
with the subject line: PAF 2024 Artist Gallery Setup Support + Your Name 
with the subject line: ​PAF 2024 General Support + Your Name

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Pelham Art Festival Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation.