Old Town Art Fair 2026

The Old Town Art Fair (OTAF) is considered one of the top outdoor fine art shows in the nation. Celebrated for more than 75 years, the fair will once again line the streets of the historic Old Town Triangle neighborhood on Chicago’s near north side, amid charming homes, leafy parkways, and welcoming neighbors.

This is a show for artists and art buyers alike -- our art patrons are considered to be discerning, art-educated, and loyal art buyers. We continue to place a strong emphasis on increasing our marketing profile to bring more buyers to you in a unique direct-to-consumer sales model.

The volunteer-led Old Town Art Fair is committed to providing the highest quality experience possible for both our artists and our patrons. The Fair is produced by the Old Town Triangle Association, a nonprofit neighborhood organization whose Director also serves as staff support to the Fair.

We invite you to apply for one of our highly coveted artist spots!

ARTIST INFORMATION AND BENEFITS

• Participation in one of the country’s most prestigious outdoor fine art shows in one of the country’s greatest cities
• Cash awards for First Place and Second Place within each of the four media groupings by which artists are juried, with an additional award for Best of Show. The Best of Show award will be presented to the artist with the top jury score from all media categories
• Website gallery with artist’s full-color, thumbnail image, and link to artist’s website (we use image #1, so plan accordingly)
• Organized load-in Friday and cooperative load-out Sunday
• Artists retain all proceeds from the sale of their art
• Electronic postcard provided to artists to send to customers
• Booth sitters are available for artists and complimentary water and snacks are delivered during the show
• Complimentary continental breakfast on Saturday and Sunday of the show for artists and assistants
• Express lanes for artists at food concessions
• Indoor bathrooms reserved for artists, assistants, and volunteers
• Prepaid, reserved artist parking in nearby lots!

FAST FACTS

• Location: The residential streets of the historic Old Town Triangle neighborhood on Chicago's near-north side (not to be confused with the Wells Street Art Festival held nearby, on a commercial street, on the same weekend)

• Event Name: Old Town Art Fair

• Contact: Barbara Guttmann, Director of Arts & Operations, Old Town Triangle Association

• Total Number of Booths:  235 maximum

RULES/REGULATIONS

FINE ART REQUIREMENTS

• Artwork must be first and foremost an artistic expression. Utilitarian purposes must be secondary.
• All work must be designed and handmade by the accepted artist/artist team.
• Jewelry made from strung, commercial beads are not considered handmade by the artist and will not be accepted for the Old Town Art Fair.
• Production studio work is absolutely prohibited.
• The display and sale of commercial reproductions of any kind are not allowed (see the note on reproductions below).
• Items bought elsewhere and sold as original art (i.e., “Buy-Sell” merchandise) are not allowed.
• Artists may only sell art in their booths; no auctions, giveaways, or other activities are allowed.
• Photography and digital art must be signed and numbered in limited editions.
• Printmaking is defined as hand-pulled prints, in signed, numbered, limited editions.
• Proof of originality and authenticity of work is required. An artist’s statement must be prominently displayed in the booth.

The Old Town Art Fair reserves the right to determine if artists have violated any of the Fair’s policies or requirements. If violations are found, artists will be given the opportunity to remedy the situation or be asked to leave the Fair. The Old Town Art Fair reserves the right to deny participation in future fairs.

NOTE ON REPRODUCTIONS

The Old Town Art Fair is committed to being a high-quality fine art show. Therefore, all artwork displayed must be original and produced by the hands of the exhibiting artist(s).  No reproductions are permitted. 

Any method of making multiple copies of original art using photo, mechanical, digital, or casting technology is considered by the Old Town Art Fair to be a reproduction. This includes Giclees. Reproduction technologies have one or more of the following characteristics: 

• The work is not the product of the artist's own hand.
• The number of reproducible copies is technically limitless.
• All copies are identical.
• The copies are produced by commercial entities, and the artist is not involved in the process.

Reproductions also include postcards, notecards, posters, and books, though the artist may have promotional postcards and business cards on hand to give to prospective customers.  These may not be sold during the Art Fair.

Methods of creating multi-copy art in limited runs, such as intaglio, lithography, relief painting, and other traditional printmaking means, are not considered reproductions.

Work assembled substantially from commercially-produced units (including beads) is also disallowed. 

JURY DETAILS

Average number of applications submitted each year:

800

Average number of artists selected from the jury to participate in the event:

235

Average number of exempt from jury artists who are invited to participate in the event:

50

How returning artists are selected:

Received an award

Selected by on-site jury

Other

Comments for "How are the returning artists selected?"

The previous year poster artist is automatically invited to the current year fair.

How images are viewed by jurors:

Computer monitor

Within a medium category, applications are sorted and viewed by:

Application ID (number generated when application is started by artist)

Jurors score applications using the following scale:

1 - 10

Number of jurors scoring applications:

9

The show organizes the jurors for a:

Multiple jury panels that score applications for specific medium categories that he/she has expertise

Jurors score

Separately from various locations

Am I allowed to observe the jury process?

Jury process is closed

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Old Town, Old Town, Chicago, IL, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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