WHAT TO SUBMIT FOR THE FESTIVAL

Application Guidelines

Important Dates:

38th Pelham Art Festival – In-Person Show

November 1, 2024 – Accepting Applications
January 31, 2025 – Application Deadline at 11:59 PM: $30 application fee
February 15, 2025 – Final Date for late applications: Deadline at 11:59 PM: $60 late application fee
April 15, 2025 – Final day to cancel participation for a booth refund; application fee will not be refunded.
May 9 - 11, 2025 – 38th Pelham Art Festival at Meridian Community Centre; participation includes Pelham Art  Festival Online - running May 1st - 31st, 2025

Pelham Art Festival - Online Show

November 1, 2024 - Accepting Applications
January 31, 2025 - Application Deadline at 11:59 PM : $30 application fee
February 15, 2025 – Final Date for late applications: Deadline at 11:59 PM: $60 late application fee
April 15, 2025 - Final day to cancel participation for a gallery page refund - application fee is non-refundable
May 1 - 31, 2025 – Pelham Art Festival Online

Conditions for Submissions:

  • Artists and artisans are invited to submit their application to participate in the juried 38th 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 2025, once again, those artists selecting the In-person Festival option may participate in the Online Festival at no extra cost. 
     
  • TO APPLY: Please read through our Application FAQs pageAll artists can create an account here to bring up the Artist Application Form.
     
  • Applicants for the In-Person Festival agree to offer sales from their booth from Friday May 9 at 7:00 pm to Sunday May 11 at 4:30 pm.


Artists will have the choice to sell their work in-person at the 38th Pelham Art Festival at the Meridian Community Centre or at the Online Pelham Art Festival. If the in-person option is selected, the Online Festival is automatically included at no extra cost and once officially accepted by the jury for the 2024 festival, artists may populate their gallery with 15 artworks. 

Online artist galleries continue after May 31, 2025.

After the Online Festival closes on May 31, 2025, the work in the artists' galleries of the Online Festival may remain available for purchase directly from the artists until May 2025. Artists may remove art or continue to update their galleries, but sales will not be handled by the Pelham Art Festival between shows. For sales made more than two weeks after the Online festival is over, there will be no expectation of a commission to the Pelham Art Festival since artists will be managing the sales by themselves. 

 

38th Pelham Art Festival In-person 2025 and Pelham Art Festival Online 2025  

Who Can Apply?

PAF’s jurors welcome individual fine art artists and artisans working in all mediums; painting, photography, sculpture, glass, wood creations, textiles, jewellery and more, with formal or informal training to apply. Artists are encouraged to submit original artworks created within the last three years. Established and emerging artists are welcome. 

PAF accepts 80% original artworks and 20% may be reproductions such as giclée or limited-edition prints. Artwork in the photography category must be of signed, numbered limited edition prints, with a series of each image limited to a total of 25 or fewer. Once you've declared the limited-edition status of an image, you are expected to follow through anywhere you show that work.

Please read our Reproduction Policy information carefully before applying.

You can choose to join us for Pelham Art Festivals from anywhere in Canada and beyond. Sell artworks, tap into the exponentially expanding Niagara Region art market, and participate in our Online Festivals safely from the comfort of your home.

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

We are a proud community sponsor of Lincoln Pelham Public Libraries and the Arts

Festival proceeds benefit the Lincoln Pelham Library System and provide annual scholarships to graduating Pelham students who are pursuing post-secondary studies in fine arts from E.L. Crossley Secondary School and Notre Dame College School. The Festival also supports various community arts projects. Artists donate back 15% of their sales to support this effort.

How Do I Apply?

ALL ARTISTS: Please click on APPLY NOW for full information on how to apply for an application online BEFORE AN APPLICATION IS SUBMITTED.

All applications are submitted through the online portal on PAF’s website.

New artists create an account here. For returning and New artists fill in your name, address – mailing information, email contact, biography, and description.  Your name should NOT be included in the artist bio and statements which will be read by the jury. Artist names must not available to the jury.                                          Skip the banner image, profile photo, and social media accounts for now. Once notified that your application has been successful, you will then complete your profile page and set up your gallery for the Online Festival. Please check your spam and junk folders if you have not received an email confirmation by February 21, 2025 When artists are accepted by the jury, payment is due.

For a complete breakdown of participation costs, see our Fees and Deadlines page.

Help! I Forgot My Password

If you forgot your password, you can reset it via the login page, using the 'RESET PASSWORD' button. Use the email associated with your account and a temporary password will be emailed to you. Check your spam/junk mail folders. Once you log in, you can change your password to something more memorable and secure under "Your Profile".

Can I apply with another Artist?

The Festival is committed to supporting individual artists as part of Our Mandate. Studio applications and collectives are not accepted since we facilitate artists as entrepreneurs to give opportunities to artists and artisans. One exception to this might be a Youth Artist booth, organized by the Festival Committee.

What To Submit

We welcome individual fine art artists and artisans working in all mediums; painting, photography, sculpture, glass, woodturning, textiles, jewellery and more, with formal or informal training to apply. Artists are encouraged to submit original artworks created within the last three years. Established and emerging artists are welcome.

Booth and Online Gallery Fees:

38th Pelham Art Festival 2024 at the Meridian Community Centre 

$175.00 single booth; $175.00 corner booth; $250.00 3-panel booth; $350.00 double booth
There will be a non-refundable application handling fee for all festivals. 

Online Festival 2024:

Up to 15 images/gallery - $175.00
Automatically included at no extra cost if selecting the In-person Festival option.  
There will be a non-refundable application handling fee for all festivals. 

For a complete breakdown of participation costs, see our Fees and Deadlines page.

Booth and Online gallery refunds will be available if you need to cancel shows
Pelham Art Festival Online and the 38th Pelham Art Festival by April 15, 2025.

If you are applying from outside of Canada, you must get the appropriate paperwork to enter Canada to sell your work. 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 work into Canada. Our recommendation for International artists is to apply for the Pelham Art Festival Online.

How do I pay my application fee?

Payment through our application system online for all festivals:

Once you have uploaded your images and information, you will be directed to a secure payment portal. You will not be able to make changes to your application once the non-refundable payment is submitted. You will receive an e-mail confirmation of your payment, so please check your spam and junk folders if you have not received it. There are no service charges or taxes on the application fee. PAF does not accept cheques or cash payments for booth or online Festival fees. Refunds will not be made after April 15, 2025

What if I don’t have a credit card?

You can use a prepaid credit card to pay your application fee.

Why do I have to pay an application fee for the Festival?

Did you know that PAF is a not-for-profit Canadian Art Festival? Your application fee goes towards the processing and administration of your application, and to artist support like application feedback and information sessions, as well as to allowing PAF to continue its work in the Canadian arts sector.

A portion of the fees goes towards the setting up of a professional website capable of showcasing your art on a secure e-commerce platform. Your fees also go towards advertising and promotion to create visibility for the Festival for you to sell your work to the public.

It is because of the careful administrative work time that the PAF Committee and jurors dedicate to the Call for Artists that the application handling fee is non-refundable.

Submitting To the in-person 37th Pelham Art Festival and PAF Online Festivals:

How many applications can I submit?

You can submit one application of 5 artworks in a Festival category: 3D Works, 2D Works, Painting, Fine Craft & Design, and Photography & Digital Media. It is to your benefit that you tailor your application to the Festival category under which you are submitting. The same panel of jurors reviews all the applications, regardless of category.                                                                                                                                                                   

PAF accepts complete applications once the non-refundable application fee payment is fulfilled. We don’t forward applications with missing information to our jurors. Submissions that include machine-made or mass-produced works are automatically disqualified and are not presented to the jurors.

WHAT CATEGORY DO I APPLY IN?

You need to select a category from the list below when applying. These categories will be used in our online artist directory.

3D Works - three-dimensional original works, using additive or reductive techniques, including freestanding sculptures, reliefs, assemblages etc. created using either traditional or experimental materials. 

2D Works – original two-dimensional works, created using one or more physical materials, including Drawing, Printmaking, Illustration, Collage, Mixed Media works, etc.

Painting - works created using Oil, Acrylic, Encaustic, Watercolour, Ink, Pastel, etc.

Fine Craft & Design – hand-crafted objects (functional or decorative) created using fine craft and/or industrial design practices including most Jewellery, Ceramics, Pottery, Woodturning, Glass, etc. Multi-disciplinary and/or hybrid practices are welcomed. Exclude machine-screen patterns or other forms of mass production, and factory-produced wearable items regardless of additional modification.

Photography & Digital Media - Photographic prints made from the artist's original image, and/or digitally manipulated images created from the original artist's images, and/or other sourced material. Artwork in the photography category must be of signed, numbered limited edition prints, with a series of each image limited to a total of 25 or fewer. Once you've declared the limited-edition status of an image, you are expected to follow through anywhere you show that work.

Reproductions of artist originals are welcome provided they do not exceed 20% of the total artwork on display. Please read our Reproduction Policy carefully before applying.

How To Submit To Pelham Art Festivals

1. Please click on APPLY NOW for full information on how to apply for an application online BEFORE AN APPLICATION IS SUBMITTED.

2. Artists login and fill in your name, address – your very important mailing information, email contact, your biography and description.  Skip the banner image, profile photo, and social media accounts at this stage; those are not available to the jury and during Online Festivals, only become publicly visible if your application is successful.

3. On the right side of your Artist Dashboard, you will find the 'Start an Application button. Prepare and upload your images, biography, and description of the artwork. Please read our Application Photography Tips carefully. Photos that are taken in good lighting present best.

4. Why won't my images upload?

Check to make sure your images are saved in the correct format and that they are not too small or too big. Be sure you have filled in the title, size and medium of each piece. You can check this by clicking on each thumbnail of your uploaded images to make the text boxes show. If you do not have a title/size etc. put 'N/A' for not applicable.

5. Complete the online jury application with 5 of your artworks and submit the non-refundable application fee by 11:59 PM (EST) on the deadline date.

Submit

1. 5 of your artwork digital images online for all Festivals for the jury

2. Image Formatting Instructions

  • Valid file types: .jpeg or .png.
  • Artists are encouraged to submit original artworks created within the last three years.
  • Maximum size: images should be no larger than 1024 x 1024 pixels and 4MB (max) in size. Images that exceed this size will be automatically resized to fit and may be distorted.
  • Minimum size: no less than 600 x 600 pixels (height & width) NB: Larger images will present better.
  • Images should be cropped to show only the work. No frame, watermark, signature, or background is to be included (exceptions re: included backgrounds are 3D objects such as sculptures, ceramics, woodturning objects or if a frame /mat is unique and significant to the artwork presentation…an example would be an oval opening in the mat to create a Victorian look for a portrait photograph) If the frame is an integral part of the art, it should be included.
  • To resize your images correctly without Photoshop, for both MAC and PC users, for instructions go to  https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-resize-an-image/
  • Naming Artwork Image File Jpegs: Must be named as follows: YOUR NAME_TITLE_YEAR (e.g., Jane Yetobe_Summer Day_2022) The year refers to when the artwork was created.
  • Gallery Banner: Your banner size should be 1920 pixels x 640 pixels
  • Profile Photo: 750 pixels on the longest side works well. The photo can be square (750 x 750 pixels) or a 4:5 ratio (600 pixels wide x 750 pixels tall). The minimum image size is 600 pixels on the longest side (portrait photo).

3. A 500-character artist statement

4. A 200-character description of your works

Here are some tips to help you submit a successful application

How is Your Application Selected?

Artistic excellence, originality, quality of support materials and consistency of ideas and design, are the criteria our jurors consider to evaluate your application. Our jury team consists of artists and art educators who will be reviewing all artist and artisan submissions in every category. Read PAF's Equity and Non-Discrimination Policy

Our jurors score submissions according to the above selection criteria. They select the best artists with the highest scores. We maintain a waitlist of high-scored artists who are accepted once space becomes available with priority given in the order application Festival booth and Online payments are received. All decisions are final.

When Are the Results Announced?

In-Person and Pelham Art Festival Online Results:

You will receive your results via email by February 21, 2025, after which you may pay participation fees. The date fees are paid may affect booth selection options: there are limited numbers of corner, 3 panel and double booths available each year: those artists that pay first will also have the best chance to get the booth option they want. 

What is the Artist Code of Conduct?

The Artist Code of Conduct is a section of the Liability and Code of Conduct Agreement. All artists must agree to the Artist Code of Conduct as part of their participation at the Pelham Art Festival.

Helpful Links

Application Photography Tips
Application FAQs
Gallery Uploading
What Does it Cost?
Reproduction Policy

Where Do I Find Support?

Admin support will be available for you if you need it through [email protected]  (blue text so it stands out.)
Please state the title of your question in the heading of your email to ensure it is sent to the right help team member.                                                                  
with the subject line: PAF 2025 Photographing Your Art for the Online Application + Your Name 
with the subject line: PAF 2025 Artist Gallery Setup Support + Your Name 
with the subject line: PAF 2025 General Support + Your Name

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Pelham Art Festivals are following the safety guidelines provided by Niagara Region Public Health.

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