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American Artisan Festival 2022 - EVENT SUMMARY

The 46th annual American Artisan Festival returns the weekend of June 17-19, 2022. The event showcases only the highest quality contemporary art, furniture and crafts made by American artists. 

The outdoor festival will take place in beautiful Centennial Park and feature an incredible selection of unique one of a kind handmade items. Engage your creative side and enjoy the many onsite art installations, artisanal food and handcrafted drinks, a free children’s art creative space, and much more for all ages.  The event will also feature a full Nashville-style musical program including singer songwriters as well as full band performances throughout the weekend.  

The festival is free however patron passes will be available for ticketed special experiences hosted throughout the weekend.  Historically the festival draws an average of 25,000 visitors over the weekend, but with the recent population increase in Nashville, the event is expected to grow.

HISTORY

​​The American Artisan Festival was founded in 1972 by Nancy Saturn, who owned a number of art galleries in Nashville over the years, including The American Artisan Gallery and the Zimmerman Saturn Gallery. She started the festival as a way to bring the Nashville community together with the artists to provide an opportunity for them to share more about their process. Originally held behind Nancy’s first store, The Craft Cranny on Bandywood Drive, the festival found an ideal home in Centennial Park, where it has been held for the last 30 years.

The festival took a short break while Centennial Park was undergoing renovations from 2015-2017. The festival was resurrected in 2017 by Nashville native Samantha Saturn, daughter of the festival founder Nancy Saturn. After a two year hiatus because of the pandemic the event will make a return in 2022 with some exciting changes both to the event and Centennial Park as well which has completed much of its renovation.

LOCATION
The American Artisan Festival is located in Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee June 17, 18, 19. You will take Exit #1 from I-440 to West End Avenue (US 70). Drive EAST on West End approximately seven blocks.

HOURS (CENTRAL TIME)
Friday 12PM – 8PM
Saturday 10AM – 7PM
Sunday 10AM – 5PM

CALENDAR – IMPORTANT DATES
Show Dates: June 17-19, 2022
Early-bird Application Opportunity: January 17-19, 2022 (Apply within the first 48 hours and be entered to win a free booth at the show)
Application Deadline: February 7, 2022 (8 AM CST)
Acceptance Emails: February 21-23, 2022
Acceptance Deadline: March 28, 2022
Booth Fees Due: March 28, 2022 (midnight)
Final Refund Date: April 15, 2022 last day to cancel with refund
Hotel Block Release: TBA

CONTACT INFORMATION
Samantha Saturn, Director
American Artisan Festival
4029 Wallace Lane
Nashville, Tennessee 37215
www.americanartisanfestival.com
americanartisanfestival@gmail.com
(615) 212-9095

APPLICATION & BOOTH FEES
Application Fee: $40
Booth Fee: 10’ x 10’ space $495; 15’ x 15’ $675, 10’ x 20’ space is $900.
March 28, 2022 will be the payment due date for booth fees
April 15, 2022 will be the final day to receive an 90% refund.
There will be no cancellations or refunds after this date except at the discretion of the AAF team.

JURY INFORMATION
Images: 5 images of work + 1 booth or display image
Jurors: 4 advisors and volunteer jurors
Jury Format: Multiple rounds, first round is silent with jurors scoring 1-7, second round includes juror discussion and are scored by juror consensus and require a majority vote for an artist to move forward
Applications for Jury: Sorted by the date the application is received
Multiple Applications: If an artist has work in different media categories or distinctly separate bodies of work within one category they may apply with multiple applications

SALES
All sales are handled by the exhibitor. The American Artisan Festival collects no commission on sales. The exhibitor must collect Tennessee Sales tax, and instructions will be included in your welcome packet (given at check-in) regarding how the sales tax should be deposited with the Tennessee Department of Revenue.

PAYMENT OF FEES
Application, booth and other fees may be paid through Stripe. More information on submitting payments will be sent upon acceptance into the show.

FACILITIES AND SET-UP

  • Exhibitors are responsible for their entire displays.

  • We will have electricity this year in limited quantities - there will be an up-charge but we send out the information and it will be offered on a first come first served basis

  • We will contact all artists with specific set up times and details for load in as driving on the grass is no longer permitted. We have golf carts and staff on hand to assist with load in and load out

  • The show goes on rain or shine, and each exhibitor should make arrangements for wind or rain. (Tents must be rented in advance should you want to rent one from us. We will include tent rental as an option in the fees section once invited to participate)


SECURITY

  • The American Artisan Festival provides 24-hour security on the fair grounds (from 7 pm Thursday through 6 pm Sunday); however, all artists exhibit work at their own risk.

  • It is understood that The American Artisan Festival does not carry insurance to cover your personal property. As an independent contractor, you are advised to obtain your own insurance.

ARTIST AMENITIES

First and foremost, while this is a business for all of us, this is a family run festival and as such we all treat each other with dignity, respect and kindness. Our mission is to be an artist first organization and we run our show as such.

  • Cash awards, including The Excellence Award ($500) and the 'Nancy Saturn' People’s Choice Award($500)

  • Affordable Hotel Rooms Blocks (information coming soon)

  • Friday evening party post-close exclusively for Artists and their families

  • Vehicle unloading/loading at booth space

  • Free artist parking close to the event

  • Complimentary breakfast bagels and coffee each morning

  • 24-hour police security during the festival and overnight

  • Volunteer booth sitting during show hours (sign up at show)

  • Full-scale marketing and press campaign including print, online, radio and television media outlets as well as select direct media opportunities (if interested in participating let us know!)


ARTWORK ELIGIBILITY

  • Artwork must be original, designed and produced by, or under the direct supervision of the exhibiting artist.

  • No commercial reproductions, or embellished commercial products are allowed. If we determine that you are showing reproductions you will be asked to pack up and leave the show immediately.

  • Work done by a production studio is not acceptable. All work must be designed and executed by the accepted artist.

  • If you produce work in editions, you must disclose edition numbers.

  • Artists may only show work in categories and body of work selected by the Jury.

  • All work exhibited must be of the quality, category and body of work of that shown in the images juried.


EXHIBIT POLICY

  • All displayed work must be for sale or commission, with prices clearly marked.

  • All artists must be in attendance presenting their work - no sales reps are allowed

  • Electricity or other sources of ignition are not permissible inside exhibitor tent or display area. The use of generators is strongly discouraged. If a generator is essential to displaying your artwork, it must be battery operated, quiet and non-fume producing. Applicants must state the use of a generator on their application.

  • All exhibitor tents must be WHITE in color.

  • Tents may not be staked in the park but rather must be weighted down. We recommend HEAVY side weights on all sides to protect from any weather we may experience.

  • No prerecorded or amplified live music of any kind is permissible in an exhibitor’s booth space


MEDIA

  • Ceramics

  • Digital Art

  • Drawing

  • Fiber/Textiles

  • Furniture

  • Glass

  • Jewelry

  • Leather

  • Metal

  • Mixed Media (2D and 3D)

  • Oil Painting

  • Paper

  • Photography

  • Printmaking

  • Sculpture

  • Wood

  • Other

  • Note: Artists wishing to exhibit jewelry and another medium MUST submit a separate application for their jewelry and may not exhibit jewelry unless this second application is accepted.

LIABILITY

  • Exhibitors display all works at their own risk.

  • While we have 24-hour/day security on site throughout the show and event insurance, the American Artisan Festival is not responsible for damage, theft or loss of an exhibitor‘s property, or personal injury resulting from participation in the Art Fair.

BOOTH FEES & SET UP INFORMATION 

BOOTH SETUP
Standard booth for each exhibitor will be provided a space measuring 10' deep by 10' wide, or 15’ x 15’ or 10’ x 20’. Artists are to provide their own display booth, racks and/or tables in order to display their work in an outdoor environment. We may have some large tented spaces available where a display would be available for rent and we will confirm those spaces following acceptance. Other options such as corner booths and electricity will be available for additional fees after acceptances have been given out.

TENTS & TENT RENTAL
All tents must be WHITE in color and brought by the vendors. There is no staking at all in the park so 50 pound weights for each leg as well as tent sides should be included in your set up. If you do need to rent a tent it can be done upon acceptance into the event - we pass that cost onto you from the tent company at no extra cost.

BOOTH SET UP & BREAK DOWN
We begin set up at 8 AM Thursday before the show. We assign two load in time options based on your booth location each of which is a window of 4 hours within which we would like you to drive in and unload. It has allowed us to get all of the artists to their booth with flexibility and everyone has an option for Thursday as well as Friday for load in. We have a similar structure for load out and the artists can drive in and out of their zones with ease.

ELECTRICITY
There is no electricity throughout the park. There are a few locations that may have power which we will charge for if we can on a first come first serve basis. Generators are permissible only if not seen or heard and do not emit any odors.

REFUNDS
If you must cancel, we will refund the money less the application fees through April 15, 2022. Refunds will be issued via Stripe to the card used to submit payment. All cancellation/requests must be emailed with a brief explanation of the issue. If there is a family or medical emergency following the refund date, we will make best effort to provide at least a 50% refund but it is at the discretion of the festival team.

COVID 19 POLICY

Please be informed that preventative health measures (e.g. proof of negative COVID-19 test or full COVID-19 vaccination, masks) may be required. American Artisan Festival will abide by any regulations set in place by Metro Nashville Davidson County at the time of the show.

Details of any necessary measures will be communicated as early as possible and will be shared on the festival website and social media channels. 

We have taken enhanced health and safety measures for you, our artists and employees.  You must follow all posted instructions while attending the festival.

An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public space where people are present.  COVID-19 is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death.  According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, senior citizens and guests with underlying medical conditions are especially vulnerable.

By attending the festival, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19.