Greenwich Village Art Fair 2026

Overview

The 78th Greenwich Village Art Fair is a two-day outdoor event at Rockford Art Museum featuring up to 155 juried artists, live music, children's art activities, and a local marketplace. Established in 1948, GVAF is the longest-running art fair of its kind in the Midwest. Admission proceeds support Rockford Art Museum, located at 711 North Main Street in downtown Rockford, Illinois.

Key dates

• June 21, 2026: midnight CDT – Application deadline
• June 22, 2026 – Email notification of application status
• August 10, 2026 – Deadline for accepted artists to commit to exhibit and remit booth fee
• August 23, 2026 – Deadline to cancel participation and receive refund of booth fee, minus $50 processing fee
• September 19–20, 2026 – GVAF (Saturday 10 am–6 pm, Sunday 10 am–5 pm)

Media categories

• Ceramics – Original clay and porcelain work, functional or sculptural; no mass-produced, commercial kits, molds, or reproductions
• Drawing/Works on Paper – Dry media including chalk, charcoal, pastels, pencil, wax, crayons, or ink on archival material
• Fiber – Unique, one-of-a-kind artwork including embroidery, basketry, weaving, and tapestry; no machine-tooled or mass production
• Furniture – Unique, original hand-tooled or carved work made entirely by the exhibiting artist; no reproductions
• Leather – One-of-a-kind pieces created by the artist; no machine-tooled, mass production, or factory-produced items
• Glass – Functional and sculptural work using kiln forming, blowing, molding, casting, or cold working
• Jewelry – Designer and hands-on maker of one-of-a-kind work; no commercial casts or production studio work
• Mixed Media – 2 and 3-dimensional works incorporating more than one type of physical material
• Painting – Acrylic, oil, gouache, and watercolors
• Paper – Flat and three-dimensional unique one-of-a-kind works made with paper
• Photography – Traditional film, hand colored, emulsion transfers, and digital (not manipulated beyond traditional darkroom capabilities); artist's original source material only
• Printmaking – Hand-pulled original mono-print, serigraph, lithograph, etching, woodcut, or relief techniques; limited editions
• Sculpture – Unique, one-of-a-kind, 3-dimensional original work in any medium; no reproductions
• Wood – Unique, original hand-tooled or carved work made entirely by the artist; no reproductions

Eligibility

Artists must be the sole creators of their work. Collaborative work is limited to no more than two artists, both of whom must sign the application and be present throughout the fair. Previous year award recipients are invited to participate with jury waived. Artists may not apply more than once in the same category.

Jury process

A maximum of 155 artists representing all eligible mediums will exhibit. The jury committee views images simultaneously and selects artists based on quality of work and booth display techniques. Artists not initially selected may be considered for the wait list and offered show positions as they become available, up to and including the day of the show.

Awards

Awards are presented for Best of Show, Nancy Sauer Award, Judges Choice, and Honorable Mention. Award winners are notified on Saturday afternoon of the fair; ribbons are presented and award checks distributed on Sunday.

Image submission requirements

• Recommended dimensions: 1920 pixels on the longest side (minimum 1400 pixels)
• File format: Baseline Standard JPEG (not Progressive JPEG)
• File size: approximately 2.0 MB
• Resolution: 72 dpi
• Color space: RGB, preferably sRGB