Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival 2027

Overview

The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival, held annually for 21 years, showcases about 200 national, international, and regional artists along the Waterway at The Woodlands Town Center. The festival is organized by The Woodlands Arts Council, a nonprofit dedicated to regional cultural enrichment through the performing and visual arts.

Key dates

• Application deadline: October 12, 2026 at midnight CST
• Artist Image Jury: November 7, 2026 (live)
• Notification of jury results: November 23, 2026 via email
• Invited Artist Payment deadline: December 19, 2026
• Refund deadline: February 1, 2027 at midnight CST
• Artist Load-in: April 7 & 8, 2027 (9 AM start, no vehicles on site after 9 AM Friday)
• Festival dates: April 9-11, 2027 (Fri. 1pm-5pm, Sat. 10am-6pm, Sun. 10am-5pm)

Eligibility

Open to artists. All work must be original and made by the applying artist. Prior participation does not guarantee selection. No buy-sell allowed; no mass-produced reproductions accepted. Only artists juried into the Jewelry category may display and sell jewelry. The 2025 & 2026 Best of Show Award Winners and Featured Artists are jury-exempt and must register by October 12, 2026.

Application requirements

• For each medium entered, include three images of artwork completed within the last three years
• The Booth Slide (fourth image) should be taken at an outdoor venue and illustrate the artist's presentation and display
• Booth images should not include identifiable signs or photos of the artist (blind jury)
• Recommended image size: 1920 pixels on the longest side, approximately 2.0 MB file size

Artist statements

Artist statements are critical to the jury process. A short artist's statement (100 characters) is read aloud to the jury as images are shown. The long statement allows you to share more information for jury review and social media use upon acceptance.

Media categories

Artists applying with work in different media categories or distinctly separate bodies of work may submit up to two applications. No advantage is gained by submitting multiple applications for the same body of work in multiple categories. Applications are juried within their media category, which includes Ceramics, 2D Mixed Media and Digital Art, 3-D Mixed Media, Drawing/Pastels/Printmaking, and others.

Jury process

A jury panel of five to seven art professionals and collectors will jury applications on November 7, 2026 using a 1-7 scoring system (4 not used). Each application is juried anonymously. Artists receiving top scores in 12 media categories will be invited. A wait list will be maintained; selected waitlisted artists may be contacted when the waitlist is released or up to one day before the event.

Fees and payment

• $40 non-refundable jury fee required with application
• Invited Artist Payment deadline: December 19, 2026 (Contracts and booth fees due)
• Refund deadline: February 1, 2027 at midnight CST