Artisphere 2027

Overview

Artisphere 2027 is the 23rd annual fine art and fine craft festival in Greenville, SC. Established in 2005, it is ranked a TOP 10 Fine Art and Fine Craft festival by the Art Fair Sourcebook and #1 in USA Today's Reader's Choice Award for Best Art Festival. The three-day outdoor event features renowned artist hospitality including complimentary daily meals, snacks & beverages, convenient set-up, parking, security, booth sitters, and reduced hotel rates.

Key Dates

• Submission deadline: October 9, 2026
• Jury Review: November 21-22, 2026
• Artist Notification: December 12, 2026
• Acceptance and Booth Fees Due: January 11, 2027
• Final Cancellation and Refund Date: February 26, 2027
• Festival Dates: May 7-9, 2027

Location

The outdoor festival takes place in Downtown Greenville, SC on Main Street and throughout Falls Park on the Reedy River. Greenville is located among the Blue Ridge Mountains in northwest South Carolina, about halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte.

Event Schedule

• Limited Artist Check-In: Thursday, May 6 (TBD)
• Artist Check-In: Friday, May 7 (6am – 11am)
• Festival Hours: Friday, May 7 (NOON – 8pm), Saturday, May 8 (10am – 8pm), Sunday, May 9 (11am – 6pm)
• Artist Load-Out: Sunday, May 9 (6pm – until)

Awards

$15,000 in prize money will be distributed at the festival for Best in Show, 1st Place 2D, 2nd Place 2D, 1st Place 3D, 2nd Place 3D, and four Awards of Excellence. All awards are distributed at the discretion of onsite judges (Artisphere jurors who are not exhibitors). Award winners are invited to exhibit the following year and are exempt from jury. Non-juror awards (Media Awards, People's Choice, etc.) are not exempt from jury.

Application Requirements

Each exhibiting artist must complete an online application with one artist per entry (unless entering as a team in collaboration) via Zapplication. Artists may apply in more than one medium category, but a separate online application must be filled out for each category, with its own jury fee and set of images (booth image only may be repeated across categories). If selected, an artist may only show work in the category in which they were accepted.

Jury Submission Guidelines

Submit five images total. One image must be an actual photograph of your booth showing your body of work. All work must be original and made by the applying artist. Work must have been created within the last four years. Booth images may not be created in a computer program or manipulated/enhanced by a computer except to remove artist/company names using Photoshop techniques only. Images may not contain artist name, company name, or any other affiliation and may not include signage or the artist in the photo.

Artist Statement

Submit an artist statement of 200 characters or less to be read aloud during jury review. The statement should describe materials and technique rather than meaning behind the work or inspiration. Do not personalize the information and check for spelling errors.

Jury Process

Five jurors and a Artisphere Board representative conduct a three-round blind jury process. Round One (remote): each juror scores each applicant yes, no, or maybe; applicants below threshold are eliminated. Round Two (in-person): jurors view projected images and score on a 1-7 scale (no 4) while the artist statement is read aloud. Round Three: remaining artists are viewed again in complete overview, then each set of five images is displayed and discussed. Jurors score based on artistic merit, technical competence, overall quality of work, and booth presentation.

Advertising & Promotion

Artisphere's multi-media advertising campaign markets the festival throughout the Southeast region, in national travel and leisure publications, and through regional radio and television ads. Marketing also includes festival social media platforms, the City of Greenville's platform, VisitGreenvilleSC's platform, the Artisphere website, festival brochures, and billboards.