The 48th Annual IMAGES: A Festival of the Arts is January 26, 27 and 28, 2024 in New Smyrna Beach, FL, RANKED NUMBER 16 in the NATION for Fine Art Festivals by Sunshine Artist Magazine! The event attracts 53,000+ arts enthusiasts, and has one of the best Patrons Programs in the Southeast, with 240 members who spend over $200,000 yearly on arts purchases at the Festival. In addition, $30,000 in prize money is awarded.

Event Location: Riverside Drive and Canal Street, New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Fee: (Jury fee is non-refundable): $50.

Application Opens: May 1, 2023

Application Deadline: October 18, 2023

GENERAL INFORMATION

Join us for this FREE family event!  IMAGES has something for everyone – enjoy the work of 230 artists, including three Daytona State College students who were selected for our new Trish Thompson Memorial Emerging Artist Program at IMAGES In partnership with Daytona State College, food trucks, fabulous live music, free art projects for the kids and an exhibit of student artwork. Stroll through the park, buy some art, and have a great weekend with family and friends!

Event Hours:
Friday – January 26, 2023 | Setup: 6 AM – 12:30 PM | Show: 1 PM – 5 PM
Saturday – January 27, 2023 | Show: 9 AM – 5 PM
Sunday- January 28, 2023 | Show: 10 AM – 4 PM

Deadline:
All applications must be submitted by October 18, 2023.  Blind jurying will be completed no later than October 31, 2023. Notification of acceptance will be done by email no later than November 5, 2023. If you are accepted into the show, YOU MUST ACCEPT OUR INVITATION AND PAY YOUR BOOTH FEE BY DECEMBER 2, 2023.

Show size:
IMAGES: A Festival of the Arts is limited to 240 spaces, including the Best of Show winners from previous years and purchased double spaces.

Space size:
Artists will be assigned and must stay within their allotted 11’ X 12’ exhibition space. Displays must be set up as assigned to their designated booth space.

Festival Judging:
Judging for cash awards will begin on Friday afternoon and continue Saturday. Awards will be announced at the Artist’s dinner on Saturday night at 6:30PM. We encourage ALL ARTISTS to attend the dinner.  We will continue with the In-Booth Judging process. Artists will be judged on excellence, originality, presentation and overall. There are two judges, who have an allotted time to spend in each booth. One judge begins at the first booth and works forward, and the other begins at the last booth and works backward.

Awards:
ACA Volunteer League Best of Show [1]                       $6,000
George and June Musson Award [1]                             $3,500
Buddy Davenport, State Farm Insurance Award [1]      $2,500
McNamara Family Award for Photography [1]               $2,000
Trish Thompson Memorial Emerging Artist Award         $1,500
Award of Distinction  [4]                                                  $800
Award of Commendation [6]                                           $600
Judges’ Choice  [5]                                                         $400
Award of Merit  [12]                                                        $350
Award of Honor  [6]                                                        $325

Patron’s Program:
IMAGES boasts one of the best Patrons Programs in the Southeast, with over 250 Patrons pre-committing to spending money on art at the Festival, demonstrating outstanding community support. Patron’s Choice Award ribbons are given to individuals or businesses who commit to spending a minimum of $200 on artwork at the festival. Patrons select work for purchase, then give the artist[s] a prestigious “Patron’s Choice Award” ribbon to be placed in his/her booth. The amount spent by the Patrons each year  exceeds $200,000!

Selection Process by Jury:
Artists invited to participate in IMAGES are chosen by two independent jurors from the visual arts community. The judges review all qualified entries. No artists’ names are used during the selection process to guarantee complete impartiality. Each entry receives a numerical score from each juror, and the highest scores are selected. Notices of acceptance or non-acceptance will be sent out to the artists by November 5, 2023. You will also be notified if you have been placed on waitlist. You can choose to have your name removed from the waitlist if you wish.  The non-refundable jury fee is $50.00.

Jurying:
Artists may enter in more than one category; however, a separate application must be submitted for each category as well as a separate jurying fee. If you receive an invitation into the Festival and accept it, you agree to be committed to the show. No refunds will be made after December 31, 2023. No refunds will be made for inclement weather.

Artists must submit 3 digital images of their work [minimum 300 dpi] and 1 digital image of the outfitted tent  space [total of 4 images]. Artists may apply in more than one category, however, a jury fee of $50 is required for each category, and the artist must submit 3 images of their work and one of their booth space for each category.

Artist Hospitality:
New Smyrna Beach is very welcoming to its visiting artists!  Festival Artist Hospitality is available Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and includes breakfast snacks each morning, a hand-delivered lunch on Friday, and the Artist Dinner on Saturday night. Times and places of operation will be listed in your Artist Packet picked up at Registration. The very popular Artist’s Dinner is held Saturday night from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM and includes music, dinner, beer/wine/soda. The Awards are announced that evening as well, and winner’s ribbons are distributed. Award checks will be delivered to the artists on Sunday. We encourage all artists to attend the dinner.

Artwork:

  • All exhibits must be original works executed since 2021. The quality of exhibited work is expected to be equal to the images submitted for judging. Compliance will visit every booth on  Friday and Saturday  to check your work against the images submitted. If your work is not equal to your submitted images, the Festival has the right to ask you to leave the show and you forfeit your booth space fee.
  • Two artists collaborating to produce single pieces of art may qualify as a single exhibitor, but all works displayed should be products of collaboration rather than individual works by each collaborator.
  • No ribbons or awards from other shows may be displayed.
  • Paintings, graphics and photographs must be suitably framed, matted or wrapped.
  • Each artist is to display the provided Festival identification card showing name, space number and city of residence. They are also to wear their nametags provided by the Festival.
  • Artists are responsible for supplying their own tents and for making their tents sturdy against the wind, rain, etc. Anchor weights are required.
  • Artists will receive a booth space of approximately 11’ X 12.’ Artists will not take up any additional booth space. An artist can request 2 booth spaces. The cost is $325 for each space.
  • All vehicles must be removed from the show area no later than ½ hour before the show begins on each day. Setup and breakdown times are strictly enforced. Any person closing his/her booth before the scheduled closing time on Sunday shall be disqualified from future shows.
  • Each exhibitor is solely responsible for collecting the applicable 6.5% Florida sales tax and filing the report with the local department of revenue.

Setup:

  • Registration will be open on Friday, January 26, 2024 from 6:00 AM until 12:00 PM.  You must register on Douglas Street before going to your booth space to set up.
  • All booths must be set up and completed no later than 12:30 PM on Friday to be eligible for the show.
  • All artists MUST CHECK IN AT REGISTRATION located on Douglas Street near Riverside Drive. You will be given an artist packet which will include your Booth Assignment and your name badge[s] and pertinent information regarding the show. We encourage you to read everything in your packet before the show opens for business. Without exception, artists’ vehicles will not be allowed on site after the setup times specified above.