Conditions of the Festival

Conditions of the Festival
Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival upholds high standards of quality as a fine art and fine craft market. The following ‘Conditions of the Festival’ help to ensure that these standards of quality are consistently met and help to make the Market a good environment for artists to display and sell their work. Failure to comply to the Conditions of the Festival may result in expulsion from this year’s and/or future festivals.

  1. The artist must be present during the entire festival. No commercial agents, dealers or salespeople may operate the artist’s booth. Collaborations/ partnerships are permitted, however all artists must be listed. If you operate a multi-artist studio, you must represent this to the Festival and the public. Commercial studios involved in volume production will not be considered for inclusion in the show. Artists may not display or sell work by apprentices or employees.
  2. No booth sharing between independent artists will be permitted. Partners must collaborate in their creative process.
  3. The artist’s booth must be set up and open for business from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. each day of the Festival.
  4. The work sold in the Market must be of the same nature and quality as the images submitted for jurying. The Festival reserves the right to request the removal of any work that differs from images submitted and accepted, as well as any inappropriate work or display.
  5. A site qualifying committee will examine each booth and may question artists about the authenticity of artists’ work to ensure that all work is original and made by the artist present, and that the rules and conditions of the Festival are adhered to by each participating artist.
  6. All work must be original, designed and crafted by the applicant. We do not accept work made from commercial molds, kits or patterns, or other commercial methods. Copyrighted designs not owned by the artist are not permitted. No factory-made items, including commercially produced boxes, furniture, dishware, stemware, etc.; decoupage; T-shirts or sweatshirts; candles; plants; manufactured belts or handbags; etc. regardless of enhancements.
  7. Any reproductions may not exceed 25% of the work offered for sale and must be clearly marked as reproductions.
  8. No pets are permitted on the Artists Market grounds.
  9. No storage beyond booth space. (This is due to landscaping costs.)
  10. All exhibitors agree to comply with Festival policy in regards to booth rental and weight requirements.

Medium Categories

  • Ceramic: original clay work other than jewelry
  • Drawing: two-dimensional works in pencil, chalk, pastel, charcoal, pen & ink
  • Computer Graphics & Digital Art: original computer generated art, photographs that are artistically manipulated using a computer
  • Wearable Fiber: any wearable work crafted from fiber, excluding leather and jewelry
  • Non-wearable Fiber: non-wearable work crafted from fiber including fabric and paper
  • Glass: glass work that has been hand-crafted by glass blowing, molding, casting or kiln-forming
  • Precious Jewelry: any jewelry crafted from precious metals (gold, silver. gemstones, etc.)
  • Non-Precious Jewelry: any jewelry crafted from non-precious materials (wood, clay, glass, etc.)
  • Leather: any work crafted leather other than jewelry
  • Metal: any work crafted from metal other than jewelry
  • Mixed Media/Two-Dimensional: two-dimensional work that incorporates more than one type of physical material in their production (ceramic, fiber; wood/metal; assemblage, collage, etc.) These may include handmade books as well as wall art. If work submitted is created in more than one medium, please choose a category that represents the majority of the medium you use.
  • Mixed Media/Three-Dimensional: three-dimensional work that incorporates more than one type of physical material in their production (ceramic, fiber; wood/metal; assemblage, collage, etc.) If work submitted is created in more than one medium, please choose a category that represents the majority of the medium you use.
  • Musical Instruments: original, hand-crafted, functional musical instruments
  • Painting: two-dimensional works in paint
  • Photography: prints created from the artist’s original negative processed by the artist or under direct supervision of the artist
  • Printmaking & Graphics: original works created using traditional printmaking methods including block, lithograph, serigraph, etc.
  • Sculpture: three-dimensional original work created in any medium
  • Wood: original works in wood that are hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned or carved

Artists may apply in more than one medium, but must submit a separate application fee for each medium.

If your primary medium is anything other than jewelry, you may not sell jewelry of any kind in your booth unless you submit a separate application in the jewelry category.

Re-assignment of categories is at the discretion of the Festival.

Musical Instrument Artists may sell recordings only if they feature the artist performing on an instrument that the artist has crafted. The musical instruments must be clearly displayed in the front of the booth; displays of tapes and CDs must be subordinate to the instruments and must not overwhelm the booth. The primary vehicle for demonstrating must be through the live demonstration of the artist, not through recordings. Reproductions (tapes, CDs, books, etc.) can only make up 25% of the booth layout.

Questions
If you have questions about whether your work qualifies for the Artists Market at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, contact:
Sonja Sweterlitsch
Community Art Manager
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
phone: (412) 471.3191
email: sweterlitsch@pgharts.org