The Festival features a unique opportunity for visual artists who are Iowa residents and currently enrolled in an institution of higher education. The Emerging Iowa Artist Program presented by Principal offers new artists the opportunity to showcase their talent and selll their artwork at one of the nation's most decorated arts festivals.
To qualify for the program, applicants must be Iowa residents currently enrolled in or recently graduated (within one year) from a university, college or art school anywhere in the country. Individuals can participate in the EIA program for two years (either consecutively or non-consecutively). Because of financial support from Principal, this program is free to qualified artists. There is no charge to submit images for the jury or for booth space once the work is accepted by the jury.
Qualified artists are required to apply to the show in the same manner as professional artists and submit their work in accordance to the specifications. All applicants are required to provide at the time of application proof of residency and enrollment. All work submitted is juried by the same jury. The Festival jury will select the emerging artists separately from the Festival artists. And in June, the Awards Jury will jury all participating artists and award an emerging artist the Leysens Family Best of Emerging Iowa Artist Award. The award comes with a $1,000 cash award and an automatic invitation to the 2021 Festival.
For information on applying to the Festival, click here.
For more information about the program, contact Stephen King.