51st Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts Call to Artists

Images: 4 (a booth shot is required)

Fee (Application Fee) $45.00 (July 1 – August 31); $55.00 (September 1 – October 31)

You can submit up to 4 applications for this show.

SCHEDULE:

• October 1, 2020 (midnight): Deadline for complete applications to be submitted and for payment of the application fee.
• Mid-October 2020: A panel of four qualified jurors will evaluate all applications (without knowing the artists’ identities) as part of the process for selecting and inviting artists to participate in the Festival.
• Late-October/Early-November 2020: Invitations will be sent to selected artists.
• January 7, 2021: Deadline to accept invitation and for payment of the exhibition (booth) fee. (Note: we have extended the deadline by over a month due to Covid-19)
• January/February 2021: Information packets will be e-mailed to participating artists.
• January/Early-February 2021: Opening of the online booth request process. Booth assignments will be made on a first-come, first-served basis.
• March 4-5, 2021: Artist load-in and setup will occur. Artists will be required to check-in at a designated location prior to setup. Detailed information concerning artist check-in, load-in, setup, and load-out will be provided to participating artists prior to the Festival.
• March 6-7, 2021: The 51st Annual Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts will be open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

APPLYING TO THE FESTIVAL

• Each artist must complete an individual online application, submit four images (three media and one booth photo), and pay the application fee by the application deadline.
• A nonrefundable application fee of $45 must accompany each application. The nonrefundable application fee increases to $55 after August 31, 2020.
• The artwork shown on the three images must have been produced in the last three years (2017 to present), and the artist must indicate the year for each piece or the application will be marked incomplete. These three images must accurately represent the type of work that will be displayed at the Festival and must be a single category of work.
• The fourth image must show the artist’s display space (booth) with a representative sample of the work visible. This image is to provide the jurors assurance that the artist has an adequate body of work and should illustrate the scale of work. Applications without a booth display image will be marked incomplete.
• Artists who received an award from the juror (excludes Collectors Krewe purchase awards) at the 2020 Festival are automatically accepted into the 2021 Festival. These artists must, however, submit an application and pay the application fee by the application deadline.
• The 2020 Emerging Artist award winner will be automatically accepted into the 2021 Festival provided he or she submits an application and pays the application fee by the application deadline.
• An artist may apply in multiple medium categories for different bodies of work. A separate application must be submitted (including its own set of images) and a separate application fee must be paid for each category. An artist may not apply multiple times in the same category.
• A two-person team or partnership collaborating on a single product may qualify as a single exhibitor if this is adequately explained in the application. Each artist’s name must appear on the completed application, and both artists must be present for the entire Festival.
• The City of Tampa requires proof of auto insurance for all vehicles accessing the Festival site. By submitting your application, you confirm that you will have a valid auto insurance policy for your vehicle for the duration of the Festival, including during load-in, setup, and load-out. If you do not have valid auto insurance, you must notify the Festival and your vehicle will not be allowed to access the Festival site.

WAIT LIST

A wait list will be developed based on the results of the juried selection process. Wait-listed artists who are selected to participate in the Festival will be notified by email.

AWARDS

A juror of national prominence will jury the Festival on Saturday, March 6, beginning at 9:00 a.m. The Festival juror will determine the recipients of the following awards:

$15,000 Raymond James Financial Best of Show Award
$9,000 Board of Director’s Award
$5,000 Roddy Brownlee Reed Award of Excellence
$4,000 Mayor’s Award
$3,000 President’s Award
$2,000 (Name TBD) Award
$1,300 Awards of Merit (30 awards of $1,300 each)
$1,500 Emerging Artist Award
$1,000 Tampa Bay Regional High School Scholastic Showcase Award (Student)
$500 Tampa Bay Regional High School Scholastic Showcase Award (Student’s School)

An awards ceremony will be held at 6:00 p.m., Saturday, March 6, 2021 at the artists’ party. Award ribbons and checks will be presented at the party, but artists must, in any event, personally claim their awards and checks by no later than 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 7, or else the award and check will be deemed forfeited.

Covid-19 Update: Prize money, number of awards, and number of artists selected are subject to change due to the uncertainty of Covid-19.