Travel – Eat – Sleep

The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival is one of the many juried craft shows out there, but it is one event that I personally help at organizing. Every year, we receive more than six hundred aspiring applications for a spot in the festival. These craftspeople are then required to submit three slides of their pieces, along with one slide of their area.

Once all applicants have submitted these requirements, our qualified jurors are shown every artist’s slides simultaneously and without knowing the names of the artist. They will then choose the lucky 200 who will be accepted to the exhibit proper. There will be various awards, such as Best of Show, Awards of Distinction, Excellence, Merit, and Honor. In the interest sustaining familiar faces, the winners from the immediately preceding year will be exempt from the jurying selection.

There are a variety of categories in which the craftsperson can compete. These include the field of ceramics, drawing, fiber, leather, glass, jewelry, mixed media, oil paintings, photography, graphics design, sculpture, watercolor, and woodworking. Collectively, the price total to be given away amounts to $25,000.

It is my great pleasure to announce that the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival is one of the top fifty Fine Arts Shows that are held in the United States, according to Sunshine Artist Magazine. We continue to strive for excellence with this prestigious honor and we promise to give you the best event that is within our power.

If you are a student of the arts willing to see if you are at par with the best of the best, then go on and apply for the juried Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival! If you’ve applied and failed in the past, don’t let that stop you. You have had a year to grow and enrich your portfolio, and your chances are much better if you did so!