Festival Eligibility

General Information

Held annually at the Palo Alto Art Center, the ACGA Clay & Glass Festival offers artists a wonderful opportunity to connect with customers, find new homes for their work, and build relationships with fellow clay and glass artists.

ACGA members may apply for Festival-Eligible status through an annual online jury process. A panel of current Festival-Eligible clay and glass artists reviews applications. Once accepted, members remain eligible to participate in the Festival for life, provided they maintain their ACGA membership.

If you are not yet an ACGA member, please review the Membership Information webpage and register through the Join Us! webpage before applying.

Next Festival Dates: July 10 & 11, 2027

Location: Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94303

To learn more about the Festival, visit the 2026 Festival webpage.

Festival Participation Fees in 2026

• 10′ × 10′ booth: $300 during the early-bird registration period (January 15–February 28, 2026); $335 thereafter
• Commission: 15% on the first $7,000 in total Festival sales

These fees are for reference only and are subject to change annually. Festival participation fees are separate from the nonrefundable Festival eligibility application fee.

Selection Criteria

The jurors use three basic criteria to evaluate your work.

1. Coherence, Originality, and Personal Identity: The submitted pieces should form a cohesive body of work that expresses a clear artistic voice. The work must be original, recognizable as your own, and not copied from or closely modeled after another artist’s work.
2. Aesthetics: Jurors consider both form and surface, including the work’s visual interest, vitality, and emotional impact.
3. Craftsmanship: The work should demonstrate technical skill, control of materials, and the ability to create well-formed, consistent pieces. Perfection is not expected.

Application Information

Application window: September 1 – 30, 2026.

Eligibility:

Open to all ACGA members working in clay or glass who reside in California.

Application Fee – Nonrefundable:

• Individual: $50 (one artist working independently on a single body of work)
• Collaborative: $60 (two artists working together on a single body of work)

Reapplication Policy: If membership dues remain unpaid for three consecutive years, the artist’s Festival-Eligible status will lapse, and they must reapply and be accepted through the jury process.

Application Requirements:

• Artist Statement & Process (300-word limit): Describe the ideas, inspirations, or concepts behind your work and explain your process. Include the materials, primary techniques, and firing or working temperatures, if applicable. Techniques may include wheel-throwing, hand-building, slip-casting, hand-painting, flameworking, and glassblowing.

If you are applying as a collaborative team (limited to two artists), describe in detail how you work together on a single body of work.

• Artist Bio (150-word limit): If you are applying as a collaborative team, provide a separate bio for each artist in the same document (150-word limit per bio).
• Artist CV or Résumé (2-page limit) — optional
• Artwork: Submit images and dimensions for 10 separate works created within the past five years. Include at least 2 and no more than 3 different views of each work. For a set or work with multiple related components, you may show multiple pieces in one image. The first image should show the entire work or set.

Image Specifications

• JPG or JPEG format
• 72 ppi
• Longest dimension: 1,800 pixels or less
• Maximum file size: 2 MB per image

For help resizing your images, see Helpful Digital Resources.

Image Quality

Professional photography is not required. However, all images should be in focus, well-lit, and photographed against a simple, distraction-free background.

Image Filenames

Name each file using this format: LastName_Title_ImageNumber.jpg.

For example, three views of an artwork titled Winter Fruit by Smith would be named:

• 1st image: Smith_WinterFruit_1.jpg
• 2nd image: Smith_WinterFruit_2.jpg
• Optional 3rd image: Smith_WinterFruit_3.jpg

Applications that do not meet the requirements listed above may not be considered.

After You Apply

• You will receive an email confirming receipt of your application.
• You will be notified of the jury’s decision by email within one month after the application deadline. All jury decisions are final.

Tips for a Successful Application

Submit a cohesive body of work that demonstrates a clear artistic direction without being repetitive. Avoid combining functional and sculptural pieces unless they are strongly connected through form, surface, style, or concept. If accepted, you may show a broader range of work at the Festival.
To strengthen your application, consider the following guidance based on jurors’ feedback:

• Image Quality: Jurors evaluate your work solely through the submitted images, so clear, high-quality photographs are essential. Use sharp, well-lit images with accurate color and a clean, neutral background. Avoid glare, harsh shadows, distracting settings, poor cropping, and blurry images.
• Cohesion: Select pieces that form a unified body of work and represent a clear artistic voice. Avoid submitting work that explores too many unrelated ideas or styles.
• Variety Within a Cohesive Body of Work: Include enough variation in form or technique to demonstrate the range of your skills while maintaining a consistent style and artistic direction.
• Artistic Development: Developing a strong, cohesive body of work takes time, and some artists apply more than once before being accepted. Applicants who are not selected may request feedback and are encouraged to continue developing their work and apply again.

APPLICATION LINK COMING SOON

If you have questions, please contact Tamara Danoyan, Jury Coordinator, at festival.jury@acga.net.