Artist registration now open for 2023 Foothills Folk Art Festival

The Foothills Folk Art Festival is now accepting artist application submissions for this year’s festival on Saturday, May 13.

The award-winning festival is a partnership between Downtown Newton Development Association (DNDA) and Hickory Museum of Art (HMA). The juried, folk-art themed show welcomes artists and guests to Downtown Newton on the second Saturday in May each year. Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival has been recognized by N.C. Department of Commerce and N.C. Main Street & Rural Planning Center as the state’s Best Downtown Special Event and Hickory Daily Record’s Festival of the Year.

The Foothills Folk Art Festival Artist Committee is looking for artwork that is intensely influenced by and displaying the spirit of folk, visionary, and outsider art. To be considered, artists must submit an application form, which may be downloaded from the festival website at www.foothillsfolkartfestival.com/artist-information. The application must be accompanied by three to five images of individual pieces of the artist’s work. These images should represent the type of art that the artist plans to sell at the festival and should be submitted as high-resolution digital images if possible. Artists are also encouraged to submit a photo of their booth if possible. These images will be used to select the artists for the festival and to promote the festival, so high-quality images are encouraged. If hardcopy images are submitted, artists should use photo paper or images printed by a commercial photo lab.

A registration fee must accompany the application, but the fee will be returned if the artist is not accepted. The early registration fee will be $50 and will apply to any applications postmarked by February 14, 2023. The regular

registration fee will be $75 and will apply to applications postmarked by March 31, 2023. Applications should be mailed to Hickory Museum of Art, Attn: Clarissa Starnes, 243 Third Ave. NE, Hickory, NC 28601. Applications may also be emailed to cstarnes@hickoryart.org. Please make checks payable to Foothills Folk Art Festival. No applications will be accepted via the festival Facebook page.

Artists may obtain more information about the festival, and an application form, from the Hickory Museum of Art by contacting Clarissa Starnes at cstarnes@hickoryart.org or by calling 828-327-8576, ext. 210.

The Foothills Folk Art Festival’s roots date back to 2005, when HMA first acquired 153 folk art objects from Barry and Allen Huffman of Hickory. Since acquiring the Huffman collection, HMA has showcased contemporary Southern folk art through a variety of exhibits, public programs and special events. The museum also has an ongoing and changing exhibition of folk art, Discover Folk Art: Unique Visions by Southern SelfTaught Artists, located on the third floor.The museum, located at 243 Third Ave. NE, Hickory, is open Tuesday through Sunday, and admission is free. Shoppers can also purchase unique folk art in the museum’s gift shop.

Admission to the Foothills Folk Art Festival is free. Festival guests will have the opportunity to purchase a wide variety of folk art directly from the artists. In addition, there will be artist demonstrations, live music, food vendors, beer gardens, and other special activities.

Festival volunteer committees are now being formed to organize everything from parking and signs to children’s art and food. To volunteer, contact Mary Yount at 828-695-4360 or myount@newtonnc.gov.

Festival sponsorship opportunities allow DNDA and HMA to raise funds to provide services within their respective missions. Sponsors enjoy a variety of benefits at a range of sponsorship levels. If you are interested in sponsoring the festival, please visit www.foothillsfolkartfestival.com/sponsor.

For the latest news about the festival, like its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/foothillsfolkartfestival or visit the festival website at www.foothillsfolkartfestival.com.