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2026 Old Town Art Fair – Chicago

EXHIBIT

A man holding a ribbon in front of paintings.Considered one of the top Art Fairs in the country, the Old Town Art Fair was voted #1 in America for the fourth year in a row.* It takes place the second weekend of June in the heart of the charming Old Town Triangle Historic District on Chicago’s North Side. There are 230 artists, an estimated 30,000 art lovers, a Garden Walk, Live Music, Food Court and Children’s Corner. Gates open Saturday 10:00 am to 7:00 pm and Sunday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, rain or shine.

Exhibiting Artists often name the Old Town Art Fair as one of their most successful events of the year. The enthusiastic collectors, family-friendly atmosphere, and helpful neighborhood volunteers make it a favorite venue for artists. Hear what they have to say.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING CHANGE:

The Old Town Art Fair organizers would like to alert interested Artists to some upcoming changes in this year’s application process. One of our goals for the coming Fair is to attract a more inclusive roster of Artists and additionally include a new Emerging Artist category to support and develop young artistic talent. To that end, our application window for the coming Fair will be October 1, 2025 – January 15, 2026. This timeframe will allow our team to optimize our offering and provide beneficial impact to the depth of our Fair. We’re excited about these upcoming possibilities and the potential to further strengthen one of the best art fairs in the country. 

Apply here through www.zapplication.org

  Artists set up
FRIDAY 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm

The Old Town Art Fair also offers:

  • Artists’ Breakfast – Continental Breakfast is available Saturday and Sunday morning
  • Artists’ Aid – Girl Scouts distribute refreshments to the Artists during the Fair
  • Booth Sitting – available Saturday and Sunday afternoon

We appreciate your interest in the Old Town Art Fair!

Please note: You can apply for up to three categories per application/profile. A separate application and fee is required if you wish to be considered for additional categories.

Two Dimensional Media:
> 2D Mixed Media
> Digital Art
> Drawing/Pastel
> Painting
> Photography
> Printmaking

Three Dimensional Media:
> 3D Mixed Media
> Ceramics
> Fiber
> Glass
> Jewelry
> Metal
> Sculpture
> Stone
> Wood

The Old Town Art Fair is a Fine Art Fair, exclusively. Artwork must first and foremost be an artistic expression; utilitarian purposes must be secondary. All work must be designed and handmade by the accepted artist and the artist must be present during the Fair. Production studio work is absolutely prohibited. The display and sale of commercial reproductions of any kind are not allowed. See below for a note on reproductions. The following items are not to be exhibited at the Old Town Art Fair:
> Books > Buttons > Calendars > Calligraphy > Cards > Candles > Clocks > Clothing > Desk Accessories > Hair Ornaments > Hats > Lamps > Leather Goods & Bags > Mirrors > Musical Instruments > Pillows > Planters > Posters > Puzzles > Stationery > Toys > Utensils > Wearable Art
NOTE ON REPRODUCTIONS The Old Town Art Fair is committed to being a high-quality fine art show. Therefore, all artwork displayed must be original and produced by the hands of the exhibiting artist(s).  No reproductions are permitted. Any method of making multiple copies of original art using photo, mechanical, digital, or casting technology is considered by the Old Town Art Fair to be a reproduction. This includes Giclees. Reproduction technologies have one or more of the following characteristics:
  • The work is not the product of the artist's own hand.
  • The number of reproducible copies is technically limitless.
  • All copies are identical.
  • The copies are produced by commercial entities, and the artist is not involved in the process.
Reproductions also include postcards, notecards, posters, and books, though the artist may have promotional postcards and business cards on hand to give to prospective customers.  These may not be sold during the Art Fair. Methods of creating multi-copy art in limited runs, such as intaglio, lithography, relief painting, and other traditional printmaking means, are not considered reproductions. Regarding photography and digital art, the Old Town Art Fair recognizes that artwork created utilizing photographs and/or computer technology is inherently reproducible. We also recognize that the use of cropping, enlargement, and darkroom and digital processes can produce different effects even from the same negative/image. All of this is allowed in the Old Town Art Fair. We require that participating fine art photography and digital art artists show only work that they have signed, numbered, and produced in limited editions. Such work is not considered to be reproductions. To prevent the sale of mass-market work at the Old Town Art Fair, the Fair reserves the right to halt sales of such work on-site, and/or to not invite artists who are believed to be selling reproductions to future Fairs.

The Old Town Art Fair is a juried fine art fair. Each year, artists are reviewed and chosen by an independent jury of experienced professionals including gallery owners, artists and museum curators. Jurors are recruited from the Chicago art community and represent a variety of disciplines.

The Jury is convened twice a year, once during the winter and again during the Art Fair. During the winter sessions the jury selects new artists seeking to enter the Fair. Approximately 700 artists apply each year. The Jury meets again during the Art Fair when all of the participating artists are juried on-site. Based on the jury scores, artists are invited back to or juried out of (and eligible to reapply for) the next year’s show.

The following is a list of jurors for the 2026 Old Town Art Fair.
Photography, Digital Art, 2D Mixed-Media
Mel Haasch
Jordan Miller
Jeff Zimmerman
Glass, Ceramics, Fiber, Stone, Woodworking, 3D Mixed Media, Jewelry, Metal, Sculpture
Erin Toale
Kaitlyn Miller
Andrew Rafacz
Painting, Drawing, Pastel, and Printmaking
Nina Rizzo
Corey Hagelberg
Chris Cosnowski

Click here to download a PDF with complete exhibitor information and detailed instructions. Click here to download the Tax Reporting Form.
Saturday, June 13, 2026 – 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
Sunday, June 14, 2026 – 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Where: Old Town Triangle Center Building 1763 N. North Park Ave. (corner of North Park and Menomonee)
When: Friday, June 13, 2025 – 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Saturday, June 14, 2025 – 7:00 am to 9:00 am
Friday, June 12, 2026 – 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm (assigned load-in times)
Click here to download a Map of the 2025 Art Fair, including gate, booth, stage and food locations.
Where: Old Town Triangle Center Building 1763 N. North Park Ave. (corner of North Park and Menomonee)
When: Saturday, June 13, 2026 – 7:00 am to 9:00 am
Sunday, June 14, 2026 – 7:00 am to 9:00 am
Girl Scouts will be on duty to distribute refreshments, water, and smiles to artists during the Fair.

Booth Sitting services are provided especially for artists who are exhibiting alone, but is available to all artists. Volunteers will be available 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm for a 20-minute break on both Saturday and Sunday. If you are unable to leave when your volunteer arrives, you can ask the volunteer to return before they finish their shift.

To sign up, email boothsittingotaf@gmail.com prior to the Fair or you can request booth sitting assistance at check-in. You will be asked to sign a Booth Sitting Agreement/Waiver.

You can like us, follow us and post information and samples of your work on: Facebook.com/OldTownArtFair. You’ll find a 2025 OTAF badge here to include on your own page. You can also follow us on Instagram at @oldtownartfair to get OTAF news and live updates during the Fair.
Looking for more ways to let people know you’ll be at the Old Town Art Fair? Download the 2025 Old Town Art Fair Digital Postcard here! Also be sure to download the B-side here! You can include the JPEG in an email to use as an invite, reminder, save the date, booth number announcement, thank you card . . .
The following streets will be CLOSED for the Fair starting Friday, June 12, 2026 at 12:00 am. Signs will be posted as NO PARKING – TOW ZONE. Towing will begin Friday morning. Parking in alleys is strictly prohibited.
Lincoln: West side of street from 1900 to 1920
Lincoln Park West: Lincoln to Menomonee
Menomonee: Sedgwick to Crilly Court
North Park: Menomonee to Eugenie
Orleans: Wisconsin to Menomonee
Sedgwick: East side of street from 1849 to 1853
Willow: Sedgwick to Crilly Court
Wisconsin: Lincoln to Sedgwick
The Old Town Art Fair has blocked several locations to provide parking to Exhibitors. For those artists who need to make parking arrangements through the Art Fair, please click here. Click here for a list of parking options in the area.

Chicago has many overnight accommodations including Airbnb, small boutique hotels and large chain hotels. The Old Town Art Fair has no relationship with any provider.

Click here for a list of local hotels and group rates, where available.

*ArtFairCalendar.com

Mel Haasch is a visual designer, editorial illustrator, and artist originally from Chicago, Illinois. Their collage illustration work focuses on texture, memory, form, and portraiture to illuminate vignettes of otherworldly influence on both the page, the screen, and beyond. They create work within both a personal practice and for editorial clients such as the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Guardian, and more.

melhaasch.com

Jordan Miller is an interdisciplinary conceptual artist based out of Chicago (Zhigaagoong). Miller’s work is situated in spaces both poetic and critical between streetlight and starlight – balancing a fascination for light with the desire for darkness.

Miller earned his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2017. He served as the Arts Administrator for the Wicker Park Bucktown SSA #33 and Chamber of Commerce from 2018 to 2024, and has worked as an instructor and Writing Fellow at SAIC.

Miller is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and member of the Choctaw Artist Registry.

jordanmillerart.com

Artist Jeff Zimmermann has showcased his work in exhibitions and public art installations around the world. His commissioned pieces span Fortune 500 companies, cities, museums, and universities. Zimmermann’s art has gained significant attention, being featured in prominent outlets such as PBS, the Today Show, and The New York Times. He is a self taught painter who received a BFA in graphic design from the University of Illinois. He resides in Chicago.

jeffzimmermann.com

Erin Toale is a Chicago-based writer and artist. She earned Dual MAs from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2013 and a BFA from Moore College of Art and Design in 2006. She has worked for various nonprofits, galleries, and research centers, including the Rebuild Foundation; the Society for Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and the Hyde Park Art Center. She is a Teaching Artist, a Contributing Writer for the Chicago Reader and Newcity, and Founding Director of Bird Show (a seasonal outdoor project space). erintoale.com

Kaitlyn has been a staple at Jackson Junge Gallery since 2016 and has served as Gallery Director since 2022. In her time at the gallery, Kaitlyn has flexed her curatorial muscles and has worked hard to continue the gallery’s mission of fostering relationships with a diverse community of artists. As a practicing artist, Kaitlyn brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the gallery as well as a deep enthusiasm for the arts. She is eager to introduce people to new artists and share her love of the talented artists she represents.
Kaitlyn moved to Chicago in 2014 with her husband, Jordan Miller, a local artist. The two have made a home here and carved out a space for themselves in the Chicago art scene. Kaitlyn earned her BFA from the University of North Texas College of Visual Art and Design, and has additionally studied in Italy with several months spent learning fresco techniques at the Lorenzo de’ Medici school in Florence. Her family is affiliated with the Museum of Texas Tech University where her grandparents contributed to the creation of the Dr. Robert Neff and Louise Willson Arnold Wing, showcasing the work of many 20th-centuray and contemporary Native American and Japanese artists.
In the past, Kaitlyn has worked as the gallery’s Private Events Manager and as the Assistant Gallery Director. When not representing the gallery, Kaitlyn enjoys time with her husband and three purrfect cats, binging television or audiobooks, and cooking up delicious new recipes.
j2gallery.com

 

Andrew Rafacz is an art dealer, writer and record collector based in Chicago, IL. His eponymous gallery, originally founded in 2002, has presented—often for the first time—prescient exhibitions by an international roster of artists, for more than a two decades. The gallery represents artists from a wide spectrum of backgrounds and identities working in a diverse range of mediums, connected by their respective dedication to a thoughtful, defining practice. andrewrafacz.com

 Nina Rizzo (b. 1974) is a Chicago based artist/painter and Associate Professor of Painting at Northern Illinois University. She received her MFA in Painting at The University of Texas at .Austin in 2004 and her BFA from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1997. She has shown extensively throughout the United States and abroad including solo exhibitions in North Adams, Massachusetts, Chicago, Illinois, Pelham, New York, Lucerne, Switzerland, and Rome, Italy. Notable group exhibitions include Perceiving Place in Alfred, NY, Malin Kong at Megumi Ogita Gallery, Tokyo and recently Her Space at Heaven Gallery, Chicago. Other group exhibitions include those in Reykjavík, Iceland, Germany, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Nina has completed artist residencies in many locations including Sardinia, Spain, Iceland. Rome, Berlin, Germany, Banff, Canada, Paris, Marnay-Sur-Seine, and Mandelieu-La Napoule, France where the varied sights and surroundings have always had a great impact on her work. Watercolor collages made at a recent artist residency in Düsseldorf, Germany are currently serving as source material for large oil paintings underway in Chicago. When not in the studio, Nina spends time walking her dog or enjoying a meal with friends. ninarizzo.net

 


Corey Hagelberg is an interdisciplinary artist and teacher living and working in Gary, Indiana. For the last 15 years, his practice in printmaking and socially engaged art has highlighted environmental concerns in the Calumet Region on the south shore of Lake Michigan. This has increasingly addressed food justice and employed ecological practices related to designing regenerative cities, local circular economies, and vibrant communities. He is co-founder and director of the Calumet Artist Residency (CAR), which aims to connect people, art, and nature. Currently, he is an MFA candidate in sculpture at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. coreyhagelberg.com

Chris Cosnowski is an artist and educator living and working in Chicago. He received his B.F.A. from the Columbus College of Art and Design in 1992 and his M.F.A. from Northwestern University in 2000. He has been teaching art at the collegiate level since 2001. He has exhibited his artwork extensively throughout the United States including a 10-year retrospective at the South Shore Arts Association in Munster, IN. His work has been reviewed in The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun Times, The New Art Examiner and the New York Observer. Publications include Manifest Gallery’s International Painting Annual 4 and twice being featured on the cover of New American Paintings in 2001 and 2013. Mr. Cosnowski has received numerous awards and grants including from the Illinois Arts Council and Chicago DCASE. In 2017, he was awarded a commission to design artwork for the Blue Line Montrose Station by the Chicago Transit Authority which was installed in May 2020. When he is not making art or teaching, Mr. Cosnowski tries to find time to travel with his wife Allison. He also likes hanging out with his two cats, Toaster and Pippa and playing classical guitar. cosnowskiart.com