Exhibiting at Staithes Festival
The Staithes Festival is an open festival. There is no selection panel, anyone may apply. Cottages and spaces which are pop-up galleries during the festival are either let or loaned by villagers or holiday cottage owners. There are a finite number of cottages and we do not have any substantial public buildings available.
Finding a Venue: Since its inception in 2012, the Festival has been oversubscribed. Artists should find their own venue quickly, either by exhibiting in their own home, borrowing/renting from friends or renting one of the many commercial holiday lets in the village (providing the owners have given their permission). We do not hold a list of all the properties available as this changes from year to year. If you go to the Accommodation pages, you will see a list of holiday lets / companies you could contact. This list is not exhaustive.
Contacting your host: Once you have a venue and registered, it is up to you the artist, to make contact with your host if applicable and to agree with them to view the property if necessary, how and where you will hang or display your work, your arrival and departure etc.
Registration: Registration opens on 1 February 2023 and closes on 31 May 2023. Please register in good time. Anyone applying after the closing date will incur a late entry fee of £50. Registration means you will be given an official venue number, be included in the guide in the festival programme, and on the website.
Prior to the Festival: We will write to you a month before the festival with further information about setting up, preview evening etc.
A Festival Office (a gazebo) will be set up on the weekend outside Staithes Gallery. This is where you will collect your Artists Pack which will contain all the necessary paperwork and information for exhibitors, balloons and feedback forms.
Fee: The registration fee in 2023 is £250 per artist, £150 each for two artists sharing a venue, £100 for three artists or more sharing the same venue. Students in full-time education and full time Staithes residents must register officially, but are not required to pay the fee. They should pay 10% commission on their takings. Registration fees are vital for funding this year's and next year's festivals.
Buskers: there will be designated pitches for music/entertainers. These will last for no longer than an hour. All buskers must register with the festival. To register, please contact Chris Wade at chris.wade@adastra-music.co.uk