M&T Bank Clothesline Art & Fine Craft Festival

Artist Applications

Artist applications for the 2026 M&T Bank Clothesline Art & Fine Craft Festival are now open!

Koret Fellows Emerging Artist Award

New at Clothesline this year is the Koret Fellows Emerging Artist Award. Emerging artists—those in the early stages of their careers with a growing body of work and a developing reputation within their local artistic community are invited to apply for a complimentary booth space for the 2026 season. MAG is looking for creatives who are delving into their artistic voice, experimenting with different techniques, styles, and mediums, and pursuing opportunities to sell their work to a broader audience.

Award application closes Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 11:59 pm. Artists will be notified if they have been selected by May 14, 2026.

Artist Criteria

• Artists’ work should be in one of the following categories: painting, drawing, sculpting, ceramics, digital, mixed media, photography, fiber arts, jewelry, metal, glass, leather, wood, or printmaking.
• Award eligibility is for first-time artists to Clothesline and MAG employees only.
• Artists submit original work, whether one-of-a-kind or limited edition. The work must be conceived and designed solely by the artist or maker, and show vision, imagination, and originality.
• Work cannot be:
  • made from commercial kits, patterns, stencils, or molds
  • bought and sold items
  • personal care items, edible items, candles, plants, flowers (fresh, dried, silk), beaded jewelry made solely by restringing commercially produced or purchased beads
  • work that is partisan in nature
• Reprints of a singular design of the artist or maker’s own work are limited to 30% of the booth display.
• All artists will be subject to an anonymous judging process, led by, but not limited to, the Memorial Art Gallery’s curatorial team.
• Artists are required to supply their own tent and tables for Clothesline.

Merch Madness Tee Competition

Want to see your design all over Rochester? Participate in MAG’s Merch Madness, a friendly competition of artists to see who can design the best graphic for the annual Clothesline tee! Artists will submit their designs, and then you, the public, will decide who the winner is during Merch Madness in May.

The winner will get either $350 in prize money or a free both space at the festival.

Dates to know:

• Monday, February 2: submissions open
• Sunday, March 1: submissions close at 11:59 pm
• Monday, May 4: Merch Madness bracket public voting starts to decide the best design
• Monday, June 1: Winner announced

Design Requirements

• Must say: “M&T Bank Clothesline Art & Fine Craft Festival”
• Must incorporate the year (2026)
• Must include/incorporate a clothespin in the design
• Must use 5 or fewer colors
• Space that’s at least 3″ wide by 2″ tall must be reserved for MAG logo (we’ll add it for you!)
• Any text should aim for a minimum font size of 8-9 pt, with a thick stroke for standard apparel
• Final dimensions should fit within 8-12″ wide by 10-14″ tall, at 300 DPI
• Final design should be one of these file formats: .AI, .EPS, .PDF, .PSD, or .TIF
• Image submission must be a full size JPG or PNG at 72 DPI (we’ll contact the winner for the final design file)

MAG reserves the right to ask for changes to the final design.

Food Trucks

Want to become a Food Truck/Tent Vendor at Clothesline? We are now accepting applications for the 2026 festival. We are pleased to announce that, in addition to food trucks, we will be hosting food tents and carts at the festival this year.

Please fill out the survey using the link below with your information. A staff member from the Memorial Art Gallery will be in touch with you soon about your application. If you have any questions, let us know. If you are new to the festival this year, please include your email address in the contact section.