New Artists

We’re always thrilled to welcome new participating artists to the Eastside Culture Crawl! The information below will help you understand the benefits, eligibility criteria, and the steps to registering as a Crawl artist. And once you’ve registered, check out Crawling 101, our resource guide for getting the most out of your Crawl experience! The deadline for new artist applications for 2025 is November 14th at 5pm.

Why Participate?

Being a Crawl artist allows you to welcome a broad public into your studio, expand your fanbase by introducing your art to attendees, and deepen your relationship with fans by telling them about your work, your creative process, and answering their questions. It’s an opportunity to create a lasting memory for visitors. People are more likely to promote an artist they’ve met and liked.

The Crawl is also an opportunity to sell your work. However, the Crawl does not facilitate art sales; all aspects of selling your art is your choice and responsibility.

• Get discovered by 80,000+ website visitors and 45,000+ festival attendees
• Benefit from over $100,000 in media coverage
• Promotion via a professionally designed program guide & map
• Eligibility for preview shows
• An individual artist profile page on the Crawl website you customize with your own content
• Eligibility for promotion via the Crawl’s social media channels (20.4k Instagram followers, 13.5K Facebook likes, and 5000 email subscribers)
• Join a community of professional artists who inspire and support each other
• Participate in artist development workshops offered throughout the year
• Participate in the Studio 101 program for inner-city elementary school students
• Benefit from the advocacy work the Eastside Arts Society staff and volunteers do

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The Eastside Culture Crawl festival is focussed exclusively on professional artists in their own studios, producing unique works of art. The selection committee is guided by standards of professionalism similar to, for example, Canadian Artist Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC), the Canada Council, and the Craft Council of British Columbia (CCBC).

If you have any questions about whether you are eligible, please email us. If necessary, we will consult your artistic peers who are Crawl eligible to review your particular case.

1. Participating artists in the Eastside Culture Crawl must work from a studio within our boundaries of Columbia Street to Victoria Drive, and First Avenue to the waterfront.
2. You may not sublet or rent out your studio to others during Crawl hours. The Crawl is a public studio visit with artists in their own workspace.
3. Your artwork must be one-of-a-kind and created by you. Mass produced work is ineligible. Consumable, disposable, and perishable items (such as manufactured food, culinary arts, candles, soap, etc) are ineligible.
4. You can only promote and sell work you have created.
5. Each artist registers individually regardless of whether the work is a collaboration, collective, etc. If you are operating under a business name and/or collective with more than one artist, each artist must register.
6. You are not permitted to serve alcohol during Crawl hours.
7. You must be open during all the Crawl hours and be present in your studio for the full four days of the festival.
8. You must be 18 years and over.
9. If your studio is in a residential apartment building, you must obtain permission from the building manager. If you do not have a separate/private entrance you must have someone at the door to let people in and walk them to your studio.
10. An Artists Agreement is part of the registration process. You must read and agree to the Agreement before you can register as a participating artist.

REGISTERING AS A NEW ARTIST

If you are eligible, and after you have registered and paid your fee for the current year’s festival, you’ll have access to populate your online artist profile, which will stay up until registration opens for the next festival year.

Follow these steps:

1. Create your account and submit a new artist application here. Processing time can be several days, so please make sure to submit well in advance of deadlines.
2. Once your application is approved, you’ll receive an email with directions to pay the registration fee. Your registration is active upon processing of your payment.
3. Complete your artist profile with images, bio and artists statement. Note that if you do not fill out your artist profile, you will not be listed online or in the program.
4. Review Key Dates & Deadlines to ensure inclusion in our program, and media relations, among other opportunities. Please note that November 14th at 5pm is the deadline for new artists to apply for the 2025 Culture Crawl.

If you have any questions and/or technical difficulties, please email us or call 778-379-4545