Calls for Artists

Crooked Tree Arts Center invites you to apply to its 65th Annual Art Fair, held on the south east end of the Civic Center - A Grand Traverse County Park. This location is a new location on the property on the corner of Titus and Fair Street. This location offers street side parking in addition to the parking lots on the property, public restrooms, food trucks and more. Participation is open to all artists who exhibit work of original concept, design, and execution.

Our fair seeks to maintain the highest standards for both the artists and for the viewing public. Juried artists will be selected for the event by the Art Fair committee.

Date: Saturday, July 25, 2026 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (rain or shine)

Media: Painting, Drawing, Collage, Graphics, Leather, Sculpture, Jewelry, Fiber, Wood, Metal, Glass, Photography, Pottery, and Mixed Media will be considered. Clothing, jewelry, and craft work must be handmade or substantially altered by artistic effort.

Submission Guidelines: Each applicant must submit five digital images, including four of current work and one of a fully-stocked booth. Artists working in more than one medium must have all media represented in their image set. Artists working in multiple media do not have to submit separate applications for each medium. Select "Multiple Media" in the application drop-down menu.

The Suttons Bay Art Festival, a beloved Northern Michigan tradition, is now managed by Crooked Tree Arts Center (CTAC) after a multi-year transition. Since its founding over 50 years ago, CTAC has been a vital force in the region’s arts community, providing educational programs, exhibits, and events that foster creativity.

Held annually on the first weekend of August, the festival draws thousands of art lovers to Suttons Bay’s Marina Park, a picturesque venue alongside Lake Michigan’s shoreline. Known for its exceptional selection of fine arts and crafts, the event attracts visitors and locals alike, offering a unique blend of sophistication and charm that reflects the region’s vibrant appreciation for the arts.

Featuring approximately 100 artists, the festival creates an artist-friendly atmosphere with extensive regional marketing and a stunning location. In addition to the art booths, visitors can enjoy food vendors, community group displays, a children’s art area, and the popular annual library book sale. A portion of festival proceeds supports arts initiatives in the Suttons Bay community, making it a destination event that celebrates creativity while giving back.

This art-filled weekend is the perfect way to experience the beauty and artistry of Northern Michigan.

See CafÉ listing for full submission details and form

Crooked Tree Arts Center - Petoskey is accepting submissions for the juried art exhibition In Motion: Making Art Dance, juried by Peter Sparling, former principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company, painter and videographer. Submissions may relate to this theme broadly and in many ways.

Juror’s Description

If, as J.F. Martel claims in his book, “Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice,” “Art invented humanity,” then I’d propose that movement invented art. The vitality of bodies in motion inspired artmaking from the earliest cave paintings to the most recent digital forays into CGI, AI and screendance. Martha Graham, one of the previous century’s most avid surveyors of human form and the stories that reside in what she referred to as the body’s “blood memory,” often told the story of her father, a doctor, admonishing her as a child: “Martha! Movement never lies.” So how do artists in the 21st century translate this vitality into painting, sculpture or film? How do they speak truths or create metaphors in their media such that the works do more than merely illustrate a dancing body; they perform their own authentic dance and emanate a vital presence?

In Motion: Making Art Dance seeks works that address these questions in terms of their own medium: 2-D, 3-D, or video. The exhibit will be part of a celebration by Crooked Tree Arts Center - Petoskey of the Martha Graham Dance Company’s 100th anniversary as America’s oldest active dance company. Occupying a gallery alongside a significant collection of photographs by the great American photographer of danced motion, Barbara Morgan, on loan from the Rochester Institute of Technology, the call invites both dancers who make art and artists who make their works dance to submit examples of their art.

Deadline: March 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM

General Information

The exhibition will run from May 22-September 5, 2026, in the Gilbert Gallery, at the Crooked Tree Arts Center, in Petoskey, Michigan.

Three cash prizes will be awarded: First Place award of $500, Second Place award of $300, and Third Place award of $200.

Applicant Calendar (2026)

• February 5 to March 30: Call and submission window are open
• March 30: Call and submission window close (midnight EST)
• March 31 - April 6: Jury window
• April 8: Notification of jury results sent (emailed)
• May 5 – May 9: Delivery of works
• May 9: Deadline for the arrival of works during posted gallery hours (or by special, prior, mutual arrangement)
• May 20-21: Awards selected
• May 21: Vernissage Preview/awards announced
• May 22 – Sept 5: Open to the public, Tuesday through Friday, 10 am-5 pm, Saturday 10 am-4 pm
• May 23: Public Reception
• Sept 5: Exhibition concludes
• Sept 8 – Sept 11: Pick up work from CTAC during posted gallery hours, (or by special, prior, mutual arrangement) and return shipping

Eligibility Criteria

Artists residing in the Great Lakes Region (Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and the Canadian province of Ontario), who are at least 18 years old, are invited to submit up to 3 original works to In Motion: Making Art Dance, juried by Peter Sparling.

Crooked Tree Arts Center – Traverse City invites Michigan artists to submit work for 350, a juried exhibition.

Imagining the World in 2126

As communities across the country reflect on America’s 250th anniversary, 350 invites artists to look forward instead of back — to imagine the world one hundred years from now. What might life look like in 2126? Not only in a literal or technological sense, but through the lens of human experience, culture, environment, identity, and the ways we live, connect, and create.