How to Exhibit at Boyle Arts Festival

The Visual Arts Programme

Each year, Boyle Arts Festival seeks to make the arts more accessible to a broad range of people and give prominence to young, emerging Irish artists. The festival has a proud tradition of providing a platform for the visual arts, offering three distinct exhibition opportunities to artists of all abilities annually. Each platform is designed to celebrate and promote emerging visual artists, providing an enriching cultural engagement to a wide audience. 

Boyle Arts Festival Main Exhibition

Curated programme by invitation only for professional visual artists. Technical costs are covered (transport, insurance, exhibition space), no entry fee is required. 30% commission charge on sales. (Click for full Terms & Conditions)

Boyle Arts Festival Open Submission Exhibition

Celebrating amateur and semi-professional artists. €10 entry fee to apply to exhibit. 25% commission charge on sales. (Click for full Terms & Conditions)

Boyle Arts Festival Art Trail

Provides a free platform that connects festival visitors with multiple art expressions. No entry fee or commission charge on sales. Artist must secure their own space. (Click for full Terms & Conditions)

How to Exhibit at The Main Exhibition

Each year, Boyle Arts Festival seeks to make the arts more accessible to a broad range of people and give prominence to young, emerging Irish artists. The festival has a proud tradition of providing a platform for the visual arts, offering three distinct exhibition opportunities to artists of all abilities annually. Each platform is designed to celebrate and promote emerging visual artists, providing an enriching cultural engagement to a wide audience. 

Terms & Conditions for the Curated Main Art Exhibitionen Submission Exhibition

  1. Selection in the Main Exhibition in King House is by invitation only with limited places available to artists from across the Island of Ireland.
  2. The curator decisions are final and we are unable to offer feedback.
  3. There is no Entry Fee. Technical costs are covered by the festival (transport, insurance, exhibition space, promotion). There is a 30% Commission on Sales.
  4. Acceptable media: Paintings, drawings, printmaking, photography, sculpture.
  5. Work must have been completed in the last year and must not have been previously exhibited.
  6. Collection/drop off locations across Ireland for selected works – including Belfast/Omagh/Dublin /Cork/Limerick/ Galway.
  7. Work is insured from the time of drop off/collection and until returned after the exhibition ends.
  8. All work must be for sale.
  9. All sales are organised by the Boyle Arts Festival Committee.
  10. Once work has been submitted, any sale made by the BAF before or during the course of the exhibition shall take precedence and supersede one made privately.
  11. Any private sale will incur the normal commission.
  12. High profile status for art and artists with the inclusion in a printed catalogue and a virtual tour of the exhibition.
  13. There is a presentation of the 5th Annual Fergus Ahern Award for Merit to an artist with work in the Main Exhibition.

How to Exhibit at The Open Submission Exhibition

Each year, Boyle Arts Festival seeks to make the arts more accessible to a broad range of people and give prominence to young, emerging Irish artists. The festival has a proud tradition of providing a platform for the visual arts, offering three distinct exhibition opportunities to artists of all abilities annually. Each platform is designed to celebrate and promote emerging visual artists, providing an enriching cultural engagement to a wide audience. 

Terms & Conditions for the Curated Main Art Exhibition

  1. Entry Fee is €10.
  2. There is 25% Commission on Sales.
  3. Maximum 1 entry per person.
  4. Entries accepted in any medium.
  5. Maximum size 70cm (700mm) to include the frame.
  6. All work must be original, never previously shown in Boyle and ready to hang.
  7. All paintings must be framed or presented in a normally acceptable standard (Clip-on glass is NOT accepted).
  8. Paintings without hangers or hooks will be refused.
  9. (Please write in BLOCK CAPITALS, as we sometimes have difficulty with handwriting)
  10. All works must be for sale.
  11. No responsibility will be taken for the failure by the purchaser to complete a sale whether a deposit has been taken or not.
  12. A panel of adjudicators will select for the exhibition. The adjudicators’ decisions are final, and we are unable to offer feedback.
  13. Artists will be notified of selection as soon as possible and entry fee is non-refundable.
  14. Unselected work may be collected during the week of the exhibition.
  15. One artist will be presented with the Sue Hil Perpetual Trophy for Merit and will be invited to exhibit in the Main Art Exhibition in King House the following year.
  16. Whilst all due care will be taken by the organisers with all entries, we cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage, however caused. Artists are advised to arrange their own adequate insurance cover against all risks, during transportation, exhibition, storage and returning of work.
Each work must have a securely attached label on the back with the:
  1. artist’s name
  2. address
  3. phone number
  4. title of work
  5. selling price
  6. and accompanied by an Entry Form

How to Exhibit at the Festival Art Trail

If you’ve ever wanted to showcase your creativity and artistry in a vibrant, community-oriented setting, the Boyle Arts Festival presents you with a unique opportunity. We invite artists to participate in the Art Trail by exhibiting their work in various shop windows and vacant spaces around the town, providing a unique platform to engage with the community and visitors alike.

  1. No Entry Fee
  2. No Commission on Sales
  3. It is essential for artists to engage with business owners directly to obtain permission for window/ space use.
  4. The responsibility for hanging. displaying, and insuring artwork falls to the artist.
  5. Boyle Arts Festival assumes no responsibility for the artworks displayed on the Boyle Art Trail nor for any sales transactions.
  6. A detailed map of the Art Trail will be featured on our website and distributed widely before the festival kicks off, ensuring your work gains maximum exposure. Please inform Boyle Arts Festival of your exhibition & location through the website contact form.
  7. To allow for a diverse range of art and artists, we kindly request that your exhibitions remain compact. This approach ensures that we can accommodate as many artists as possible, maximising the space available.