In celebration of RISD’s 150th anniversary, RISD is organizing a special two-day RISD Craft sale on February 13–14, 2027. The event will be held at the WaterFire Arts Center in Providence, and will feature 150 alumni, student, faculty and staff participants from across the RISD community. This commemorative event will also include craft-based demonstrations, music and food.

RISD Craft 150th Celebration will feature a juried application process for RISD alumni, faculty and staff vendors chosen on the merit of their work. While current students are offered spots based on a lottery system. Emphasis will be placed on the quality, attention to detail, originality, and mastery of craft in a wide variety of media. Categories include: Ceramics, Fine Art, Furniture + Homeware, Glass, Jewelry, Mixed-Media, Paper + Stationery, Textiles (Wearable + Decorative).

ELIGIBILITY

You must be affiliated to RISD, either as an alumni, current student, faculty or staff to submit an application to participate in the show. 

RISD Craft endeavors to showcase unique, sophisticated, and original work created by the RISD community in all media. Work must be handmade or designed by RISD participants who have an active role in the creation of the work.

Failure to comply with the following terms & conditions will make you ineligible:

1. All work must be designed by you and/or made by hand, and not outsourced in an unethical way. You CANNOT sell items that have not been designed or made by you or your business unless it is sold in conjunction with an item you have made yourself and cannot be purchased separately. If any part of the work is produced for you or bought to incorporate into your work, you must describe this process in your statement.
2. Participants must be present at their booth for the duration of the show and cannot pack up their booths early even if you sell out of inventory. Please plan accordingly to have ample work available. Participating vendors may bring assistants but no representative may attend in place of the alumni artist.
3. Participants must have items for sale and take away during the sale: your booth cannot only consist of example items for pre-order. If you do sell items on pre-order, you must commit to honoring any time commitments and/or communicating delays directly with the customers. Customers contacting RISD to complain about missing orders and/or no responses from inquiries may result in ineligibility for future sales.
4. All work exhibited must be of the same body, quality, and category of work juried through digital images.
5. Participants must check out at the end of the day with your sales reconciliation, and follow proper permits and tax payments procedures. See our FAQ page for full explanation.
6. Food items may not be sold at RISD Craft.

APPLICATION

The application for alumni, faculty and staff is open from August 12 – September 15, 2026, while the application for current students is open September 14 – October 13, 2026.

The application is free.

Late applications will not be accepted.

The jurors are comprised of RISD alumni members, all working artists/designers in various fields, who are invited to jury the sale for each event.

Jurors may be unfamiliar with your work and will make all of their assessments based on your submitted images and process statement. Images should be professional quality, and your statement should address your process in making the work, which is especially important if your products aren’t entirely made by you or by hand.

This edition will allocate a limited number of booths each day for alumni, faculty or staff participants who wish to host a demonstration in a specific craft-based skill in any discipline.

1. Demos need to be within a 2-hour duration, and can repeat throughout the day.
2. Participants will not be charging the public for demos.
3. Participants will be responsible for communicating their needs ahead of time, and be responsible for sourcing all their supplies.
4. Applicants participating both as a vendor and in demo instruction need to ensure they have booth support while they are away from their vending booth.

PORTFOLIO

You must upload five images of artwork through our application online. The work should be current and representative of the work you will bring to the show. Returning applicants are highly encouraged to submit new images of work. Images must be 300 dpi, and between 1400 and 4000 pixels on the longest side, and saved as JPGs or PNGs. PDFs are not allowed.

Please consider your photo submissions carefully. The images should convey to the jurors the craftsmanship, quality, originality, depth and breadth of your work. Non-detailed model shots may be great promotional images for your website or social media, but consider that the jurors might only fully comprehend the products they are voting on with a clear vision of the product. Avoid repetition of very similar works.

ACCEPTANCE

Email notifications will be sent in October for all applicants. For this special sale, there will be approximately 90 booths available for alumni, 40 booths for current faculty and staff, and 20 booths for students. If accepted to the show, you will be prompted to submit further information when you pay for your booth. 

Accepted vendors will be offered a spot on their preferred day, whether Saturday, February 13, or Sunday, February 14, as indicated on their application form. Accepted vendors may be considered for two days (if indicated on the application) for an additional fee.

Applicants indicating an interest in hosting a demonstration will receive a follow-up email to fill out a short proposal with their needs and requirements. There is a limited number of demo booths, and proposals will be selected based on creativity, taking into consideration other practical details of hosting a demo inside an art sale.

A limited number of artists will be placed on a waitlist. To ensure that the show is as balanced as possible across the media categories, artists are pulled from the waitlist as space becomes available in their specific media category. For this reason, artists will not receive a waitlist number.

FEES

If accepted, booth fees to secure your participation are due by November 15, payable online only through our secure payment portal. The fee to participate for one day is $250 for alumni, faculty, and staff, while current students are eligible for a reduced booth fee of $55. The fee to participate over two days is $400 for alumni, faculty, and staff, and $90 for current students.

There is no additional participation fee for hosting a demonstration.

Accepted participants withdrawing from the sale will receive a full refund if requested in writing prior to December 7. After that date, there will be a refund of half the booth fee if requested in writing before December 27. Booth fees will not be refunded after that date due to advance planning and promotion schedules. 

BOOTHS

Due to the nature of this event with having different artist vendors on different days, each booth will come with a table measuring 6 ft. x 30 in. and two chairs at no additional cost. Vendors cannot remove these items due to lack of storage space, however, you can choose to bring additional display materials, as long as they fit within the provided booth dimensions of 6 ft x 6 ft.

Booths are approximately 6 ft deep, and approximately 6 ft wide – directly adjacent to your neighbor’s space. Please keep this in mind when planning displays, and don’t use more than 6 ft of display materials to allow for some space between you and your neighbor. Booths cannot be shared with other RISD participating vendors (except for current students who have also applied and been accepted), and booth locations cannot be selected by participating vendors.

If accepted to the show, you will receive instructions on the paperwork necessary for a temporary sales permit for the State of Rhode Island Division of Taxation. This process will take place in person at the event, and not in advance of the sale.

RULES & REGULATIONS

Participation in RISD Craft: 150th Celebration is a benefit offered exclusively to RISD alumni, students, faculty and staff, and is managed by the Office of Alumni + Family Relations.

By applying to RISD Craft you acknowledge and voluntarily agree to the following terms and conditions. You also agree and understand that failure to comply with the following terms and conditions may make you ineligible for future sales:

1. Only RISD affiliates (alumni, current students, faculty and staff) may participate. Participants agree and understand that they must be present for the duration of the show; sales representatives are never permitted in the place of the artist and participants cannot break down booths before 4 pm.
2. F-1 international students: We are unfortunately unable to include F-1 international students as vendors in this year’s RISD Craft given financial, legal, tax and immigration regulations and implications. Considerations included the potential impact that income generated by the sale could have on a participant’s F-1 visa status. Students on the F-1 visa cannot participate in off-campus employment without work authorization in the U.S. Some examples of off-campus employment include art sales, being paid by organizations or individuals outside of RISD, running a business while physically in the U.S. or generating any active income. Please be assured that conversations for alternative solutions are ongoing and we welcome any ideas that still protect a participant’s  international status. For additional questions on F-1 visa regulations as an international student, please contact issa@risd.edu.
3. Participation is not transferable in any way. Participants agree and understand that if they forgo their r table, then they cannot give it to another artist; please email alumnisale@risd.edu and we will contact the next person on the waiting list.
4. Participants agree that booth sharing is allowed only for current students, and both students must have applied and been accepted.
5. Participants agree and understand that works sold must be designed by and/or made by the participant, and not outsourced in an unethical way. Participants agree and understand that their work must comply with all applicable laws, including but not limited to copyright. Participants cannot sell items that they did not make or alter in some original way.
6. Participants agree and understand that all work exhibited must be of the same body, quality, and category of work juried through digital images.
7. Participants agree and understand that food and beverage products are not permitted, and music cannot be played by participants during the sale.
8. Participants agree and understand that they are required to check in before setting up, and check out with required paperwork at the end of the day.
9. Participants agree and understand that the sale of goods containing the RISD name, logo, trademarks, and/or any other insignia is strictly prohibited without RISD’s written consent.
10. Participants agree and understand and acknowledge that their individual  participation may involve serious risk, including but not limited to risk of property damage and/or severe bodily injury. These risks may result from  participation in the RISD sale, the acts of others, and/or the unavailability of emergency medical care or immediate staff response. Participants agree and understand that they voluntarily, knowingly, and freely assume all such risks, both known and unknown, and that they each assume full responsibility for their own participation in RISD Craft. 
11. Participants agree and understand that RISD shall not be liable for any delays and/or cancellations of RISD Craft caused, without limitation, government action or failure to act where required, strike or other labor trouble, war, terrorism, civil commotion, failure of communications systems, fire or similar catastrophe, and severe weather, pandemics or epidemics, or other conditions beyond RISD’s control, including, but not limited to situations where the rendering of services is prohibited or delayed by local laws, regulators, or government orders. 
12. Participants agree and understand that RISD does not assume responsibility for any loss, injury or damage to person or property in connection with participation in RISD Craft which results from causes beyond the control of and without fault of the College. By applying to participate in RISD Craft, Participants (for themselves, their legal guardians, heirs, executors, administrators and assigns) release, indemnify and hold harmless Rhode Island School of Design, its trustees, employees, agents and volunteers (collectively “Releasees”) from and against any blame and liability whatsoever for any property damage, property loss, property theft, personal injury, death, claim, or any damage of any kind whatsoever, whether arising from the alleged negligence of the Releasees or otherwise, which may arise out of or relate in any way to participation in RISD Craft, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. Participants hereby agree and understand that they are solely responsible for any medical, health or personal injury costs relating to their own participation in RISD Craft.  
13. Participants agree and understand that they are required to limit displays to the allotted booth area, and displays cannot block another participant’s booth or the pedestrian aisle in any way. Personal tents are never allowed. Participants should contact alumnisale@risd.edu prior to the day of sale if they are unsure of what is allowed.
14. Participants agree and understand that RISD reserves the right to give away their table if they do not check-in at least sixty (60) minutes before the start of the sale, or let RISD know that they are running late.
15. Participants agree and understand that failure to show up without a reasonable explanation will automatically make participants ineligible for the next two (2) consecutive shows.
16. Participants agree and understand that they must purchase and display appropriate sales permits for the day, as well as fill out the sales date info sheet and pay any taxes due (if applicable) when they check out at the end of the sale. Failure to do any of this will result in ineligibility for future sales. Instructions will be provided.
17. Participants agree and understand that they are required to observe appropriate business practices and be aware of the rights of consumers.
18. Participants agree and understand are expected to communicate in a respectful and courteous manner with RISD staff and other participants. Participants agree and understand that failure to do so may result in future ineligibility.
19. Participants agree and understand that they are not allowed to bring pets, unless they are service animals, while vending at RISD Craft. Emotional support and therapy animals are not included in the ADA and are not permitted at WaterFire Arts Center.
20. Participants agree and understand that they must comply with all applicable RISD policies and procedures, including but not limited to those that apply to their participation in RISD Craft. Participants agree and understand that permission to participate in RISD Craft may be suspended, revoked, or denied by RISD in its sole and complete discretion for failure to abide by the terms of this Agreement and/or failure to abide by any applicable RISD policies and procedures. Participants also agree and understand that the health and safety of the RISD community is of the utmost importance and that permission to participate may also be suspended, revoked, or denied by RISD if any Participant poses a threat to themselves or others.