RISD Craft, a juried sale of alumni work, will be held outdoors on Providence’s historic Benefit Street Saturday, October 10, 2026, from 10 am-4 pm, with a rain plan set at the WaterFire Arts Center in Providence, RI.

RISD Craft is a testing ground for entrepreneurial efforts and new work. It also invites the local community to access that work, and directly interact with RISD artists & designers.

The jury will accept around 80 RISD alumni vendors, chosen on the merit of their work, while recent graduates and current students are offered 30 spots based on a lottery system. Particular 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 a RISD alumna/us to submit an application to participate in the show. Please note: Current students and 2026 graduates have a separate application process that will open in late summer 2026.

The goal of the RISD Craft jury is to showcase unique, sophisticated, and original work created by RISD alumni in all media. Work must be handmade or designed by alumni who have an active role in the creation of the work.

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

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 jury consideration is open from March 30 – April 26 and it is free to apply. Late applications will not be accepted.

Late applications will not be accepted because of the jury process. RISD alumni members, all working artists/designers in various fields, are invited to jury the sale for each cycle.

Remember that the 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.

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 notification will be sent in July for alumni applicants, and August 28 for recent graduates and current students. For the fall sale, there are only 80 alumni booths available, while the rest will be allocated to recent graduates and current students. If accepted to the show, you will be prompted to submit further information when you pay for your booth. 

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 July 31, payable online only through our secure payment portal. The fee is $250. Recent graduates from the classes of 2026 are eligible for a reduced booth fee of $125 with payment due by September 6. Current students are eligible for a booth fee of $55 with payment also due by September 6.

Alumni withdrawing from the sale will receive a full refund if requested in writing prior to August 20. After that date, there will be a refund of half the table fee if requested in writing before August 30. Booth fees will not be refunded after that date due to advance planning and promotion schedules. 

Booths are approximately 6 ft deep from the curb, and approximately 6 ft wide space on the street – 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 alumni (except for recent graduates and current students), and booth locations cannot be selected by participating vendors.

In the event of very inclement weather, we will tent the entire street, limiting the booth depth to around 6 ft.

TABLE & CHAIR RENTALS

As of 2026, there is now an additional charge for optional table and chair rentals. A table measuring 6 ft. x 30 in. is $15, while a chair is $3. Each vendor can request up to one table and two chairs per booth. Vendors can choose to bring their own tables and chairs, or other display materials, as long as they fit within the provided booth dimensions of 6 ft x 6 ft.

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.

RULES & REGULATIONS

Participation in RISD Craft is a benefit offered exclusively to RISD alumni and students 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 degree program alumni and current students 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 and understand that the RISD Craft Fall event comprises a juried spotlight on alumni participants, and booth sharing is not allowed in accordance with the jurying process. However, booth sharing is allowed for recent graduates and current students.
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 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.
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.