Cottonwood Art Festival is a biannual art show, held every May and October in Richardson, Texas. This popular juried event, featuring works from the nation’s top visual artists, takes place on the first full weekend in May and October each year. In addition to art, the event features a variety of food vendors and two live music stages, hosting some of the best local musicians. The festival is free for the public to attend. It runs from 10 am to 7 pm on Saturday and from 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday.
Artists
Nestled in the beautiful green setting of Cottonwood Park, the festival attracts thousands of people from all over North Texas. Cottonwood Art Festival showcases 200 artists from all over the globe. The artists get selected in 14 categories: sculpture, woodwork, painting, drawings and pastels, 2D mixed media, 3D mixed media, ceramics, fiber, glass, jewelry, leather, metalwork, and photography. In 2024, the featured artist is ceramist Gregory Story, who grew up in South Texas.
ArtStop Children's Area
Cottonwood Art Festival features an array of creative activities for children, available at the ArtStop area. Throwin Mud is an activity station guided by ArtStop master potters. In Canvas Classics, children learn to paint on a real canvas propped on an easel with a selection of different paints and a brush. The Clay Play workshop teaches children to form polymer clay into sculptures or beads to make jewelry. In Pinata Suncatchers, children use tiny tissue paper cutouts and create beautiful stained glass windows. In Bag Buddies, participants can make frog or bumblebee hand puppets and create a puppet show. Fancy Flutters teaches children to weave a gorgeous butterfly with a little bit of yarn and a few beads,
Festival History
Cottonwood Art Festival started in 1969, At that time, there was much of tie-dye, bell-bottoms and braids in the picturesque Cottonwood Park, where the artists spread blankets to show off their art. Since then, the festival has grown into a signature art event, attracting the finest artists in the US. Cottonwood Art Festival is ranked the #4 Fine Art Show in the country by Art Fair SourceBook. Throughout its history, the festival has been recognized by the International Festival & Events Association as an award-winning event in a few categories.
