Contemporary applied artists, craftspeople and designer-makers based in the UK, exhibiting contemporary craft and design work.

This opportunity is open to makers at any stage in their creative career, who can show a cohesive collection of quality and original work.

Saltaire Inspired is committed to inclusion and diversity and particularly encourages applications from artists whose backgrounds and lived experience are underrepresented in the visual arts, contemporary craft and design sectors.

If you would value a pre application conversation or have questions about showing your work within the Saltaire Arts Trail, please contact us directly through the 'Contact curator' section of this page.

Sunday 28th June 2026.

Artist-created work of original concept and excellent quality in the fields of contemporary ceramics & sculpture, textiles, jewellery, printmaking, glass, metal, artists' books, paper, leather, wood, furniture, plastics, textiles, fashion/accessories and mixed media - this is not an exclusive list, we are always keen to see interesting use of new materials.

Our Saltaire Makers Fairs have a specific focus on showcasing handmade and contemporary craft, therefore we are unable to accept applications of traditional Fine Art practices, such as painting, drawing and photography.

The Fair is an opportunity for the public to meet the makers, therefore exhibitors must show only work created by themselves.

We would like to offer the public work at a range of prices, but are also keen to promote the appreciation and sale of higher-priced, signature items.

Saltaire Makers Fair Selection Criteria:
• All work must be of a handmade nature and have been made by the exhibitor themselves.
• Work must be original in concept not an obvious copy of another designer-maker’s work.
• We are looking for contemporary work that is skilfully made and of a high quality, suitable for display in a contemporary craft gallery setting.
• Applications to show printmaking work must feature original limited edition handmade prints as the main focus, and should only show digital/giclée prints as a small part of their display and should be labeled as such.
• We do not accept or promote work constructed from assembled pieces, kit-based items or mass-produced reproductions of works in other media. Merchandising, including commercially printed cards, should form only a minor part of the exhibitor’s display.
• Products featuring works of illustration should be able to evidence some handmade elements, and not feature exclusively digital reproductions of the original illustrations.
• Traditional fine art practices such as painting and drawing will not be suitable for display within the Saltaire Makers Fair.
• As an event with a focus on art and design practices, applications for food/drink products, beauty, fragrance, soaps and candles etc. will not be suitable.
• Returning artists and makers will be expected to exhibit a proportion of new work. Applicants who have exhibited at the last 3 or more consecutive events may benefit from taking a break from exhibiting this year, in order to keep the show fresh and regular audiences engaged.
• Joint or group submissions can be considered only if artists wish to present their work together as a single display, where the work is related in subject matter, style, technique etc. or is the work of a studio group, and intended to be shown as a coherent joint display.

We will not be allocating half or part-stalls to separate applicants. However, we are happy to receive joint or group submissions from artists who wish to present their work together as a single display, where the work is related in subject matter, style, technique etc. or is the work of a studio group, and intended to be shown as a coherent joint exhibit. The joint application would be judged as a whole and members of the partnership or group would then share a single administration/stall fee.

A new stand option has been created, with studio groups or collectives of 4 or more individual makers in mind - please see info regarding the LARGE/GROUP PITCH option below.

Please note that all pitch options include the same 8x4ft floor space, except for the LARGE/GROUP PITCH.

• STANDARD PITCH: £145 for TWO days - Approximate floor space of 8x4 ft, including a 6x2 ft table and up to 2 chairs if required. You are welcome to bring your own free-standing display boarding etc. to set up within this space.

• STANDARD PITCH + SMALL DISPLAY-BOARD: £170 for TWO days - Approximate floor space of 8x4 ft, including a 6x2 ft table and up to 2 chairs if required. Includes pre-installed display-board measuring approximately 4x3 ft (total space to display on board, above table height), with legs that make 6.5ft height in total. Includes a flexible hanging system, no spotlights but access to power may be requested.

• STANDARD PITCH + LARGE DISPLAY-BOARD: £190 for TWO days - Approximate floor space of 8x4 ft, including a 6x2 ft table and up to 2 chairs if required. Includes pre-installed 'bay' style display-board measuring approximately 8x4 ft (total space to display on board, above table height) with legs that make 6.5ft height in total. Includes a flexible hanging system and 2 spotlights.

• LARGE/GROUP PITCH: £220 for TWO days - Intended for studio groups/collectives, or for individuals showing larger scale works (i.e furniture) - Approximate floor space of 12x4 ft, including one 6x2.5 ft table and additional 3x3ft table if required, with up to 4 chairs. Does not include pre-installed display-board, but you are welcome to bring your own free-standing display boarding etc. to set up within this space.

• Demonstration Space: a £30 discount on the above prices, please state your stand preference in your application. May include a small amount of additional space for demonstrations to take place in, to be agreed (no extra space can be given for demonstrations taking place in a Large Display Space)

Please state which pitch type you would prefer in your application, by selecting either STANDARD, + SMALL DISPLAY-BOARD, + LARGE DISPLAY-BOARD, or LARGE/GROUP from the drop down menu.

A deposit on your pitch fee will be requested upon successful application and must be paid by Saturday 25th July 2026 to secure your offered place. No commission will be taken on sales.

There is a non-refundable administration fee of £6 required for all submissions. As a volunteer-led charitable organisation, this helps us to cover the administrative costs of carrying out a fair and unbiased selection process with an independent panel of industry professional judges.

Before you submit your application, you will be directed to Curatorspace's secure payment portal in order to make payment of the application fee and to complete your submission.

The administration fee should be paid before the closing date for entries. If the £6 fee is not paid by the closing date, your application will not be considered.

Please note that this £6 administrative fee does not guarantee you a place within the Saltaire Makers Fair; all applications are subject to a selection process.

You can attach up to 10 images as part of your application. To help us with selection, please upload a minimum of 4.

It is vital to the selection process that the images you submit are of a good quality and give a true idea of the work you wish to exhibit. If possible, please also include one image showing your stand display from another fair/market.

Please upload JPG images, no larger than 4MB. If you are selected, the images will be used initially as part of an online gallery, so we only need them to be web-size at this stage.

PLEASE NOTE: You will need to upload each image one at a time to ensure that they successfully attach to your application, please check your completed application to make sure all images appear.

We are very keen to have interesting and engaging demonstrations available to the public. We will be able to offer a limited number of Demonstration Spaces with additional room for working*, and at a discounted pitch fee rate. Demonstrations will take place at your stand.

If you are applying to have a Demonstration Space, you'll need to be prepared to interact with the public and ideally to have an activity that people can try. We would prefer for any participatory demonstration to be free for visitors, but a small fee for materials is fine, if participants will be taking something away with them.

Please submit a description of what you would like to offer within your application in the ‘Demonstrations’ section, and also state your stand preference (Standard, + Small Display-Board, or + Large Display-Board).

If your application is successful, we will then consider your demonstration offer and confirm whether or not we would like to invite you to carry out these demonstrations.

*We regret that no additional room for working outside of the stand can be given for demonstrations taking place in a Large Display-Board space.

11 am - 5 pm, Saturday 24th October 2026
10 am - 4 pm, Sunday 25th October 2026

*Opening hours will be confirmed closer to the event*

Yes, there is lift access to all floors and disabled toilet facilities. Please state in your application if you have any accessibility requirements, to help us best allocate your pitch location, if you are selected.

The venue has free Wi-Fi and a good 3G signal.

There will be a pop-up cafe inside the venue and exhibitors will receive money-off vouchers for refreshments.

There is an access lift to all floors of the building as well as disabled toilet facilities.

Saltaire Inspired has good marketing plan in place, based on over 18 years experience. We will market and promote the Saltaire Makers Fair through the production and distribution of high quality print, a vigorous social media campaign and by generating press releases and distributing them to appropriate media.

Exhibiting artists will be featured in an online gallery on the Saltaire Inspired website and in a printed programme brochure. We’d like to ask all exhibitors to participate in the marketing and to promote their attendance at the event as much as possible.

An independent committee of arts professionals will assess all applications and make the selection at a date to be agreed in July 2026.

You will be informed as to whether your application was successful as early as possible after selection, but by no later than Monday 20th July 2026.

The panel will be given the task of putting together a well-balanced show, considering new and returning exhibitors, emerging and established artists and an interesting mix of genres.

It is important that the images you submit are representative of the quality of the work you wish to show. The panel will be able to research your website, but time is always tight and first impressions from the submitted images are crucial.

The decision of the selection panel is final, and unfortunately, no discussion can be entered into once the selection has been made, though we will be happy to give general feedback.

You will be contacted via a message sent through the Curatorspace messaging feature shortly after selection, and by no later than Monday 20th July 2026. All artists who have submitted work will be contacted even if unsuccessful on this occasion.

If your application is successful, you must be able to commit to both days of the Fair and you will be asked to agree to our terms of participation.

A deposit payment on the pitch fee must be paid by Saturday 25th July 2026, in order to secure your place within the Saltaire Makers Fair.