The Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival continues to attract the most gifted and diverse artists from around the country and around the world.

Because of the popularity of the festival and Winter Park in general, an artist's attempt to find a reasonable hotel room close by can be a challenge. Housing is a concern for many artists from out of the area during the festival.

This is why WPSAF developed the Home Hosting Program - the goal of which is to offer housing to artists who may need it.

Here is how you can help:

• If you or one of your friends have an extra bedroom, and are willing to have an artist stay at your home during the festival, we will perform the screening and match an artist to available host space.
• Ultimately, housing which is within walking distance to the festival is preferable. However, with the advent of transportation services like Uber and Lyft, the cost of getting to and from the art festival is a lot less than a hotel room (which in many cases, is not even available or attainable). So, even if housing is a five-minute ride away from Park Avenue, it could be an option.
• We want to provide artists with a bed and bathroom, so anything additional is up to you. The artists are mostly self-sufficient. They leave early in the morning and most likely will not return until late in the evening. I think you will find most to be extremely grateful.
• The housing is needed for the duration of the Art Festival.

We think you will find this to be a wonderfully fun opportunity to meet an interesting artist from around the country, even around the world. At the same time, you can help make the artist's time here in the Winter Park area very special. Thank you to those who have hosted, for rising to the occasion again and again. We are excited to provide more beds to our artists!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email friendsofWPSAF@wpsaf.org .

Testimonials

"The hosting program was very important for me because my only income is from the sale of my sculpture. The hosting program gave me an opportunity to meet new friends of the arts, enjoy an occasional home-cooked meal and reduce my significant traveling and lodging expenses. Thank you for sponsoring this program."

– David Bryce, Fly Creek Studio, Massachusetts – 2016

"It has become obvious that the artists who do outdoor shows have seen a reduction in their income over the years and yet their expenses keep rising. Without local assistance in housing, many artists find that they cannot afford to come to Florida because it has become too expensive. Consider their out of pocket expenses: art supplies, hotels, food and gasoline.
Last year we were excited to host two artists and one companion. I had told them prior to their arrival that I would be tied up at the Festival all weekend and that they could come and go as they wished. It turns out that they were up and out early each morning and did not return until late in the evening. I had a real appreciation for how hard they work. We loved hosting and learned so much from the artists about their work and their lives. We made three friends who we hope to host again in 2016."

– Carole Moreland - 2015