PARTICIPATE IN 2026
During the peak of summer in the bucolic Miners Memorial Heritage Park, Art in the Park is one of the Emberlight Festival’s premiere events. From June 27 – August 22, 2026 artists from across the upper Midwest create original installations using the greatest canvas of all: Mother Nature.
Art in the Park brings unique creations to the 1.2 mile Aurora Loop in Ironwood’s Miners Memorial Heritage Park. Installations can be created in any medium. The only requirement is that an installation survives two months of the Upper Peninsula’s summer.
$3,000 in prizes will be awarded to artists after professional adjudication and audience voting.
From amateur hobbyists, to large groups, to professional artisans — everyone is welcome to participate in Art in the Park. Any artist can claim a site via our online application (open from January 1 – April 1, 2026).
ARt In The Park FAQs
Art in the Park will take place in the Miners Memorial Heritage Park from June 27 – August 22, 2026. The show officially opens with a special ceremony on June 27 at 12pm.
Yes! The theme for our 2026 will be announced when applications open.
Applications can be submitted online. The application is open from January 1 – April 1, 2026. The application fee is $40.
If you fancy a walk, sites are currently marked along the Aurora Loop in the Miners Memorial Heritage Park. Otherwise, you can view photos of the sites here.
Available sites are listed on the application. Choose your preferred site from the list when submitting your application. If your site is not listed, that means someone else has already claimed it.
If you don’t know what site to chose, select the option to meet in person and a member of our team will walk the Aurora Loop with you.
We are pleased to offer $3,000 in prizes this year. Two prizes ($1,500 Grand Prize and $500 Emberlight Choice) are determined by a panel of professional adjudicators. The Audience Prize ($1,000) will be awarded to the artist with the highest score from online voting open to the public from June 27, 2026 (12:00pm CT) – August 19, 2025 (11:59pm CT).
The winners of the Grand Prize and Emberlight Choice Prize will be announced in July. More information on the award announcement will be released this spring.
The winner of the Audience Prize will be announced on Saturday, August 22 during our closing concert.
The official judges of Art in the Park are professional artists from across the United States. Adjudication will occur between July 1 – 15, 2026. Judges will provide Emberlight officials with scores (1-10) for each of the following criteria:
- Design & Composition
- Technique & Craftsmanship
- Creativity & Originality
- Integration of Nature
- Scale & Usage of Space
- Overall Artistic Impression
- BONUS (for tie-breaking): Relation to Emberlight’s 2026 theme
Emberlight provides professionally designed signs that include your title, description of your work, and a short biography of you. Finalized titles and descriptions must be submitted to Emberlight by Friday, April 17, 2026. Changes to your title or description after April 17 will be charged $35 for the production of a new sign.
Some artists create large structures that need to be carefully transported to the park. We are happy to work with artists on specific load-in and load-out plans, but the artist is responsible for all set up and tear down of their installation.
Move in begins on Monday, June 22 and must be completed by 11am on Saturday, June 27 so our photographers can shoot the installations. Move out begins on Sunday, August 23 and must be completed by 6pm on Saturday, August 29.
Later this spring we will share more information about load-in logistics and access to the service road into the park.