Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show

What Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show does

The Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show, operated by the Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Association (RSFAA), is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that runs the oldest outdoor fine art exhibition in the United States, founded in 1928 by students at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The organization produces two annual shows (June and September) at Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, featuring approximately 143 professional and student artists selected through a blind jury process from hundreds of applications, drawing more than 20,000 visitors per show across 8 exhibitor categories.

The core technical infrastructure is minimal: a Wix-hosted website, Zapplication integration for artist application management, and standard social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Threads, X) for marketing. Supporting programmatic offerings include the 5 O'Clock Club (a weekly Instagram LIVE interview series hosted by board member David Oleski), the Demystifying Jurying educational program, and an Artist Marketing Toolkit with downloadable promotional assets for participating artists. Community outreach partnerships with VisionLink and Art-Reach extend accessibility programming to broader audiences.

The revenue model combines one-time booth fees charged to accepted professional and student artists ($100 for student slots; professional fees undisclosed) with tax-deductible donations from supporters. The organization takes no commission on artist sales and operates without corporate sponsorship, balancing its budget on a volunteer-led board composed entirely of exhibiting artists supplemented by a small paid staff (1-10 employees) including a Managing Director and Financial Director. Customer segments are diversified across professional artists, college-level student artists (primarily from PA, DE, NJ, NY), and art collectors/patrons visiting the show.

Name

Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show

Legal name

Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Association

Website

https://rittenhousesquareart.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1928

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit operating the nation's oldest outdoor fine art exhibition in Philadelphia, producing two annual shows that jury-select ~143 professional and student artists and attract 20,000+ visitors each.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Outdoor Art Fairs & Fine Art Exhibitions

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

General Consumer Expos & Trade Shows (MPAGAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH)

Keywords

• Outdoor art show
• Fine art exhibition
• Artist promotion
• Art fair event
• Community arts nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Booth Fees: Charges booth space fees to professional and student artists for participation in the bi-annual shows.
2. Donations: Accepts donations from supporters. Organization is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that balances its budget without sponsorship.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show produces two annual outdoor fine art exhibitions (June and September) held in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, where approximately 143 professional and student artists selected through a blind jury process exhibit and sell original fine art directly to visitors. The organization complements the shows with the 5 O'Clock Club Instagram LIVE interview series, an Artist Marketing Toolkit of downloadable promotional assets, and the Demystifying Jurying educational Q&A program for prospective exhibitors.

Product overview

The Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show is an annual outdoor art exhibition event producing two major shows per year (June and September) in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia. Founded in 1928, it is the oldest outdoor art show in the nation. The organization operates as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit and runs a blind jury selection process accepting approximately 140 professional and student artists per show. Supporting offerings include the 5 O'Clock Club Instagram LIVE interview series, artist marketing toolkit with downloadable brand assets, and educational programming such as the Demystifying Jurying Q&A sessions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show (June)

Quantifiable outcome

• 20,000+ visitors per show
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Dick Blick Art MaterialsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAward sponsor for student awards at the June show, providing support for emerging artists.
• VisionLinkcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity Outreach Partner for June 2026 show. Works with adults living with vision loss to help them achieve independence through education and wrap-around support services. Featured on 5 O'Clock Club.
• Art-ReachminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity Outreach Partner that increases access to the arts, particularly during Covid-19, working to make arts accessible to all.
• Smile CaféminorOthersLocal restaurant offering 20% discount to exhibiting artists. Owner Ken Tutjamnong is also an exhibitor at the show (space #92).
• Various Local RestaurantsminorOthersMultiple local restaurants (Metropolitan Bakery, Hip City Veg, Bar Bombón, Machi Sushi Bar, Bakeshop on Twentieth, Devil's Alley Bar and Grill, Wilder Restaurant, D'Angelo's Ristorante) offer artist discounts of 10-20% during show weekends.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bellevue Arts Museum Arts Fair: Pacific Northwest juried outdoor fine art fair consistently ranked among the nation's top art fairs; comparable in scale (~140-150 artists), consumer-facing model, blind jury selection, and ranking-driven positioning.
• Cherry Creek Arts Festival: Long-running consumer outdoor art fair in Denver ranked in Sunshine Artist Magazine's Top 100; directly comparable as a juried outdoor fine art show serving professional artists and collectors, with similar artist booth-fee revenue model.
• Artisphere (Greenville, SC): Mid-size juried outdoor fine art festival in Greenville consistently ranked in Top 100; operates with very similar structure to RSFAA — blind jury, professional artists, booth-fee revenue, volunteer board.
• Sausalito Art Festival: One of the oldest and most prestigious outdoor art festivals in the U.S., comparable as a long-running juried fine art show featuring professional painters, sculptors, and printmakers with a strong collector audience.
• Plaza Art Fair (Kansas City): Major juried outdoor fine art fair in the Country Club Plaza, also ranked in Sunshine Artist's Top 100; operates with a similar artist booth-fee model, professional artist selection process, and consumer collector audience.
• Park City Kimball Arts Festival: Top-ranked juried outdoor fine art festival in Park City, Utah; comparable in business model (booth fees, blind jury, professional artists), scale (~140-200 artists), and ranking-driven positioning.

Emerging players

• Artsy: Online marketplace and editorial platform for fine art collecting; an emerging channel that competes with traditional art fairs for collector attention and could be a partnership or competitive vector for RSFAA over time.
• Saatchi Art: Online art marketplace that sells original fine art directly to consumers and competes with traditional art fairs for collector spend; not a direct fair but represents the digital channel that art fair organizers must increasingly contend with.

Regional players

• Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show: Philadelphia-based juried fine craft show with a similar target audience and consumer collector model; operates in the same city and competes for the same pool of mid-Atlantic artists and collectors but focuses on craft media rather than fine art.

Broad incumbents

• Affordable Art Fair: Large multi-city consumer art fair brand with rigorous jurying and a similar booth-fee/artist model; competes for both exhibiting artists and entry-level collectors but operates at greater scale across multiple geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/square_fine
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/RittenhouseSquareFineArtShow
• Facebookfacebook.com/rittenhouseart
• Instagraminstagram.com/rittenhousesquareart/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rittenhouse-square-fine-art-show

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show