165 Artists To Display Works At 25th Annual Bethesda Row Arts Festival

BETHESDA, MD — The 25th Annual Bethesda Row Arts Festival will be held in October, when downtown Bethesda will get transformed into a massive outdoor art gallery.

The festival will take place rain or shine along Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues, Elm Street and Bethesda Lane, east of Arlington Road on Saturday, Oct. 14 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For this year, a block has been added to the festival on Woodmont Avenue from Hampden Lane to Montgomery Avenue.

The festival will feature works from 165 artists from across the country who work in ceramics, drawing, fiber, glass, printmaking, jewelry, metalwork, painting, photography and sculpture. It’s expected to attract more than 25,000 art patrons over the two days.

About 40 percent of the artists will be new to the Bethesda Row Arts Festival. This means that returning patrons will get to enjoy artwork from their favorites while experiencing plenty of new art pieces.

Co-directors Jon Gann and Jim Taglauer took over the festival in 2019. Their work on the festival led to an increase in the standards for artist acceptance that was facilitated by a “discerning jury selection process,” according to the festival.

The organizers are also seeing a record number of applications for this year’s festival.

“Festivals like this give us the opportunity to connect. In our digital world, we miss so many personal exchanges – things that make up the stories of our lives,” Gann said in a statement.

“We buy mass-produced home decor, or through online maker sites, without knowing anything about the process or the person who created it,” Gann said. “Art festivals like BRAF allow people to bring meaning to the items that make their space a home. Come meet the artist behind the art that inspires you.”

Free and paid parking garages will be located around the festival site.