Call for Art! WAC’s 6x6 Art Fundraiser Returns!
Join the Fun!
Event Date: Festive First Friday (Friday, December 5th)
Location: Betty’s Biscuits on King St.
Artist Submissions Due: December 1st, 2025
A Small Canvas with a Big Story
There’s something special about the 6x6 format. It’s small enough to invite anyone to create, yet powerful enough to capture an entire story within its borders. When you bring them all together, you get something extraordinary: a living collage of community creativity.
This year, we’re thrilled to bring back the Watauga Arts Council’s 6x6 Fundraiser, a beloved event that celebrates local talent, creativity, and connection. This time, we’re returning it to its original purpose: raising essential funds to keep the arts thriving here in Watauga County.
A Beloved Tradition
The 6x6 event has long been a favorite among artists and art lovers alike, and not just in Watauga County! The concept is simple: artists of all ages and skill levels create original works of art within 6x6-inch parameters in any medium they choose. We then display them together, lots of tiny masterpieces forming one big, joyful celebration of creativity.
Each piece is sold at a flat, affordable price ($30), giving everyone in the community the chance to collect original art and support the arts through an accessible and meaningful opportunity.
New This Year: Online Sales!
After the in-person event, we’ll host a temporary online sale featuring any unsold pieces. This gives even more people the opportunity to take part and ensures every canvas contributes to our mission of sustaining and growing the arts in Watauga County.
The online shop will go live on Tuesday, December 9th. More information will be shared soon!
Why Your Participation Matters
We want to share an important update about this year’s 6x6 exhibition.
Across the country, 6x6 shows have become a beloved fundraising tradition for arts organizations, from the Rochester Contemporary Art Center’s renowned 6x6 to similar events hosted by the Asheville Area Arts Council and Chattanooga’s Association for Visual Arts. These programs were created to help nonprofit arts councils raise funds for operations, programming, and artist support while offering an accessible and inclusive way for both artists and art lovers to get involved.
In previous years, we shared proceeds from 6x6 sales with participating artists. However, after evaluating the time, materials, and resources required to organize the event, we realized this model ultimately cost more to produce than it raised. By returning to the traditional 6x6 format, where all proceeds support WAC, we can ensure the event truly fulfills its original purpose: to strengthen our mission and invest in opportunities that bring greater reward and income to local artists throughout the year.
Your artwork donation directly supports this mission. Every piece contributed helps sustain the creative ecosystem that uplifts us all, fueling more exhibitions, public art, and resources that promote and celebrate local artists. Take it from a local renowned artist, Allyson Murphy:
“I owe my current art business’ spark to WAC’s Holiday 6x6 Show. Back in 2022, I had not been creating as much as I wanted, but I remember seeing the holiday show advertisement from WAC appear in my inbox that October and I thought ‘I can make some small pieces for this!’
Fast forward a few weeks and I had submitted 6 small pieces for the show. The local community was so supportive which ultimately inspired me to really ‘dive in’ and start vending at markets and rendering more local landscapes. I can’t imagine my life now without the support of WAC and our local art community!”
We greatly appreciate and thank everyone involved, from customers to artists, for being part of this collective effort over the years. Together, we’re building a stronger, more vibrant arts community!
Get Involved
You can register your participation today, even if your artwork isn’t ready yet! We just ask that all completed pieces be dropped off by December 1 at our office (377 Shadowline Dr, Boone, NC). Submitting your registration form early helps us plan and ensures your work is included in the show.
Click here to learn more about the event
Click here to register as an artist
We can’t wait to see what you create, and to celebrate another year of small works making a big impact.
