CultureWorks: Fashion Designers & Wearable Art Creators

CultureWorks is a day-long arts and culture festival designed to highlight Greensboro's creative pulse and bring people together through art, fashion, and creativity. The festival takes place on Saturday, May 23, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Greensboro Cultural Center and LeBauer Park in downtown Greensboro's Cultural District. This free public event is produced by Creative Greensboro, the City's Office of Arts and Culture, in collaboration with the Greensboro Cultural Affairs Commission and university partners.

Creative Greensboro invites fashion designers and wearable art artists to apply for participation in the CultureWorks Designer Showcase. Selected designers will present original garments and collections in a public, festival-based context in the atrium of the Greensboro Cultural Center, offering high-visibility opportunities to showcase craft, concept, and innovation. The call welcomes proposals reflecting couture and high-concept fashion, ready-to-wear and contemporary collections, sustainable and ethical design, upcycled or zero-waste design, experimental or wearable art approaches, and fashion rooted in cultural storytelling or social practice. Designers may present finished collections or works in progress.

Selected designers may be featured through pop-up fashion showcases or installations, interactive or static garment displays, demonstrations or process-based activations, and fashion presentations or mini-runway moments as feasible. Presentation formats will be determined in collaboration with Creative Greensboro and the Cultural Affairs Commission. Applicants must be 18 years or older. The call is open to local, regional, and national designers, with priority given to Greensboro/Guilford County-based designers and artists. Individuals or design teams may apply. All work must be original and created by the applicant and appropriate for a family-friendly, public setting. Applications must include a designer statement or brand overview, images of garments or collections (or sketches for works in progress), description of materials and processes, sustainability practices if applicable, and preferred presentation format. Submit applications through CaFÉ at www.callforentry.org. Entry deadline: March 8, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Submit 5-12 images.