After a virtual run in 2020, the event will showcase visual and performing arts in the flesh

The Boston Arts Festival will take place on September 11 and 12, and it will be free and open to the public. It began in 2003 by mayor Thomas M. Menino and the City of Boston’s Office of Arts, Tourism and Special Events, as an effort to promote the Open Studios happening throughout the fall in Boston’s neighborhoods.

According to the festival’s creators, “The Boston Arts Festival is now run by the organizers of the Beacon Hill Art Walk and Artists Crossing Gallery, and will launch Boston’s Arts Open Studios season featuring more than 70 juried local visual artists, craftspeople, and local musicians performing on the Waterfront Stage throughout the day. The event brings over 50,000 visitors to Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, on Boston Harbor, where they can meet the artists and craftspeople who are there to share a wide variety of art and high-end craft work, including painting, photography, ceramics, jewelry and sculpture, and much more.”

Featured visual artists include painter Jennifer Clark, photographer Paul Nguyen, and fashion artist Chikako Mukai. Performing musicians include indie/rock/alternative group Paper Tigers and folk/jazz/fusion artist Eduardo Betancourt.