Third Thursday is a volunteer-effort organized by Laleh Rezaie, owner of South Barber Shop, and promoted by the staff at Near Southside, Inc. and all participating businesses. Artists and businesses partner in good-faith, to help drive foot traffic and sales opportunities for each other. Artists are requested (and sometimes required, depending on the venue preference) to be in attendance to greet the public, discuss their work, and benefit from event sales and exposure.
Most venues offer to host artists with no request for compensation or revenue-share. However, some venues are formal galleries and may request a partnership structure that relies on sales commission or percentages - that's okay too, so long as both partners are in agreement. All financial arrangements are handled directly between the venue and the artist. Third Thursday does not involve itself, nor take any responsibility, for these discussions.
There is NO FEE TO PARTICIPATE as a venue or an artist.
WHAT IS A VENUE?
A “venue” is a South Main Village business that hosts an artist during Third Thursday. Participation is free for businesses. Venues select their own artists and are encouraged to rotate participants to keep programming fresh. Artists are welcome to reach out directly to businesses to express interest. Venues are encouraged to offer other programming in addition to their hosted artists. Special menus, live music, sidewalk sales, or partner activations are welcomed additions to Third Thursday visual artists.
BUSINESSES DO NOT HAVE TO BE RETAIL OR RESTAURANTS TO PARTICIPATE. Law offices, architecture firms, film studios, churches, non-profits, advertising agencies are all invited to participate.
Any business in South Main Village willing to open their doors to an artist is welcomed to apply.
VENUE TOOLS
To help make partnering easier, we’re launching a few new tools to help venues connect to artists, artists express interest, and TT organizers stay informed:
Venue Application - START YOUR 2026 VENUE APPLICATION and tell us which months you plan to participate
Venue Database You can actually see which venues are participating for each event as applications roll in.
Artist Application Share this with artists who want to participate, including artists who are your partners. All artists must have an official Third Thursday Artist Profile to be part of the event
Artist Database Use this to look for artists who want to show their work at your venue
Partner Toolkit with graphics, logos, design guidelines, etc. Download Third Thursday logos and promotional tools here.
VENUE COMMITMENT:
• Communicating professionally and directly with my artist(s) about their arrival, set-up, breakdown, sales and all other needs.
• Making space for artist(s) as promised
• Being open during Third Thursday hours 5:00pm to 8:00pm and welcoming the public in on the dates that you participate
• Promoting the event on social media and through other means
• Tagging the 2026 Third Thursday sponsor Nicole Dawson State Farm @nicoledawstontx Nicole Dawson State Farm is sponsoring this year's Third Thursday season so that we can put some money into boosted ads, graphic design, and staff time to coordinate the events.
• Displaying Third Thursday marketing materials which include "Official Venue" window cling, table tents, and sharing printed maps on each event day
• Acting in good faith towards all partners for Third Thursday, South Main Village, participating artists and Third Thursday volunteer event coordinators
HOW TO PARTICIPATE AS A VENUE
APPLY USING THE OFFICIAL VENUE APPLICATION
START BY COMPLETING THE "PRE-EVENT" SECTION OF THE APPLICATION
This lets us know which Third Thursday events you plan to participate in as a venue. It also helps us to know if you need help finding an artist for the event. You do not need to have all of your artist partnerships finalized to complete this section of the form. SAVE AND SUBMIT
SECURE YOUR ARTIST(S) FOR EACH THIRD THURSDAY EVENT
Venues are asked to select their own artists for each event by browsing the Third Thursday Artist Database or by inviting an artist they know to participate. All participating artists should have a profile in the Third Thursday Artist Database. Venues are asked to rotate the artists they host for each event to keep the Third Thursday programming fresh and exciting.
BROWSE THE DATABASE OF ARTISTS HOPING TO PARTICIPATE
NEED HELP FINDING AN ARTIST?
Third Thursday coordinators may be able to help make recommendation and facilitate introductions. Simply let us know that you need help by noting your request by month in the form (we'll ask you this questions below) and then following up via email with thirdthursdayftw@gmail.com to ask for recommendations. Once you are matched with an artist, all event arrangements are made solely between the artist and the venue.
ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR ARTISTS CONFIRMED, RETURN TO THE VENUE APPLICATION
Opening your existing application (not a new application), and update your artist and venue information by month. You can update your Third Thursday monthly information throughout the season as it comes together. This will let you share with us what artists are participating at your venue as the season unfolds, or you can book all your artists in advance of the Third Thursday season so that other venues know these artists are already booked.
FILL OUT THE 'BY MONTH' PORTION OF THE APPLICATION TO SHARE YOUR FINALIZED PLANS
Scroll through the application to access the page for each Third Thursday event. For example, there is a page for the March Third Thursday. You will use that page to tell us who your March Third Thursday artist(s) are. Then, if you have already made plans for May, scroll to the May Third Thursday page and share those details with us. So on so forth.
DEADLINES
45 DAYS+ BEFORE EACH EVENT - Finalize all partnership with artists
30 DAYS+ BEFORE EACH EVENT - Complete the monthly section of your venue application
This offers you and the artist ample promotional time. It also offers the Third Thursday coordinators time to plan for your participation, creating graphics, and promoting your venue.
FRIENDLY REQUEST, please if you plan to participate let's all put REAL effort towards a successful event. We need venues to act with vision and ambition. Go find your artists quickly, early, and then get these forms filled out so that we all can reach the full potential of this event. Look for NEW artists who have not already participated with Third Thursday to keep things fresh. Share your information via this form with lots of time on our side. The harder we all work towards a successful event, the better sales and attendance will be for all involved. We're asking for your commitment and investment in putting rocket-boosters on a successful 2026 season.
QUESTIONS?
To be removed from the venue database, email us.
Need help with artist selection, application support, or other programming ideas related to Third Thursday? Email us.