01/31/2026
⭐ANNOUNCING THE ZFH 2026 THEME⭐
With 249 votes cast, the winner of the theme is….
🤡🍿🤸🏼♀️CIRCUS!!!🎪🎠🍬
Fun! Scary! Sad! Throught-provoking? Circuses as we know them have haunted our collective imagination and conscience for centuries. From the dazzling spectacle of the big top to the amusing (or disturbing) antics of clowns, strongmen, and acrobats, to the historically seamy underbelly of circus culture, this theme is FILLED with opportunities for excitement, joy, delight, and visual splendor!
The etymological ties to the round, open-air arenas of the Roman Empire seem timely, too. Histories often point to the increased use of circuses during the late Empire as distraction during times of turbulence, or political decay.
Interest in circus and carnivalesque themes has ebbed and flowed throughout history: from mummer shows of the medieval era to iconic French mimes to the down-and-out clowns of the Depression-era United States.
Today in 2026 we are in the midst of a new clown renaissance! Everyone from MUA influencers and artists, all the way to the most chronically online denizens have caught circus fever, and the only cure is THE HONKPILL. 🪿🤡
So let’s embrace the circus this year, with its transcendent liminality, its chaos and overstimulation, the sad and sorrowful histories that define it, and the collective decision to seek joy, and self-mastered amusement in the midst of a world trying its best to beat us into full fu***ng submission.
�LET’S CLOWN THE F**K OUT Y’ALL
.. And stay tuned for upcoming announcements about our 2026 festival date (as always at Orange Show Center for Visionary Art) and featured artist! honk honk!
