Just got back from Birmingham AL and Magic City Art Connection show. Many of you know there were challenges this year for the show. About a month before the show the city told the show that they now, after years of never having too, pay for the use of the park, security for the show and other things that the show had not had to budget for in the past. So......
First the show. A three day show with set up on Thursday. It is set up in a very pretty park right in the middle of downtown. Everyone has to dolly in. The lay out of the booths is very confusing. After two years at the show with the same booth space I still get lost when walking the show. Luckily I set up near the library and just need to look up to see the library and head towards that. The promoters of the show are the best. They bend over backwards for the artist. Anytime you call they pick up the phone and do their best to work with you. There is a wonderful artist party on Friday night and there are a lot of awards, about 20 I believe. The board members walk the show and meet the artists and they buy from the artists. At the show you have people on site to help and answer questions. They make you feel special and really want us there. This is a big show with a lot of amazing artists. There is also some questionable work, but over all some great art.
Now what to do about this $$$$ hit for the show. They decided to add for the first time a $5 entrance fee. Noone really lives downtown. This is a destination show, not a neighborhood show. I did the show last year and the attendance was just ok. I believe it is fair to say that many of us were very concerned about the new entrance fee. Friday attendance was low. Saturday called for bad weather. On Saturday the weather held and it was a nice day. Around 4 pm it started to rain and they closed the show 2 hours early. It rained for 20 minutes then the skies cleared. The locals told us since the tornadoes two years ago everyone get a bit over cautious. Attendance was very low any way so most of us were glad to go. Sunday beautiful day. It was a ghost town until 1 pm and even at that point the crowds never arrived.
Sales... So many people reported a good show but one persons good show is crap to another especially those of us who do this as a living. I am sorry but $1500 for a travel show and even a local show just doesn't cut it. Most people made about this. For me, originals only, the patrons had major sticker shock. The few times I had interest folks would want to walk the rest of the show and I knew they would have a hard time finding me. The other problem the few patrons who were willing to pay over $2k for a piece were few and far between and like I said there were a lot of amazing artist. Lots of competition for sales and just not enough patrons to go around. If your price points are low, under $1k you might have done ok. Folks that sold $5 prints were busyish. (I know that is not a word:) Even the locals that had a following with work from Birmingham at $20 were not that busy IMO.
At the end of the show, dolly out obviously, I was about to have my first zero art show. Last minute from pure luck I sold 2 of my smallest pieces as I was loading out. Again sad to say I probably did better than many of the folks who felt they had a good show.
I just hate to give this show a bad review. It is a fun place to show at. You can stay right at the show at a nice hotel for around $100 or just a few blocks away for $80. If you want to stay cheaper than they offer good artist parking and you can drive in. Birmingham has excellent resteraunts and it is a fun place to do a show. I am sure there will be changes for next year and I really hope the show can get back on track. I do know of artists that pulled it out in the end. Not a total lose for most. Good Luck Magic City.
Comments
I was also at Magic City -- Birmingham is my home turf, but only my second year in the show. I wasn't happy about my booth location being moved from last year (I considered it a better spot), but my sales didn't suffer. I did pretty well, considering the pens and items I make are from 20-350. I saw several tents that had collapsed from the storms on Friday night.
The ants only seemed to come out on my side after the heavy rains, but they were everywhere.
Bluff Park is only a one-day show, so I've never applied. I have heard it's a devil to get in, but once you do, you can go anywhere.
Does anyone know about Bluff Park ? Wondering how it stacks up against Magic City? Bluff Park is only a one day show and since I live pretty far away It's a questionable risk. When I did Kentuck last year, many of the people coming by said to do Bluff Park and that it was a good show but if you have any info I would appreciate it because it's new to me. Anybody know of any other good shows in Birmingham? Seems like a city that big would have a bunch.
Nice review Melanie. My experience is equal to yours.
Thanks for the review Melanie, I did it last year and I have to agree that the staff was one of the best and most helpful I have ever encountered. Unfortunately, rain last year was a Sunday wipeout along with low sales, and I didn't apply to the show this year....Sounds like it was pretty similar to last year.
I absolutely killed it at MCAC last year. I sold almost all of my originals and beat my previous show record by almost three times as much. This year... not so much. I made exactly $1510 and didn't make a single sale over $100. I sold two tiny originals, and most people barely even looked at the art on the wall and went straight for the prints bins. I think the only reason I did as well as I did is because I was feeling optimistic after last year and paid extra for a fountain walk space since I know the layout can get confusing. I live an hour away, so I consider this a local show. Honestly, I don't know if I would do MCAC if I had to travel, if only because the weather we get this time of year is unpredictable and dangerous. It seems like every year at least one day gets cut short due to bad weather. I was kind of bummed about the $5 entry fee, but I figure if someone doesn't want to pay $5 to get in, then they won't want to pay for art. I didn't see a lot of my regulars this year. I don't know what was up. I like this show a lot, but it seems weird and unpredictable. I'll keep going though, since it's one of two big shows that I don't have to travel for. Oh, and I really like all of the volunteers and board members. They're all really great. I know sales are the most important thing, but feeling appreciated can really improve my mood when we're having a crappy, rainy day.
Oh, and did anyone else get ants really bad? Ants tried to take me and my neighbor out on Saturday. Luckily another artist came by and offered us ant spray.
For artists with higher price points, I don't think that $5 to get in would make much of a difference. Was the weather a bigger factor?
Prices for shows in bigger cities-- Old Town--admission--$7 parking $25-$50 (major ouch)
Coconut Grove- $15 $15-$25
Lakefront Milwaukee $18 $10
p.s. I did a walk through the park trying to find you but finally gave up. I didn't have a helper so couldn't be gone long.
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