Wow, this discussion could not have come at a better time. I'm actually writing a column referencing this very issue, among others. I am an exhibiting artist myself, and sometimes I have questioned how clear cut the rules for jurying are. One of the biggest question marks is why some get juried in and others, certainly deserving, do not. I have spoke with a few artists, and they claim a lot of it is in the fine print of submitting photos of their work (even through ZAPP, which was started out as a middleman to even out the playing fields and to take the paperwork mess out of promoters hands)....

any comments on this?

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  • Another point about CAFE. I have never loaded a booth or display image into that system until this morning, and while doing so discovered that there's no selection to define the image as a booth shot. So all fields regarding the art have to be filled into the bold fields provided. Artwork Title, Medium, H x W x D, Price/Value, and Year Completed are all required fields. There's also a description block at the bottom that isn't required, but I filled in a description.

    I've never been asked by any other shows on CAFE for a booth shot since the majority of shows listed on that system are juried indoor gallery and museum and college art department type exhibitions wherein the shows last a month or two, the venue sets up the show and has an opening reception, and the artist doesn't stand with their art for a weekend and then take it home.

    I asked the director of the Cheyenne Arts Festival why they didn't post their show on zapp, but I do not remember his answer to me. It might have to do with not wanting gobs of applications that they'll have to mostly reject since the show size is small. The show does have an outdoor section that some prefer. I prefer the indoor section for this event.

  • Two points: 

    1. If you don't get into the art fair, you are not going to sell anything. The application process and the preparation of the jury images is THE most important thing you do. You must take this part of the art fair business very seriously. Read it all. Prepare great images.

    2. Just about our most popular podcast was about a year ago with show directors Cindy Lerick of the St. Louis Art Fair, Margue Esrock from the St. James Court Art Show and Christine Berthiaume from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival: 10 Reasons you did not get in the art festival. Worth a listen.
    • Awesome points! And I'm going to go listen to the podcast right now.

    • Applying to shows is an art in itself. We must always evolve in our skills of of preparing our photos and their presentation with the minimal amount of wording required to describe our lifes passion and techniques so to hopefully aim at hit the target of constantly changing jurors.

  • First, every show is different. Some directors have a vision and can translate that vision to their jurors. And some don't and are happy to have enough artists to fill the show. Then each juror or set of jurors has their own likes and dislikes. That accounts for the fact that the exact same artists don't get into every show they apply to, though some do very well because they've mastered their craft.

    Larry Berman
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100

    • I agree with your statements. In my own experience, I have seen myself get into the same show, year after year, but then one year, am excluded. I don't have any resentment, I just know that there are needs for "fresh art" and "fresh eyes" from year to year.

  • Please clarify what you mean by "they claim a lot of it is in the fine print of submitting photos of their work..."

    • Some shows I have applied to have a requirement that the photos be edged with a thin black border, and some have certain size requirements for display, as well as the age of the work (some shows require that all work submitted for the jury process be within a year or two years.)

      • I think the booth shot is the key, and the combination of images submitted with it should support the booth shot.

        Referring to it as fine print is faulting the art shows and infers that some shows are providing necessary details inconspicuously or covertly someplace in the application where we artists wouldn't normally expect to find these details.

        I've applied to a show and not submitted photos in a way that the show requested. I did it last year when I applied to Cheyenne Arts Festival. Their application is on Call For Entry (CAFE), and on the show information page, the directions state they want to see a display set up (it's an indoor show), but then when I filled out the application page and selected images, no where did it state that a set up display image is required. The application did not instruct me to include one like it does on zapp. No problem for this show since they juried me in, but they asked me for one a week after applications were due and I then discovered my infraction. I had relied on the CAFE system to guide me rather than REALLY reading the show requirements and honoring them.

        There are plenty shows asking for images of current work done in the last 2 years, and there are a few in the fantasy science fiction genres wanting them done in the last year since they are producing BEST OF THE YEAR type books for the genres. Some museum juried shows ask for work done that recently as well. I enter all types of shows and can attest that all rules are different and need our close attention. It's probably our fault if we don't submit images correctly.

        Some shows don't even ask for a booth shot. Spokane Art Festival and Park City Kimball are some that don't. All of them are on zapp, so the system works in our favor by reminding us what the show wants to see. Other jury systems don't work the same.

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