Call for Artists, Making Money at Juried Art Fairs, Craft Shows and Festivals

Connie Mettler's Blog – January 2010 Archive (18)

Our Code of Conduct

Everyone is welcome here at Art Fair Insiders. Together we're building a friendly, worldwide community of people who are involved in the business of art fairs: artists, art fair organizers and art fair patrons.

In order to encourage community interaction the following guidelines outline how everyone is expected to behave. Abiding by these guidelines will help our community and our individual careers flourish. Additionally, failure to follow the… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 31, 2010 at 2:00pm — 3 Comments

Call for Artists: Prairie Village Art Show in Kansas

June 4, 5 & 6

54th Year

Prairie Village, Kansas

100 Artists

Application online at:

www.Zapplication.org

Deadline: February 15

The Prairie Village Art Show is not located on a prairie but in the heart of the Kansas City metro area and surrounded… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 27, 2010 at 5:00pm — No Comments

Ready to Make the Switch from Artist to Administrator?

An email from a friend today, discouraged with sales at art fairs, said that a lot of his friends were thinking of applying for census jobs. Yes, that might be a useful alternative, but have you considered all of the administrative skills you have been honing over the years? Here are two recent job postings from two important art/craft organizations:

1. The American Craft Council is seeking qualified candidates to apply for the position of Executive Director.

The… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 27, 2010 at 10:29am — No Comments

Call for Artists: East Lansing, Michigan

May 22 & 23 East Lansing Art Festival downtown East Lansing 220 Artists Deadline: January 31 Produced by Art Festival Board of Directors under the auspices of the East Lansing Arts Commission/City of East Lansing Established in 1964, the East Lansing Art Festival is held every Spring on the weekend prior to the Memorial Day weekend. The popular Festival attracts 70,000-80,000 attendees from across the region. In addition to the 230 juried exhibitors emerging artists are… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 20, 2010 at 5:22pm — No Comments

Kicking your art business forward!

Wasn't 2009 a challenge? Well, here we are on a headlong rush into 2010. What are you doing differently to effect a different outcome?

Do you remember the definition of "insanity"? "Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Here is something that I think can be helpful to you. The testimonials sound like this is the cure you need.

Announcing smARTIST Telesummit… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 20, 2010 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Call for Artists: Oak Park, Illinois

May 15 & 16 Art in the Park Historic Mills Park Oak Park, Illinois sponsored by the West Suburban Artists Guild 140 artists Deadline: February 1, 2010 $150 booth fee 10x10 space $15 jury fee Set up Saturday 7-10am Show Saturday 10am - 5pm and Sunday 10am - 5pm Please join us for our juried fine arts show,… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 18, 2010 at 4:26pm — 1 Comment

Excellent promotion by SanDiego's Mission Federal ArtWalk

The Federal Mission ArtWalk in San Diego gets my award for being the most web-savvy and social media knowledgeable of any art fair out there. They showcase their artists, run contests, do newsletters, are active on Facebook and their site is interactive. Here is their latest promotion, a terrific idea for stimulating interest among art fair patrons and some excellent early publicity: …

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Added by Connie Mettler on January 18, 2010 at 4:00pm — 3 Comments

Call for Artists: Summer Arts Festival in Omaha, NE

June 25-27, 2010 36th Annual Summer Arts Festival Downtown Omaha, Nebraska 135 Artists Deadline: January 20 The 36th Annual Omaha Summer Arts Festival invites you to be a part of one of the most lively art festivals in the Midwest. Located in downtown Omaha alongside a beautiful park, the award-winning Summer Arts Festival draws a diverse crowd of 80,000 people for a weekend of unique visual arts, great music, tasty food and hands-on children's activities. Festival patrons… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 13, 2010 at 4:56pm — No Comments

Brandywine Art Festival - Part IV

We first reported problems with the Brandywine Art Festival in August: Art Fair Doesn't Pay Bills - Loses Permit - Moves to PA

And then again, Not So - "Art Fair Doesn't Pay Bills - Loses Permit - Moves to PA"

Then in September we learned some more:… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 13, 2010 at 4:43pm — No Comments

Attend an Open Jury in Columbus, Ohio

Every time we get a rejection from an art fair we are puzzled. What went wrong? Here is an excellent opportunity to get some good insight into what is happening. Larry Berman is always telling you to do this and I absolutely concur. You will be amazed at what you learn, maybe just some tweak to your images, but most importantly you will see the competition in your category. If you live within a two hour drive of Columbus, you should be there. Here are the details: COLUMBUS ARTS FESTIVAL TO HOLD… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 13, 2010 at 4:32pm — No Comments

A Walk Through History - the Roots of the Craft Show Business

My friend, Richard Rothbard, recently came on this article and forwarded it to me. It is a thorough interview with Carol Sedestrom Ross, founder of the American Craft Council, who started the first wholesale craft market in the U.S. in 1973 at the fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY. Some of you will remember the excitement of those times, but if you don't this is an excellent look back at how art fairs and craft shows came to be.

Just in case you don't read all the way, here is an… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 13, 2010 at 4:07pm — 2 Comments

Art Fair Insiders News - 1/11/10

Warm greetings for the new year (especially to those who spent this weekend in Florida outdoors at Cape Coral, BocaFest and Beaux Arts freezing their little tushies off). I'm back from Los Angeles and ready to work with you in making 2010 the turnaround year for this art fair business. Are you with me?

Last year at this time there were around 150 members of this site. As of today we are past 1800. (Thank you for joining!) I've been working with my 'braintrust' to come up with… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 11, 2010 at 12:36pm — No Comments

Press release from the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair

Ann Arbor Street Art Fair names Maureen Riley as Executive Director

January 11, 2010 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Board of Directors of the Ann Arbor Street Art

Fair is pleased to announce the appointment of Maureen Riley to the position of

Executive Director. Ms. Riley was selected following an extensive national search

process.

“Mo Riley is the ideal person to lead the Street Art Fair into the future,” said Royce

Disbrow, Chair of the… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 11, 2010 at 12:30pm — No Comments

How cold can Florida be?

OMG -- I hope you are not doing an art fair in Florida this weekend! Here are two reports on the January 9 and 10 Cape Coral Art Festival:

Visitors come out for fair despite weather…

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Added by Connie Mettler on January 10, 2010 at 4:17pm — 6 Comments

Call for Artists: Novi, Michigan

April 23-25 Rock Financial Showplace Novi, Michigan 150 artists Deadline: January 15

Happy customers departing the Great Lakes Art Fair Friday, April 23, 3 pm - 9 pm; Saturday, April 24, 10 am - 6 pm. Artist Reception - Saturday, April 24, 6 pm; Sunday, April 25, 10 am - 5 pm Please join us for the Great Lakes Art Fair. The GLAF delivers an exceptional event experience for artists and their patron. A unique fusion of lush landscapes, tempting food, and an optimal… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 9, 2010 at 9:00am — 2 Comments

Call for Entries: Kansas City, Missouri

April 30, May 1 & 2 Kansas City, Missouri 190 Artists Deadline: January 11 SHOW HOURS April 30, Friday 5p.m.-9 p.m. May 1, Sat. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. May 2, Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. The Brookside Art Annual, presented by Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City, celebrates its 25th year in 2010. Located in an eclectic neighborhood in the center of Kansas City, just minutes from downtown, the Plaza and the southern suburbs. This is the first art show of the year for the region and draws… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 6, 2010 at 10:20pm — No Comments

Thoughts for the New Year from Deborah Colter

My thanks to artist

Deborah Colter for giving me permission to share her art and thoughts for the New Year:

The Rooms of Our Lives

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws,… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 6, 2010 at 6:37pm — 2 Comments

#1 art fair in the country: Belleville, IL's, Art on the Square

It's official! Greg Lawler's Art Fair Sourcebook has once again chosen the small town show across the river from St. Louis as the #1 show i the nation. Greg does a terrific job of gathering data from artists all year long and, in my opinion, has the most accurate rankings out there. So, congratulations to director, Patty Gregory, her hardworking committee and the 600 volunteers who make this a fabulous place for artists!

"Art Fair SourceBook ranks art shows around the nation based on… Continue

Added by Connie Mettler on January 6, 2010 at 5:00pm — 1 Comment