Rumor has it that this show will be going to zapp soon. Since I have done the show, I thought I'd give my opinion on it for anyone who may stumble upon it on zapp.
Let me preface this by saying that this show has always been a craft show and the jury standards for it have been lackluster. They allow "merchant" booths, meaning that shop owners on Main St. are allowed to buy space so there is buy/sell at the show. I've been doing the show for 5 years or so because it is not a very far drive from home and Franklin, TN is the wealthiest county in TN. This used to be one of my top 5 shows of the year, that is, when the locals and the Nashville crowd came to it.
The show has gotten gradually and dramatically worse as far as quality of work goes over the past few years. I and others have put our 2 cents in with the show promoter (which as we all know does a lot of good - NOT!). I hope going to zapp changes things for them for the better, however, I believe it will be too little too late.
It is quite a shame though, there is a lot of money in Franklin. The problem is when you start seeing 4 booths of wooden pens, 3 booths of puppets (which are imported from China), a bunch of merchants w/"sale" signs selling sunglasses & shoes, and pvc projectile toys, well....surely you see where this is going. Needless to say, the locals who are from Franklin and have the money to support the arts could care less about it so they don't come (now that the show has become a glorified flea market). They are not attracting the sophisticated buyers they used to from the downtown Nashville area. Instead, the people coming to it are from out in the sticks and are not there to buy or shop. I'm not sure if they cut their advertising budget or have changed who they are advertising to. One restaurant owner I spoke with told me that the locals who normally shop on Main St. avoid it during the show because it has gotten a reputation for not having a quality of work that is worth any serious buyers coming down there for.
The show has usually been pretty good about giving their awards (which BTW is a nice gesture, but you won't get much money out of) to the quality artists that are set up there. Sadly though, this year, to add insult to injury I noticed that a reputable and talented painter I know did not receive an award, while someone putting together pre-purchased beads to spell names did. A fine art photographer who sells originals didn't receive an award, but a graphic artist selling giclee prints did.
In summary, should you decide to try the show, do so knowing these things, keep your expectations low, and I hope you get lucky. I certainly wouldn't travel any great distance to do it unless you need a filler on the way to somewhere else.
Comments
I have done this show 3x now and you are so right about the buy/sells, overall quality of art etc. I was irked that someone who didn't set up until Sunday got an award. I set up on time Friday night and didn't get to bed until 3 a.m., but I followed the rules. Some people didn't open up on Saturday, but I did. I felt insulted in part because the judges never came into my booth and I am someone who makes what she sells from the raw materials. I saw where a buy/sell got an award. The main reason I have done it and may do it again is because I have developed a following, some of which follow me to TACA too. I never saw anyone from the staff--in fact, they were indistinguishable. The Rotary club, which was not on the vendor list came outside of their building and took over a huge portion of the sidewalk and almost blocked my corner which I paid extra for. We had to ask them to move away some and not block my display--plus, they went across the street and took space too. I also disliked the fact that street musicians came out of no-where, sang so loudly we couldn't talk to customers and opened their guitar cases to collect money. They didn't pay the $350 I paid to be there. Last year, the former director chased them away. This year's management didn't care.
"Going to Zapp" does not fix a problem. Show organizers have to decide what they want the show to be. Do they want it to be a selling opportunity for local stores? (like at Ann Arbor) do they want low-priced buy/sell? (like you can find at the county fair) do they want "loving hands?" (like at the high school gym) do they want a juried fine art event?
Choosing a new application system does nothing to improve the quality of the event. Sounds like, Virginia, that whoever lined up the Woman Painters show should be included in the discussion of what the street fair should be. Really, it is their show and they can make it be what they want, they just have to figure out what that is.
Did This show years ago and it wasn't worth it then for fine art and I am sure it was a whole lot better back then as I do not recall any "Junk". It is sort of ironic as they just had the "Woman Painters of the Southeast" competition show and reception at a galley in Franklin. The art is through the roof with talent. I had 2 good friend win awards at this Show and a very good friend drove from Atlanta to see her work and those of mutual friends in the show.
So fine art is in the area but as the others said, once a show starts sliding down hill it is nearly impossible for it to come back. Sorry for those who did not do well.
We did the show this weekend, what a mistake! We were counting on the monied Franklin and Brentwood people to make our show, and thinking that this could be a little secret sleeper show that nobody knew about...we saw two artists who participate in fine art and craft shows nationwide with us....funny! At 6:00 p.m. at breakdown, a woman walked into our booth, loved our work and purchased the most expensive piece we have ever sold in 20 years...go figure! We delivered it to her home in Brentwood the next morning.Bob and I had a mini vaca after Dogwood, as we were in the lovely area for one week, but this show is a disaster...