Blog

June 16-18
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Presented by the Milwaukee Art Museum
180 Artists
Deadline: December 13

The festival takes place inside the museum's spectacular Santiago Calatrava-designed building, as well as on the adjoining outdoor museum grounds featuring our state of the art Clearspan tents. Enjoy the festival rain or shine indoors AND outdoors! (Indoor booth availability limited, based on first come, first served).

This is the Museum's largest special event and is highly visible, with setup and parking close by.

Marketing:

In 2016 marketing and media coverage accounted for a total of 19+ million impressions with social media posts reaching 3K LFOA Facebook friends, 69K Milwaukee Art Museum Facebook followers, 20K Milwaukee Art Museum Instagram folders and 48K Twitter followers.  The LFOA website say 76K page views, with 22K unique users, and 64.2% new page visitors.

Awards:

A total of $10,500 in awards will be

presented. Ten awards of $1,000 each to be given where excellence is determined by the jurors. The remaining $500 is awarded to the winner of the Sculpture Garden media/category.  Awards are based on the artist's entire presentation. The top ten award-winning artists are invited back to LFOA for the following year without jurying.

Jurors will also select Honorable Mention award winners, all of whom are invited back to LFOA for the next year without jurying.

Learn more: lfoa.mam.org

Apply: https://www.zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=5147

August 5-7
Crested Butte, Colorado
Presented by: Crested Butte Arts Festival
165 Artists
Deadline:  March 4

Jury fee: $35
Booth fee: $375 Standard; $450 Corner

New this year:

• CBAF will showcase our Emerging Artist Program
• Student Art Buying Program
• an amazing artist VIP area 
• an Artist Home Stay Program to off set the cost of lodging.

Apply:  www.zapplication.org

September 2-4
Lancaster, PA
Presented by Long's Park Amphitheater Foundation
225 Artists
Deadline: March 1

Application fee: $35; Booth fee: $540-680

Labor Day weekend finds 10,000 art lovers flocking to Long's Park in picturesque Lancaster, PA to shop for fine arts and crafts. This top-rated, award-winning show draws sophisticated, high income buyers from Philadelphia (and parts of NJ), Baltimore, Washington, D.C. (and into VA), Wilmington, DE and all across Central Pennsylvania thanks to the quality of its exhibitors and extensive traditional and digital marketing throughout the region.

Set in a tree-lined park where booths line walkways surrounded by a tranquil, freshwater lake, Long's Park treats its guests to a virtual outdoor gallery of the best work being created. 

The park is located in the outskirts of Lancaster City - a growing, vibrant arts destination in its own right! Lancaster City boasts Gallery Row along with cute coffee shops, restaurants, breweries and theaters. Attendees like to make a weekend out of the festival and all Lancaster has to offer.

For 37 years, Long's Park has fostered very special relationships with its exhibitors. Booth fees include two catered breakfasts, an exhibitor dinner, and advance mailing services (postcards and emails). In addition, there are RV accommodations and community hosts continue to offer exhibitor housing on a first-come/first served basis.

Marketing Plan:
Traditional and digital marketing/advertising will be placed in and around Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Wilmington, DE with some advertising in Central PA (Harrisburg, York, Lancaster and Lebanon). Additional direct mail and database marketing will be explored and included in the advertising mix.

What the Artists say:

“Keep up the good work! I only do several shows a year and this is by far and away the best. Great setting, good buyers, and excellent artist amenities. Who else feeds you and takes care of you like you do!”

“I thought the show was of high caliber ... Love the fact that you guys/gals make this show about the art, artists, and customers. So many great things ...”

Apply: https://www.zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=4467
Learn more: http://longspark.org/art-festival/exhibitor-application/
Contact: Bill Wright, info@longspark.org, (717) 735-8883

Sunshine Artist magazine just released their annual Top 100 Fine Art and Designs list. 

Congrats to the top five festivals:

1. Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, State College, PA
2. One of a Kind Show and Sale, Chicago, IL
3. Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, CO
4. La Quinta Arts Festival, La Quinta, CA
5. Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, Winter Park, FL

The ever charming Rick Bryant, director of the CPFA, said:

“The Festival is a great destination for both browsers and collectors. In addition to great shopping, people come to hear a wide variety of great music, see friends and enjoy both town and campus. Any Penn Stater will tell you that the Festival is a quintessential part of the Penn State experience.”

Congrats, Rick! and the rest of the winners who work at bringing the arts to the people and providing opportunities for artists.

March 3-6

Deadline:  September 30

Application Fee:  $50

Booth Fee:  $275 single booth
 

La Quinta Arts Festival is held on the spectacular grounds of the La Quinta Civic Center Campus, a life-size picture postcard framed by majestic mountains, lush green lawns, and a lake. La Quinta Arts Festival is ranked #1 Fine Art Festival in the Nation by Art Fair SourceBook 2013, 2014, 2015 and #1 Fine Art & Design Show by Sunshine Artist 2014.

 

Hosting 220 of the nation's foremost contemporary artists, the four day show attracts an affluent demographic and wealthy snowbirds who have second homes in the southern California desert. The festival runs concurrent with the HITS Horse Show which attracts the most accomplished equestrian riders in the world and is the weekend before the BNP Tennis Open March 8-21.  

 

Artists pay a show fee of 20% of all art sales made at, or as a result of participation in La Quinta Arts Festival.  A low booth fee of $275 for a 12'x12' space means minimal up-front investment to participate, and allows LQAF to be successful only if the artists are successful. 

 

Marketing:

La Quinta Arts Festival prides itself on the comprehensive marketing plan which brings an average of 23,000 high qualified art partons to festival each year. We utilize print, television, radio media as well as direct mail to targeted zipcodes, billboards, and social media. Goal is always to reach the "right" patron and never the mass market.
 

Noteworthy:

• Gross Art Sales in 2014 & 2015  averaged $3 million each year
• Average Art Sales per artist in 2014 & 2015 was over $13,000
• Dedicated 24/7 Artist Hotline-contact booth sitters by cell phone
• 24 hour Private security and Police
• Leisurely 2 day set-up and tear-down.  Paid Labor Assistance with flatbed golf carts available
• Artist Hospitality includes morning and afternoon snacks, chilled bottled water throughout the day, a gourmet lunch box delivered daily to each booth (Artist selects lunch order)
• Impressive Artist Award Reception
• Booth Fees from $275-$775-all booths located on lush grass
• Year round exposure to art buyers on LQAF.com Artist Galleries,  $100 annual fee

Apply:  www.Zapplication.org 

Website:  www.LQAF.com or call or email our dedicated artist helpline:
760-564-1244 ext. 112 or helpline@LQAF.com

Contact:  Kathleen Hughes, Kathleen@LQAF.com, (760)564-1244

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find more shows looking for you right here: CallsforArtists.com

Best of Show

Robert & Tor Erickson - Wood

Judges Awards:

Charles Gatewood - Painting

Michael Wommack - Drawings/Pastel

Jenny Mendes and Mark Roegner - Ceramics

Emerging Artist

Joyce McCown

First Place

Matthew Hemminghaus - Photography

David Bryce - Sculpture

Grant Silverstein - Printmaking

Christos Palios - Photography

Joachim Knill - Painting

Ray Jones - Wood

Chris Dahlquist - Photography

Jill bedford - Photography

Robert Farrell - Metalwork

Sam Stang - Glass

Second Place

Bryan Griffith - Painting

John and & Erin Blackwell - Glass

Michele Friedman - Jewelry

Scott Amrhein - Glass

Susan Frerichs - Jewelry

Kina Crow - Mixed Media

John Herbon - Ceramics

Paul Eshelman - Ceramics

Roger Rimel - Jewelry

Beth Bojarski - Painting

Here is a great link with good images of the winners, including the one of my friend Charles Gatewood above:

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2015/09/winners-shine-at-saint-louis-art-fair-gallery.html#g1

The really interesting thing about these prizewinners is that the majority of them have been in this business for a really long time. What does that say to you?

September 26 & 27  

Voted in Top 50 Best Art Fairs by ArtFairCalendar.com

Imagine the sales rolling in while watching the fall colors change over this scenic Midwest riverfront venue. Be appreciated by tens of thousands of art enthusiasts and collectors while being waited on by a dedicated team of over 400 volunteers. Find your work promoted in national and regional outlets. Your lunches are delivered. Your talent is celebrated. In a nutshell, that's the Peoria Art Guild's Fine Art Fair.

Ask the artists who have exhibited in Peoria. No one treats you better!

"Once again as I finish my art festival season, Peoria proves to be one of my top three shows of the year. Both in sales and my love for the show. A big thank you to everyone involved!" - Shawn Wolter, 2008 - 2014 Fine Art Fair Artist

 

Whether you're a first-timer...
 
"Best show I have had in my ten years. Thank you!"
- Amy Beeler (Jewelry), 2014 Fine Art Fair Artist

Or back for more...
 
"We had another awesome show with good sales. Thank you!"
- Richard & Carrin Gruchalla (Ceramics), 2013 - 2014 Fine Art Fair Artist

We pride ourselves on preserving the established reputation of hosting an exceptional fair-now into its 53rd year!!

• An appreciative buying audience for ALL mediums
• Pre-fair sales opportunities and commissioned post-fair sales
• Easy set-up and teardown/level and accessible; convenient parking including NEW trailer drop-off location
• Over 400 energetic community volunteers willing to please-delivery of refreshments, booth sitters for breaks, and other help as needed
• Overnight security-both Friday and Saturday
• Complimentary meals all weekend with artist awards reception meal
• Beautiful outdoor venue on over three acres of Riverfront
• Above and beyond hospitality-enjoy some good mid-western fun!

Come to Central Illinois and let us show you why so many artists consider the Peoria Art Guild's Fine Art Fair one of the most fun (and profitable) fairs they do all year!

Application available at:  www.Zapplication.org 

For more info, please call 309-671-1090, visit: www.peoriaartguild.org, or email: events@peoriaartguild.org

• Website: culturalfestivals.com 
• Avg. Sales: $8177 (AFSB) 
• Jury Images:  4 Images of work plus one booth image
• Viewed:  simultaneously with images horizontally across the screen (booth image is last image in the row)
• Jurors: The jury is made up of arts professionals, peer jurors, and local buyer/collector (all paid), a total of 5 jurors.
• Scoring:  yes, no, maybe
• Jury/Application Fee:  $40 non refundable
• Booth Fee: $625 and $725
• Cash Awards: Up to $20,000
• Booth Space:  10'x10' with 2' buffer all around
• Electric:  500 watts provided free, no generators
• Produced by:  Cultural Festivals 501(c) 3 Non-profit corp.
• Artist Presence: Required
• Reproductions:  Not allowed
• No. of Applicants in 2014:  1329
• No. of Exhibitors from Jury Pool:  145
• No. of Exhibitors Exempt from Jury:  36
• Security:  24-Hour
• Parking:  Free/Reserved

In addition to the amazing visual art exhibition, the festival features live performing arts ensembles on three stages, the Creative Castle featuring educational art projects for children, street performers and fifteen of St. Louis' most delectable restaurants.

Apply: www.Zapplication.org 

For more information contact:

Cindy Lerick

President & Executive Director, Cultural Festivals

phone: 314-863-4485; CulturalFestivals.com 

For a quick look at the Saint Louis Art Fair: 

Perhaps you have seen our notices about the new list we are building, "America's Best Art Fairs", which we are developing as an aid to people who love to attend art fairs to collect art. We've been working on this idea for a couple of years and we are getting near the time to roll out the survey.

Here are four logos we have developed for the survey. Which one do you like the best?

We are also open to suggestions.

Deadline: September 1.

P.S. We have had an amazing # of nominating submissions for the survey. Many thanks to you. If you haven't filled it out yet. Here it is: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TPRSSYS

If you know people who love to buy art at art fairs will you also please forward it to them?

Greg Lawler's Art Fair Sourcebook ratings of the top shows in the country are out and shows are sharing the information on their websites and local press.

#1 - La Quinta Arts Festival - "Last year’s festival did more than $2.5 million sales and attendance increased more than 30 percent." There are 200 artists in the show, so you do the math! Sounds pretty good. The rest of the story: http://www.mydesert.com/article/20130103/NEWS01/301030001/La-Quinta-Arts-Festival-ranked-No-1-nation

Any other shows out there who want to share their rankings?

The artists have spoken and the Art Fair SourceBook has announced its Top art fairs for 2010 chosen on the basis of reported artist sales at the year's art festivals. Hundreds of art fairs receive from Art Fair Sourcebook pre paid green postcards that the event organizers pass out to their participating artists. In turn, if an artist feels like reporting their sales they can fill it out and mail it in. Some artists make it a practice to fill them out and others never do this.

When you are trying to determine whether or not to apply to an art fair what is your main criteria? I hope it is MAKING MONEY. Therefore, Greg Lawler, originator and owner of AFSB, decided that would be the main criteria of his list. Smart thinking.

Here are Greg Lawler's 2011 Art Fair SourceBook Top Shows:

Congratulations to these excellent events. These ten events range from the excellently well-run small town event in Belleville, IL, run by an entirely volunteer base to some lollapalooza big deal events such as the NO Jazz and Heritage Festival (a truly destination event that attracts international visitors) with a few other goodies thrown in. La Quinta is in a lovely setting in a wealthy area of Palm Springs with a $12 gate fee; Arts, Beats & Eats has resurrected the art fair business in Michigan with last year's blockbuster attendance; Long's Park is a favorite Labor Day weekend destination for people near the East Coast; Fort Worth's event is a big deal four day festival that brings visitors from seemingly recession-proof Texas; St. Louis is a purely art affair set in an affluent neighborhood "owned" by its community partners; Sausalito is a professionally run four-day event with $20 admission; Bonita Springs is set in an affluent neighborhood where the locals know they "need" to attend and collect the goods presented there.

Hmmm...three of these shows are on the same weekend! Five of the events are four days long giving artists longer to gather sales. Only two of them are two day events--got to make those days just lovely!

Art fairs love to boast about their ratings from AFSB. Here are a few recent articles:

Salem Art Fair, Salem, OR: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20110211/OPINION/102110331/1048/This-week-s-winners-losers-news

Oklahoma City: http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-city-festival-of-the-arts-achieves-national-ranking/article/3534144?custom_click=lead_story_title

Salt Lake City:http://www.heraldextra.com/article_39593a6b-8550-506e-b8aa-5cd91e0cdcaa.html

Long's Park: http://blog.pennlive.com/go/2010/02/longs_park_art_craft_festival.html

La Quinta: http://www.mydesert.com/article/20110216/LIFESTYLES0104/110216022/La-Quinta-Arts-Festival-gains-national-recognition?odyssey=nav|head