Today's call for artists is for the BIG ONE that started it all, the
Ann Arbor Street Art Fair in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As most of you know there are four art fairs running consecutively in Ann Arbor in late July. All of them have excellent art, but this is the one that is universally acknowledged as the best, the original juried art fair. The thrill of this business is in participating in an event of this caliber. Will this be your year?
Why not apply now? I always have held that it is to your advantage to apply early because generally speaking the first images the jury will see are the early applicants. Be there first and be seen first, not when the jury has already seen thousands of images. See you in Ann Arbor? Here's the rest of the story:
July 21-24 - Ann Arbor Street Art Fair At the Tower On the streets and campus of Ann Arbor 175 Artists Deadline: January 14 The Street Art Fair is one of the highest ranking art fairs in the nation and for good reason:
--It draws collectors who rarely attend art fairs --It attracts the finest artists --It works with many cultural community and educational institutions to produce exceptional community art activities --It works throughout the year to be a blue ribbon presence in the Ann Arbor community --This is the original event on which the other Ann Arbor fairs have patterned themselves, as well as many other fairs across the nation. It is the creme de la creme of art events. The Street Art Fair has an distinctive jury process, unlike that of any other art fair. There are five separate panels jurying specific media or related categories. There are 4 to 5 jurors per panel, one of whom is a member of the Jury Group. The Jury Group meets in a sixth session after all the panels are complete to review the submissions with high scores and determine invitations in each category, balancing the scores, the range of work and the strength of category. Artists selected for the wait list are also determined at this session.
The jury meets over the weekend at the end of January and early February. All images are projected, statements read with additional information available upon request. The strength of this approach is that they have jurors (who are paid an honorarium) working 4 to 6 hours only in their own area of expertise, or related areas. Jurors see the work multiple times and are able to ask questions and to discuss the work, moving back and forth to compare it to other submissions in the category. Jurors are generally working artists and are often educators at area colleges or museums. They mix new jurors with experienced jurors. The Jury Group member brings a familiarity with the fair and knowledge of the goals and programs from having juried the fair on site the previous year. They will bring the overall sensibility of the panel to the final session. One of the unusual aspects of this jurying is that there is no booth slide required, but rather five images of your work. For more information on the Street Fair visit their website:
http://www.artfair.org/ To view the application and apply today, visit:
http://www.zapplication.org/Read more…
September 25-27 Itasca, Illinois Usher Park 100 artists Deadline: June 7 The first annual juried Fine Arts and Wine Festival will take place in historic downtown Itasca in scenic Usher Park near the gateway to its newly created River Walk. September is Illinois Wine Month and Itasca is taking advantage of it. There will be music in the gazebo and the winding walkways of the park will combine wine tasting, fine art and painted iron benches. What to expect: --$5000 in prize money --Free parking, electricity and a hospitality area --Volunteers for setup, takedown and boothsitting --10 x 10 booths offset so you may use up to 2' on either side of your booth for outside display; 3' maximum of storage space behind tent
What else? Benches on Parade Some years ago Chicago's Cows on Parade (340 life-size cow statues on the city streets) set off a craze over the entire country. Streets in dozens of cities are now adorned with life-size or larger-than-life figures of people, animals or things. Here is Itasca's plan: Twenty-five, 6 ft iron benches with wooden slats, will be offered to the accepted artists interested in decorating one. The benches will be auctioned off on the weekend of the festival with 50% of auction price going to the painter of each bench, the other 50% to support the arts in Itasca. Fine art, fine wine and live music make a great combination. Starting a new event can be a challenge, but from these early plans it looks as though Itasca is taking it on. This is a great time of the year for beautiful outdoor days in Chicagoland. Worth a try? For more information visit:
www.itasca.com/artfestival or email:
artfair@itasca.com, or call 630/773-0835. Apply today:
www.zapplication.orgRead more…
September 25-27 Kansas City, Missouri On the beautiful and historic Country Club Plaza 230 artists Deadline: 5/2/09 Please note: earlier deadline this year! Ranked #6 Fine Arts event in the 2008 Art Fair SourceBook The Plaza Art Fair marks the beginning of autumn for all Kansas Citians, and attracts art enthusiasts from all over the nation. This annual celebration is located on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Mo., recognized as the oldest shopping center in the country and a beloved destination in Kansas City. The Plaza Art Fair exhibits have grown in quality and creativity over seven decades to become a nationally recognized fine art and fine craft event. The three-day celebration of the arts allows visitors to experience the personalities and diverse talents of world-class artists firsthand. Beyond the colorful collections of art, this extraordinary event offers even more. With delicious food, magnificent music and interactive art experiences for all ages, there is something new around every corner.
carved wooden bags by Kimberly Chalos POINTS OF INTEREST: * 300,000 art enthusiasts attend * $10,000 in cash awards * Individual Artist Electricity * Artist Breakfast, booth sitters, hospitality area * Free Parking Join us as the Plaza Art Fair tradition continues... Applications available at:
www.zapplication.org CONTACT INFORMATION: Director: Kara Breitenstein Phone - 816.753.0100; Fax - 816.960.6215
www.countryclubplaza.com E-mail:
info@countryclubplaza.comRead more…
October 17 & 18 Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda Row: Woodmont Ave., Bethesda Ave. & Elm St. 180 Artists Deadline: May 30Where is Bethesda, MD? This preeminent urban festival attracts art lovers from the metropolitan Washington, DC, region, displaying the works of a select group of highly creative and talented artists in the heart of Bethesda's Arts & Entertainment District. Bethesda Row is a popular dining and gathering place, covering four city blocks and features more than 50 fine shops and restaurants, and a movie theater. Low-rise, retail and office buildings create a very pleasing, human-scale, town-center feel. What makes the event unique is its continuing tradition of free attendance while financially helping kids through NIH Children's Charities in partnership with the Bethesda Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce.
A bit about the patrons: * This year's show is expected to attract more than Art Fair Calendar.com45,000 visitors * They come from one of the nation's most affluent regions, with 40% of households earning $100,000 and over * The area is ranked 6th in the nation for the number of households attending arts/cultural events with 38% of households attending arts events and purchasing fine arts There are two ways to apply to the Bethesda Row Arts Festival: download an application at:
www.bethesdarowarts.org/application or submit digitally at:
bethesdarowarts.org/app For more information about the festival visit the website at
www.bethesdarowarts.org, or e-mail
info@bethesdarowarts.org, or call 301.637.5715 Have you attended any art fairs in the East? If not, this is a very hospitable event where you can find an audience if you have distinctive and sophisticated art. The date should be attractive to artists from the Midwest whose art fair season has ended. *********** Looking for more art fairs to fill up your schedule for 2009? Visit
ArtFairCalendar.com/callfor entriesRead more…
June 20 & 21 St. Louis, MO Sat. & Sun. 10 AM - 5 PM 150 exhibitors St. Louis now has Two Great Art Fairs!! Howard Alan Events is excited to bring a first class art fair to the City of St. Louis. The show will be hosted at the Saint Louis Galleria, located between the cities of Clayton and Ladue. This high end retail area is located in the affluent area of St. Louis and boasts perfect demographics. The show is also only a three hour drive from our Kansas City event the following weekend.
There is going to be joint marketing from Howard Alan Events, the Galleria publicity department and the local art leagues who will be part of the fair. We feel we have a great event in the making and hope to see you in St. Louis. Venue: St. Louis Galleria on Clayton & Brentwood Rd. Howard Alan Events produces multiple shows therefore they have an ongoing jury process that meets twice monthly and juries by category. SHOW DIRECTOR'S SUGGESTION: We recommend that you apply EARLY as the show and/or most categories will fill quickly.
Applications available at ArtFestival.com and/or
zapplication.org, search for "St. Louis Galleria Art Festival on Clayton Rd."
Read more…
Sunday July 19th Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha Friends of the Public Museums Art Fair 10 AM - 5 PM 200 Exhibitors Late Deadline: June 10 (late fee $25) Does the city of Kenosha, WI, have a place in your art fair future? Located
between Chicago and Milwaukee on Lake Michigan, Kenosha lures city people to this verdant community on this summer weekend. One day art fairs are great. Visitors await them all year and know that the buying is "now or never." Art fairs associated with a cultural institution bring the audience you are looking for. This is a beautiful park setting with up to 10,000 people in attendance. It is one of the most popular art fairs in the area with cash prizes of $1250.00. The art fair is the Friends of the Kenosha Public Museums largest fundraiser of the year. Artists return year after year due to its popular appeal. What's not to like? * one day - you will be in and out * beautiful time of year for weather * spacious booth spaces: 10 x 16 * great booth fee: $100 There is also fun for the whole family with a children's activity area and great local food. For more information about the Public Museum and the art fair and to download an application visit:
www.kenosha.org/museumRead more…
June 13 & 14 Royal Oak, MI on Washington Avenue in downtown Royal Oak Sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce 125 artists Deadline: March 1 A simple concept: Focusing on a core audience will bring you the best results. That's why Royal Oak continues a fifteen year tradition of celebrating artwork created with heat. What does that mean for you? A world of difference. You are not competing with prints, photos and corndogs. Everyone is coming because they have an interest in your artwork. Artists report that it is a pleasure to work with customers that already have an understanding of the medium. We encourage artists to showcase their methods by giving additional space free to accepted artists that wish to demonstrate techniques. Any loud music is buffered by our restaurants and then sponsors, assuring that no artist loses out to music and smoke. This festival features 125 clay, glass and metal artists, demonstrations and related activities. As a result we get a large focused audience. Our artists tell us that it is a pleasure having customers that really understand their work and techniques. The Royal Oak Clay & Glass Festival provides:
-Qualified Buyers -Cash Awards -Overnight Security & Free Parking -Artist Breakfast To be artist friendly while also assuring new booths every year, we have a three year jury rotation. If you have participated in the last three years you are automatically accepted when you send in your booth and application fees by deadline. The art fair is organized by Mark Loeb of Integrity Shows a veteran organizer of metro Detroit events. NOTE: ONLY CLAY, GLASS AND METAL ARE ACCEPTED. WORK MAY INCORPORATE OTHER ELEMENTS BUT MUST BE PRIMARILY CLAY, GLASS OR METAL. SORRY NO POLYMERS SUCH AS PRECIOUS METAL CLAY. For more info:
www.RoyalOakChamber.com APPLY TODAY:
www.zapplication.orgRead more…
Associated Press - January 25, 2009 5:05 PM ET
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A chance find by a Goodwill worker in Nashville turned up a 100-year-old original water color painting worth more than $6,000. Read the rest of the story here:
http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9729541
Artists who have been in this business for awhile know that their work turns up at garage sales, thrift shops, on eBay, and at auctions. I personally receive inquiries about my husband's work -- too often the owners want to sell it back to us :) A typical story is similar to this one by Carol Weber, wife of painter, Michael Weber:
I was in an antique mall in Leesburg, FL, found one of Michael's paintings and bought it for around $5.00. The following weekend we hung it in our booth for sale and sold it for several hundred dollars!
I know there is outstanding work at the art fairs, but that most of us will have to be dead before it brings the deserved price.
What about you? Do you have a story to contribute to this?
Read more…
It is a pleasure to showcase a friend of mine this month: sculptor James Eaton, a former industrial designer whose skills enabled him to emerge from the l983 recession with a new career: fabricating one-of-a-kind weather vanes. Jim's movement from employee to entrepreneur is a lesson for today and is an example to others as Jim says, "Who in the world would ever believe there's a market for something that's really high quality and special?" James' work adorns the poster for this month's featured show: the
Palm Beach Fine Craft Show, an exciting marketplace where you can find the finest of goods made in America, or as a friend said recently, where you "meet the Tiffany's of today." In Eaton's studio workshop women with trailing locks twirl around barbershop poles. Tandem cyclists spin around a propeller-fueled arrow in a primary palette. Drawers brim with silver wings, flying fish, propellers, horses' tails and pointing fingers, the whimsical flotsam and jetsam of an anatomical circus. "I like fantasy things. I like magic. I like circuses. Its all part of the package." His winged weather vanes have carried him to some of the finest arts and crafts shows in the country, including an exhibit with the Smithsonian Institution. Eaton begins with rough sketches of his 3-to-7-foot works of jaw gnashing crocodiles or finned mermaids, then plays with the form in three dimensions. The process of grinding, machining, drilling, painting and assembly can take up to 16 weeks to complete. They are ready to live outdoors as they have the same finish as on a Lear jet. Meet him March 20-22 at the Palm Beach Fine Craft Show and the Philadelphia Invitational Furniture Show, March 27-29. Read the rest of Jim's story here:
www.ArtFairCalendar.com/artistRead more…
My thanks to member Jean Thompson of
American Style magazine, an arm of the Rosen Group, for forwarding me this interesting article. After you have read it I'd sure be interested to know if you agree with the results of the poll.
America’s Top 10 Art Fairs and Festivals: Winners Announced Baltimore, MD (Dec. 10, 2008) Where do Americans prefer to go to view and buy art and fine craft in a festive setting? The answers are in the February 2009 issue of AmericanStyle magazine, which will reveal the nation’s Top 10 Fairs & Festivals, as determined by polling its readers. The issue goes on sale at newsstands on Dec. 16. Art collectors are willing to flock to places like Wausau, Wisc., and Midway, Ky. – crossroads far removed from better-known urban art centers. Despite the distance and the economic downturn, many of the top-rated art fairs and festivals boast crowd counts of more than 200,000 visitors – made up of tourists and locals alike. What keeps the crowds coming back? The
quality and
diversity of the art are top-notch. In addition, the nation’s best art events provide a noteworthy intersection of contemporary trends in professional art and craft and major current trends in retail, says Wendy Rosen, publisher of AmericanStyle.
“Discerning shoppers can ‘buy local,’ ‘buy handmade,’ ‘buy American’ and ‘support a worthy cause’ simultaneously at the very best art fairs and festivals,” Ms. Rosen says. “At the same time, they help the economy by supporting the small businesses of artists.” “They can feel good about making an investment in professional handcraft that has been carefully juried,” Ms. Rosen says, “and at the same time, soak up the fun atmosphere, the entertainment, the education and the collegiality that’s possible only at a gathering of like-minded art lovers. They can meet the artists and learn where the work came from and how it was made.” This year’s first-place winner blends three distinct events into a citywide arts extravaganza called Wausau’s Artrageous Weekend: Art in the Park, held in Marathon Park; the Festival of Arts, in downtown Wausau; and the annual “Birds in Art” exhibition at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art museum, a mecca for international wildlife artists.
2009 Winners list TOP 10 FAIRS & FESTIVALS Wausau’s Artrageous Weekend, Wausau, Wis. Kentucky Crafted: The Market, Louisville, Ky. Bayou City Art Festival, Houston, Texas Scottsdale Arts Festival, Scottsdale, Ariz. Des Moines Arts Festival, Des Moines, Iowa St. James Court Art Show, Louisville, Ky. Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival at Midway College, Midway, Ky. American Craft Council Show in Baltimore, Baltimore, Md. Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, The Original, Ann Arbor, Mich. Kentuck Festival of the Arts, Northport, Ala. SOURCE: AmericanStyle magazine readers’ poll, Feb. 2009 issue, on newsstands and at
www.AmericanStyle.com on Dec. 16, 2008. Are you planning a trip to one of these great festivals in 2009? Here’s the winners list again, in calendar order: February 21-22 Kentucky Crafted: The Market (2) February 27-March 1 American Craft Council Show in Baltimore (8) March 20-22 Scottsdale Arts Festival (4) March 27-29 Bayou City Art Festival (3* also see October) June 26-28 Des Moines Arts Festival (5) June 27-28
Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival at Midway College (7) July 15-19 Ann Arbor Street Art Fair (9) September 12-13 Wausau’s Artrageous Weekend (1) October 2-4 St. James Court Art Show (6) October 10-11 Bayou City Art Festival (3* also see March) October 17-18 Kentuck Festival of the Arts (10) The mission of AmericanStyle magazine is to inform craft enthusiasts and art collectors about the significance of handmade objects of art. Launched in 1994 by The Rosen Group, AmericanStyle provides art lovers with valuable tips on decorating, interior design, display and lighting ideas for everything from designer jewelry and art glass to collectible teapots, art furniture and sculptural ceramics. More than 250 arts festivals, gallery exhibitions and museum events are listed in the Datebook section of each issue. For more information, visit
www.AmericanStyle.com.
Your turn. What is your vote for the best art fair? Or, let's make it easy: what are the three best art fairs? Let us know.Read more…
May 29, 30 & 31st 53rd Year Prairie Village, Kansas 100 Artists Deadline February 13, 2009 Prairie Village Art Show is not located on a prairie but in the heart of the Kansas City metro area and surrounded by upper income demographics. It is celebrating its 53rd year and is the second oldest show in the city. The show is well attended and draws patrons from the entire metropolitan area. This is a small show with only 100 artists but they come from all parts of the country. This shopping area was developed by the same company that built the Country Club Plaza, location of the Plaza Art Show. What to Expect: *20,000 Upper Income patrons *24 Hour Security *Electricity included in booth fee *Friday Night Wine *Saturday Night Dinner delivered to booth *Artist's lounge *Parking nearby and overnight parking allowed *Discounted Hotel Rates
The Village in Prairie Village is one of those "lifestyle" shopping areas, intimate enough for ease of shopping yet anchored by well-known names such as Macy's and Starbucks with lots of restaurants. Does it sound as though your clientele will be showing up here? Then you know what to do. Publisher's note: small event, great date, check your calendars Application online at
zapplication.org For more info visit
prairievillageshops.com or contact Donna Potts 913-362-9668. Looking for more 2009 events to fill out your art fair schedule? Visit:
www.artfaircalendar.com/callforentriesRead more…
October 3 & 4 405 Artists Deadline: April 15 Art in the Park is one of the largest outdoor juried art festivals in the Southwest and is the largest fundraiser for the Boulder City Hospital Foundation. The event is held over two days in beautiful Boulder City, Nevada, not far from Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and the bright lights of Las Vegas. It is free to the public, and although Boulder City's population is just over 16,800,
the event draws over 100,000 visitors. Under the new direction of Wendy Kyser, 2008 was the revamp revival year for the show, and the artists were thrilled! With new radio, television, newspaper and magazine partners, they were able to showcase the show in a BIG way! Artists now say that the show is the most organized show they participate in. They love how the show provides them with regular communication and listens to their ideas and concerns. Artist amenities include: ~4 beautiful grassy parks
~Extra-roomy booths, 10x15 or 10x30 ~Many corner spots available ~Curbside loading and unloading ~On-site "helpers" for unloading and loading ~Roving booth sitters and volunteers ~24 hour security ~Substantial marketing and media coverage ~Estimated 100,000-120,000 attendance ~Parking nearby and overnight parking allowed ~Best in Show and 1st - 3rd awards in three categories ~Friday night ArtEve VIP Preview Party ~Over 25 food, beverage and adult beverage choices ~Caring staff and volunteers What the artists say:
"I can't speak for everyone, but I had an AWESOME show. First in a long time. Thanks so much for all your hard work. See ya next year." -- Stacey Morris
"Thank you so much to you and your team in providing us with a super organized venue this year. It was great and our sales reflected it...thank you, thank you, thank you. The whole show was wonderful. -- Larry and Mary Kay Birum For more information visit
www.artinthepark.org or contact Wendy Kyser at 702-293-0214 or
wkyser@bouldercityhospital.org.
Read more…
October 1-4 Akron, OH 120 Exhibitors Presented by the Hywet Hall & Gardens, a Historic House Museum and Country Estate An outdoor event held under large tents Deadline: March 10 Searching for a new venue that is accessible to a great number of shoppers hungry for creative, one of a kind, hand crafted items? Read below for a possible solution. Ohio Mart is held on the grounds of the country estate of Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron, OH, and is in its 43rd year of being the premier Arts and Crafts festival in the state of Ohio. The Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens location is in the heart of over 15,000 shoppers that come from Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh. This is a destination event. Patrons come to find wonderful art work and spend the day on the lovely grounds--a perfect setting for bringing you the patrons who appreciate fine goods. This is a juried event, accepting only handmade original art and held on a date when there are few other venues available.
Benefits include: *Assistance the day of set-up and the evening of take-down *Booth sitters for breaks, morning coffee *Free accessible parking for vehicle *Booth space tented Where is the Stan Hywet Hall?
Visit this link. For more information and to download an application visit:
www.stanhywethallandgardens.orgRead more…
Right, none of you have enough to do already. But, this one might work. Maybe you have your own customer base, maybe some friends and you keep talking about putting together your own event. Several times I have hosted an Open House and it worked! We sold art and people had a good time. But it is a LOT of work.
To help you out today I'm linking to this article by Risa Marks I just came across, just in case you have been thinking about doing this. And/or you might save it for the day when you do take on this activity.
Things You’ll Need:
* TIME
* Patience
* List of possible locations
* Local newspaper/radio station contact info
* Home computer with printer paper, ink, etc..
* Outgoing personality!
Risa has it boiled down to these eight basic steps:
1. If you are planning on taking on this task alone, be prepared to put in A LOT of personal time, work, and possibly money. If you are working on an art show that will have more than one participant, you need to give yourself and the other participants at least three months, unless of course, everyone is ready and you can organize the venue sooner.
2. Start off by choosing your locale...
Read the rest: How To Organize Your Own Local Art ShowRead more…
Recent news is of the demise of these art fairs for 2008:
Cancelled - Wheaton, IL, Fine Art Fair, held annually in downtown Wheaton in July. I do not have confirmation from the organizers, but from a reader who has been trying to contact them.
I appreciate any information I receive such as this. Keeping the calendar up to date is a continual work of art!
With the economy taking such a nose dive, I'm hoping this won't be happening a lot. I heard the Michigan governor, Jennifer Granholm, saying today (as Michigan hit double digit unemployment figures) that this state had never recovered from the tech bust of 2000. Those of you who have been doing art fairs can attest to the change in the sales at the local events. Nonetheless, the people still come and are looking for your one-of-a-kind goods and looking for you.
I have had a record number of inquiries from art fair organizers in recent months. The art fairs are going to be there and I hope you will too!
One of my phone calls was from a new art fair organizing near Flint, MI, at Swartz Creek with the community organized behind it to be held in late August. Stay tuned for the good news too!
Read more…
Don't be sounding the death knell for art fairs in Michigan just yet.
Saturday morning I arrived at the Kalamazoo Country Fairgrounds for the
Garage Sale Art Fair and to my amazement the parking lot was packed! I had to park in the last row. People were standing in line to enter and others were heading out of the building with armloads of packages. Money exchanged hands.
Inside it was a melee of people jostling others in the aisles and standing in line to buy pottery, photography, glass, paintings, etc, from one hundred + artists. What a happy sight.
My art fair shopping companion, Barb Burkhardt, and I came home with work from jeweler B.J. Jordan, pottery from Michael Kifer and Mike Taylor, a scarf from Dinah Morrison, fabulous glass from Earl James and there were two objects I wanted that others bought before I got back to buy them.
Yes, it is true, there are people in this region who do have jobs and will spend their money on art. Click your heels together and believe that! Turn off the news now and then and think good thoughts and meet me at the next art fair!
Congratulations to artists Bonnie Blandford and Michael Kifer who are responsible for putting the event together. Thanks, Bonnie! Put this art fair on your calendar for next year.
Read more…
Good news out of Fort Worth this week when
Main Street Fort Worth Art Festival's director
Jay Downie announced to the applicants for their show that they had received more than the 1100 applications they had budgeted for and so were reducing their booth fees by $20. I was talking to
Amy Amdur of
Amdur Productions this week and she told me she was holding the prices on her events to last year's levels. In fact, she told me two of her shows were going to have lower fees. Many thanks Amy and Jay. Wouldn't it be great if this was a trend? Artists have felt very burdened by rising booth fees. It has to be a struggle for events to hold their fees down when they are, of course, faced with the same rising costs the rest of us are. Sponsors have been less forthcoming and it is a challenge for the events to balance their budgets also. I read an article in the Detroit Free Press last August about many Michigan events that were cancelled for 2008 including several that had been around for 20 years or more. Here's hoping for better days.
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