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I originally discovered AFI when I was starting to search for shows outside the Pacific NW and discovered a lot of good information on this site.  I was particularly interested in all the information on improving images for jurying and improving the booth image, etc. as we were discouraged last year on continued rejections from shows we really wanted to participate in.

So, we signed up for the Virtual Jury process offered by AFSB, net result, we needed a new photographer and bigger “Wow” pieces, not just our bread and butter best sellers.   So we proceeded to design some new pieces, hired a new photographer, we revamped our booth and hired Larry Berman to edit our images and drastically clean up our booth shot.  We have one show we need 7 images for so in the end, between the new photographer, the virtual jury and the photo editing we spent over 1K in preparing for 2012 applications.

End result? We’re still sorting that out.  However, I tend to be the overly analytical person in this partnership while my husband is the total opposite and he had a good chuckle when he looked at part of this post.  I’ve already driven him nuts with my verbal analysis and ongoing conversation so I thought I’d share the results with this community in hopes that someone might be able to offer a unique perspective or some feedback.  If I’m spending 1K, I want to know if it was worth it and given a 16 year work history in the CFO organization of my day job, an MBA in Finance and a work career in which I’ve had “analyst” in my job title for over 20 years, I tend to overanalyze everything!!  And yes, my husband is snickering over this part of the post:) 

For the first time ever we were only waitlisted for one show this year, all others were outright acceptances or rejections.  That in itself was a great change, we usually have 4-8 waitlists that leave us wondering, agonizing and trying to decide if we needed to change travel plans at the last minute.  Unfortunately the one that we were waitlisted for was a show we’ve done for 4 years in a row and has been in our top 5 shows every year.  So that didn’t feel very good as it is an early season show and was one of the first shows we submitted our new images to the jury. 

As the acceptances / rejections continue to arrive, here are our final results:

• Shows we applied to for the first time: 5 declined, 11 accepted, a little better than our normal average of about 65%
  • A little more disclosure on this, of the 11 we were accepted into, I truly believe 5 of them were “jury by check”, but they were back up shows if we didn’t get into our first choice.
    • 2 of the shows we were accepted into, we had been told were very hard to get into, so that left us feeling relieved and able to back out of 2 of the jury by check shows.
    • 2 of the new shows are already completed with dismal to mediocre results which made us question our decisions for show scheduling.
• Shows that declined us this year after previously accepting us with our old images: 1 – ouch, that didn’t feel right
• Shows that waitlisted us after previously accepting us with the old images: 1 - ouch
• Shows that had previously rejected us
  • And still rejected us: 7
  • 2012 accepted for the first time: 2, Yay!! Both of these were shows that we’ve been wanting to do for a while, however, both will replace solid, fairly reliable 2 day shows with 3 day shows and will result in an additional trip out of town.  So, until we see the show sales results, the jury is still out, so to speak.
• Shows we’ve previously been accepted at on a regular basis and still want us back:)  7
• Shows we’ve previously been accepted – but never consistently on a  year to year basis:
  • 3 shows, 2 accepted, 1 rejected
• Pending – still have one left to notify for a December show, but fully expect to be accepted, although I should never think that anything is an automatic in this business.

So, we applied to 37 shows for which we know the results. 15 declined, 22 accepted, shows we’ll actually do: 17, some were apps for the same weekend and a couple shows we declined because we couldn’t put together a road trip that made sense, only getting into 1 out of 3 shows that were a 13-15 hour road trip away didn’t make financial sense.

We started the year with a disappointment after not getting called off the one waitlist we were on, we now have 2 shows on our schedule that we’ve tried to get accepted into in the past that are highly rated that are leaving us with high hopes.  We also have 3 other new shows that we applied to for the first time that we have high hopes for, plus our regular schedule of favorite shows that are “tried and true”, so we’re hoping the rest of the year will be stronger than the start of our year.

Was the $1K worth it?  We think so, we feel like we’ve gotten into a few better, more promising shows.  However, getting waitlisted for the spring show we have done for 4 years and getting rejected from a show that we were accepted into last year left us feeling a little perplexed when we felt like we had a better jury submission.  In the end, sales results will tell us if it’s worth it, we’ll continue to track the results and come back to this question in December.

Not sure if this helps anyone, but thought I’d share our journey through the process of trying to improve our images and “up our game”. 

During this week's Art Fair Insiders podcast, Connie Mettler spoke with Stephen King (Des Moines Arts Festival) and Cindy Lerick (Saint Louis Art Fair). Both of these events utilize the ZAPPlication® system to collect and adjudicate their applications. If you missed the podcast, you can find out all about it and how to listen to the recording at: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/podcast-5-pm-2-27-art-fair-directors-cindy-lerick-stephen-king

During the podcast a question came up regarding how applications can be sub-sorted within the ZAPP® jury process. Events that license the ZAPP® system can choose to sub-sort applications within each medium category by Application ID#, Date Received, or Last Name. Here's what each of those options means:

Application ID#: A number generated when the application is first started. This number is unique to this application for this specific event and event year. Artists who started applications early in the time the application was open will appear before those who started applications later in the cycle.

Date Received: This option sorts the applications based on the submission time stamp (date and time the application was submitted). Artists who submit applications early on will appear earlier in the slide-show. It is our understanding that most events which utilize ZAPP® use this option so that artists who submit first are given the first look by jurors.

Last Name: This option sorts the applications within a medium category alphabetically (A-Z) by last name. Sorting in this manner does not necessarily mean that jurors can see applicant last names. We believe most events do a blind jury process (meaning artist last names are not visible by the jurors), so for events who might utilize this option, only the jury administrator would know that the applications are sorted in this manner.

Hopefully this information is helpful to you and clears up an unanswered question from this most recent podcast! As a reminder, ZAPP® is a software tool that events can use for their application and jury processes. Events determine their own individual policies regarding deadlines, jury processes, and other related items. The ZAPP® system provides options and tools to help administrators with their event management but ZAPP® does not manage these events nor dictate their show policies.

Artists with questions about an event's policy or jury process should contact the event directly as each show has varied policies and procedures.


Cheers!
Leah, Manager of ZAPP®

I was asked to be a jury member for a state wide artist association. Artists from my state were applying for membership in the association, not for a show, so it was different than the jury process for art fairs. Still, it was very interesting. Here is what I learned:

1) Sharp, clear photos are extremely important. Some were a bit out of focus, made even worse when projected.

2) Detailed descriptions of technique and materials were more helpful than artist history or bio.

3) Seeing a series of the same style was better than seeing a range of styles.

4) We as artists have no control over the environment in which the jury will see our work.

5) If you get rejected, don't take it personally. In our case, we wrote comments that will hopefully help these artists in future jury situations.

While I felt great pressure to understand each category, I was most comfortable with the jewelry. We had a good group of jury members from a wide range of art fields. I really enjoyed the experience.

Robin Ragsdale

www.evenbetterimages.com

I’ve seen a lot of posts lately from artists with the same concerns as mine.  Extended deadlines after artists have already been rejected.  Exorbitant late application fees.  Calls for Artists issued after certain categories are full without disclosure of the categories that are open, if any sometimes.  The number of available spaces and applications per medium not fully disclosed.  Unknown jury members.  Shows trolling artist websites prior to ‘blind’ jurying.  Sneaky Buy/Sell crap.  Application and booth payment deadlines almost a year before the show date.  Advertised award amounts that are never given out.  Unfair refund policies.  Rising booth costs, rising application fees, rising expenses, dwindling returns.   Shows that are all about the spectacle of a festival not about the art.  Blacklisting artists because of their outspokenness.  And the many other dirty little secrets that prevent artists from reaching their full potential.

Many artists wring their hands and lament there is nothing that can be done about any of this, it’s always been this way, you have to learn to fight within the system, blahblahblah.  Not me.  I want to make a difference.  I PLAN to make a difference.  It is my future and I will fight for it.  If you want to make a difference also, The Corner Booth (http://www.thecornerbooth.proboards.com/) is a good place to start.  Don’t come there looking for advice on tents or weights or good photos.  Don’t come to hear Cumbaya and violins playing while a show’s selection of bagels is lauded around a website.  Come for spirited dialogue about the really important stuff I mentioned above.   Call out the shows for their behavior, good and bad, and be specific in your examples.  Strong opinions are needed, both pro and con.  Your opposition will be just as valued as your approval.  Don’t miss out on the companion site http://nationalartistsadvocacyinstitute.wordpress.com/ if you haven’t gone there yet.  Lots of amazing ideas there.

One concept formulated on TCB is if artists know more about the shows themselves, they can make more educated decisions about which shows to participate in.  TCB has undertaken its first project to gather and analyze statistical show information obtained from polling a number of prominent shows.  Much of the information requested is currently available somewhere already, either on the shows’ sites or one of the online entry systems.  But the heart of the survey, how many spots are really available and how many applications are received per medium, is what artists really need to see.  And what many shows don’t want the artists to see.  Broad Ripple and Krasl are two known shows that already share this information with their applicants.  TCB just wants to make it available for everybody, and about as many shows as possible, hopefully all of them. 

The goal of this first survey is not to pass judgment, not to organize a boycott, not to embarrass or humiliate an organization.  It’s simply an attempt to get valuable information into the hands of the artists.  Knowledge is power.  Let’s get some.  No more just blindly throwing jury fees at a show hoping they’ll stick.  To be sure, we should all have the confidence to think our art is the best and we can beat out 21 other applicants for a show’s 5 spots.  But what if there were really only two spots?  Now how about 10 spots?  Don’t you just want to KNOW what you’re up against?  More surveys are in the works.   There are just too many issues to try to address all of them in one poll. 

I’m hoping what comes out of this effort is a little more disclosure and transparency from the shows.  I don’t care if a show has 300 booths, and gives 298 of them to its preferred artists.  AS. LONG. AS. THEY. TELL. ME.  I don’t care if a deadline is extended, but I do want to know why, what categories might already be filled, and how many applications they’ve already received in my category.  I want to know who their jury members are, and what other shows share those same jurors.  I want to know they jury out and/or kick out buy/sell crap because they are knowledgeable enough to do so.  I want them to value my art, not feel so threatened by my opinion that they blackball me.  I want all of these things and more.  I want it to be about the art, not the side-show.

http://hotartnow.blogspot.com/

I'm hoping that the link that I added to my blog where I wrote about watching the WFSAF jury shows up. I've tried three times and the link appears and then disappears. If it doesn't work this time, I quit. 

This from the Coconut Grove Grapevine:

You may remember, in October, we sat in on the two-day blind judging process for the upcoming 48th Annual Coconut Grove Arts Festival. Well the artists have been chosen for the festival to be held February 19 to 21, 2011.

Out of 1232 applicants, 360 were chosen from the US and Canada. Over 100 of the artists chosen are from Florida and 19 are from the Miami area. Hans Feyerabend, Dan Bondroff and George Rodez are three Coconut Grove artists chosen.
Read the rest of the article here: http://coconutgrovegrapevine.blogspot.com

The article about the jurying is entitled "Long,tedious process involved in judging the art".

Now, that is funny! This second link is an interesting take on an art fair jury from an outsider, a reporter for the Grapevine.

Getting into or not getting into the Grove has been an important part of the festival business for a long time. At one time it was a make or break deal for many artists. For northern artists it meant winter income and many would trek to Miami for a string of shows. Those days are gone for many of us. The overhead and the low sales really meant it was better to stay home and shovel snow. Read the articles about the jurying and how they made their choices, ruminate a little and send us some feedback.

Are you going to be at CG in February? Did you decide not to apply this year? Why? Share your CG experiences. Do you live in Florida and feel like you're not invited to the prom if you are not at The Grove?