survey (8)

America's Best Art Fair or Craft Show?

2nd Annual ArtFairCalendar.com Survey 2149.jpg

What show is a "must attend" event for you each year?

In 2013 thousands of art fair lovers and artists nationwide completed our 1st survey telling us what their "must attend" art fairs are and why. See those results here.

The purpose of the survey is to find the "best" shows and publicize them via press releases to encourage "art fair tourism," then to spread the word about the best ones to bring buyers to the shows.

Will you help us again? Which are 2014's Best?

Due to artist demand we have two surveys this year and encourage you to take the survey and then to pass the survey on to your email lists and friends.

PLEASE SHARE THIS SURVEY. Its findings will only be as relevant as the number of responses received.

1) Forward it to your friends.
2) Post the link on your Facebook page (see those little "share" buttons beneath this post?)
3) Send the info out to your subscribers and friends in an email.
4) Link to it on your website.


Deadline: October 21, 6 pm ET. Winners announced on November 1.

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September's Best Post - Vote today

Who wrote the best post on AFI in September Thrilling, informative, helpful, thought provoking, etc.?

Let's award them and thank them for their contributions:

Deadline to vote: October 14, 6 pm ET

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Vote Now! August's Best Posts

OMG! Need a show review? Then you'll love these four posts:

Vote today for the best - Deadline: Sept. 14 6 pm

CLICK HERE TO VOTE

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Vote Today: January's Best Writers & Members

8869111890?profile=originalDeadline: February 14 - 6 pm ET

What was the best content on AFI in January?

Who was the best community member who shared generously and you could count on to help you out?

  • Greg Little
  • Karole Bowlds
  • Jacki Bilsborrow
  • Geoff Coe
  • Larry Berman
  • Karen Holtkamp
  • Other

Vote here: Click here to take survey

 It will only take 15 seconds!

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VOTE!! Best April Post/Discussion

Come on folks -- this is quick and easy. Let's reward the great folks who add such useful and entertaining content to this site. Where would we be without them? 

April's nominees are:

We are always looking for nominations for featured members, people who really make this site a "must visit" site for art fair artists. You can give thanks to your favorite in the survey below.

Deadline for voting: May 16 - 10 pm

Click here to take survey

Thank you Mary, Gayle, Alan and Oscar and everyone else who contributed this month. Devoted to keeping AFI alive and well -- Connie and all the rest of you who make the community live! 

 

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8869102482?profile=originalsupport of ArtFairInsiders.com. Their unstinting contributions in sharing news, stories, technical information and tales of joy and woe are a continuing gift to all of us in the business.

Please take a few minutes to vote and give thanks to these members. Prizes will be awarded.
Deadline for voting is January 28, 6 pm. Deadline will not be extended.

Click here to take survey

And if you really want to do a good job on this, the survey does not include the links to the posts and discussions, so if you'd open a new tab in your browser you could do a quick review of them before you vote.

Many of your favorite members have been nominated, including:

  • Member of the year. The generous and helpful spirit who contributes the most to the community  - Jim Parker, Geoff Coe, Larry Berman, Nels Johnson, Richard Sherer
  • Best advisor. Who has the best answers for the questions you need answered? - Larry Berman, Alison Thomas, Warren Townsend, Robert Wallis, Ruth Funkenbiner, Karole Bowlds
  • Personality of the year. Who intrigues you so that you always want to read their posts and makes you turn on your computer in the morning? - Barry Bernstein, Nels Johnson, RC Fulwiler, David Bjurstrom
  • Author of the year. Who can be counted on to write the best blog post and reviews? Don Mabry, Brian Billings, Nels Johnson, Richard Sherer
  • Funniest member. Who is the funniest?
  • Newcomer of the year. Which newcomer to the community has made the biggest impact this year? Elle Heiligenstein, David Bjurstrom, Richard Sherer, Carrie Jacobson
  • Special recognition. For the members who made unique contributions to the community. Paul Flack, Annette Piper, Geri Wegner, Diana Ferguson

Best blog post or discussion:

Jan. - "Channeling my Inner Tim Tebow", Geoff Coe

Feb. - "The No-Holds Barred Coconut Grove Art Festival Review", Barry Bernstein

Mar. - "Let's Fix out Industry", Ray Mosteller

Apr. - "Thank you I have a Job", Christine Mount Kapp

May - "Cherokee Triangle in Louisville, Creation & Destruction," Thomas Harris

June - "Art Birmingham, a Slow Start & a Slow Finish," Jim Parker

July - "Don't Just Survive, Thrive," Marti McGinnis

Aug. - "Tequila Report: How to Eat, Drink & Luxuriate in a Hospital", Nels Johnson

Sept. - "Nightmare on Walnut Street", Warren Townsend

Oct. - "Wake Up", Warren Townsend

Nov. - "How I Research Shows", Richard Sherer

Dec. - "Jury Fees, What's it For?", RC Fulwiler

Best Discussion:

"Complaining about Promoters", Carrie Jacobson

"How I Research Shows", Richard Sherer

"The Rejection Season Starts," Jim Parker

"Competitors in my Booth", Kim Smith

"Minnesota Art Shows: Beware...", Robin Aronson

"What's the Worst Question You've Been Asked at an Art Fair?", Jim & Linda Dalton

"Who We Were", Lois Anderson

 

Click here to take survey

 Thanks to everyone who participates on this site. We all make this happen together!

 

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Dirty Little Secrets

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.

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Broward County, FL is home to 5,635 arts-related businesses employing approximately 21,833 people (as of January 2010). These arts-centric businesses play an important role in building and sustaining economic vibrancy. In addition to employing a creative workforce, these businesses spend money locally, generate government revenue, and are a cornerstone of tourism and economic development.

As a member of the creative workforce we invite you to complete the following survey. The information provided will assist us in the planning of future programs, workshops, and services relevant to the area’s artists, cultural arts organizations, and creative community.

Please complete the following survey by September 30, 2010.

SURVEY Link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C8FCPMN

NOTE: To learn about and register for upcoming workshops and programs, visit our website www.broward.org/arts

We also invite you read the ‘draft’ the Creative Broward 2020 - A Plan for Cultural and Economic Development in Broward County, Updates will be posted periodically.
http://www.broward.org/arts/publications/cultural_plan/cp2020/reports.htm
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