It appears that some artists apply for more than one show on a given weekend and if they happen to be accepted into both shows, they cancel one of them. This makes good sense to me. However, I have two questions concerning this practice . . .
1) How prevalent is this among artisits?
2) Can this practice create a bad name for that artist among festival promoters and cause the artist to be black-listed from the festival involved?
Comments
Having a backup plan for shows is extremely important. I would definitely prefer to spend an extra application fee that is wasted instead of having no show whatsoever to do. I have not yet reached that pinnacle of jury perfection and demand for my work that makes me assured of getting into each and every show I apply to...only then will I save that extra app fee.
I have even, albeit rarely, applied to as many as four shows on a weekend. This was because there was much competeition in my category and I wasn't confident that I would have a good chance with any of them, so I rolled the dice. Whenever I have had to cancel, I have always done it as soon as possible.
Oh, yeah, I forgot. On occasion, I have applied to more than one show on the same date. Of course, I think I am going to get into every show I apply to, so, applying to two shows on the same weekend is a waste of money. I do know that some people apply to a lot of shows on the same weekend so they have an opportunity to do something every weekend that they want to. This is a common practice.
Lets nip this one in the bud right now. There is no such thing as a blacklist against artists. There never has been. I have no respect for anyone who will not say anything or criticize a show because they live in fear of getting blackballed. If that were the case, I would not get into many shows. I even publicly called for a show director to be fired and I still got in that show.
Go ahead and cancel. You are protecting your business interests. In addition, shows do not talk to each other about who is "cancelling." I've had shows call me and ask me about people who continue to apply to their shows and then withdraw but believe this is a very rare thing.
Awesome! Thank all of you for taking the time to respond to my questions. Long live AFIers!
As long as shows send out invitations to as many artists as they can, artists apply to as many shows as they need to so they don't have holes in their schedule. Everyone does it and always have.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
2) No. Just use common sense and decline a show as soon as possible. You can't depend on getting into a specific show at anytime, so many artists do hedge their bets with a back-up plan B in case the Mongo Super Show rejects them. As soon as your first choice becomes a rejection, take the other show or vice versa. Try to avoid paying anyone until you know for certain what your choice will be. It happens all the time and there is no black list danger
I have rarely ever applied for two shows happening on the same weekend at the same time. Usually shows have different application deadlines and notification dates so that notification from one happens before the deadline of another. Bigger shows usually have earlier deadlines than smaller shows. Sometimes in spring there are several big shows happening on the same weekend. I am not interested in wasting $35 or whatever the fees may be. We do get rejected sometimes, but that's usually not a problem we face.
I don't think shows blacklist artists if they don't accept an invitation. They probably don't blacklist those artists who accept an invitation and then eventually cancel before paying the booth fee. But I am an artist and not a show administrator. Still, it doesn't seem likely that shows keep track of your name, hope you apply so you pay the jury fee, and then reject you based upon your previous cancellation.