Monday, January 12, 4 pm ET
Change is good. New is good. Being smart about it is good. Let's learn about 3 new shows and what their organizers are doing with them to make them successful.
We talk about why they hosting the show, how, fund raising, their connections to their community, rounding up sponsors, their hopes for the event and what they are learning along the way.
The guests are:
Patty Swords - the Texas Gulf Coast Arts Festival, sponsored by the Center for the Arts & Sciences in Clute, TX, May 16 & 17
Celane Roden - Arts in the Middle, sponsored by The Virginia Commission for the Arts, Middlesex County and the Town of Urbanna in Urbanna, VA, May 30 & 31
Brett Johnson - the Workhouse Fall Arts Festival, sponsored by Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA, September 26 & 27
This is a nuts and bolts show that should be helpful to show organizers and artists alike.
Comments
I had already applied to Urbanna, with some hesitation, but the podcast gave me a little reassurance. I do think it's important to support first-year shows, and as someone - Connie? - mentioned, I take my courage in hand and do at least one first-year show every year.
The worst was a terrible, deserted disaster, which gave me an incredible insight into the small soul of the organizer (I will never do another of this organizer's shows again). So that was worth something... And I met a couple who have become BFFs with my husband and me.
Most of the shows have been OK - and it's felt sort of exciting to be part of a new thing. I'm in one this coming weekend, in Virginia Beach (I live in VA, so I think it's important to support new VA shows) - I will report in after the show's done.
Nah! We were at Cherry Creek. We did fine, maybe $5-6000. Not the biggest money in those days. We did even better the first year at Arts, Beats & Easts - $12,000. That was our best first year show. And, as you may recall, those sales continued at that event until other circumstances got in the way.
I listened to the podcast today. I chose those shows because of what their prospectuses said about them and I'm still thinking they are maybe not CC, but there is something there. Each of them has a lot of the right pieces in place and very savvy organizers, and community support.
Thank you, Barry! :D
Just click on that blogtalkradio icon in the upper left. You can listen to a number of the podcasts. You can also get them on itunes.
I just joined this group today and see that I missed this podcast. Is it saved somewhere that I could go and listen it it?
Urbanna has less than 500 people living there. However, they have an Oyster Festival that attracts 75,000 people. Will all those people come and buy from artists coming from other parts of the country? What are they doing to insure that this happens? The location is somewhat idyllic. If they promote it correctly, this has potential.
You asked some good questions. I liked that you asked the Workhorse guy about whether the studio people will be selling their work at the same time. It shouldn't be that they use us to bring people there only to sell to give their artists exposure. However, I would have liked to ask some tougher questions, like where does the Texas director expect to get customers to come from, Clute being a small town an hour from Houston? I would expect that show to be a lower to middle end art fair based on the demographic. Actually, this, and other tough questions, wouldn't be too tough because I'm sure they've asked themselves the same questions and hopefully have a solution. Lorton is part of the Fairfax school district, and off of I-95. I would want to know what they are doing to get the upper income people to come to the event and buy?
I was purposely vague. I will give you a hint, though. It's the one that is favorable to Ceramics.
Which one was that, Barry? I can tell you if we were still doing shows we'd be jurying for at least one of these shows for sure. One of the directors actually said they had received money from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and decided to use it to keep the booth fees low ... that could be argued. Maybe it would be better to use it for advertising, yet they seemed to have a good advertising plan in place.
I enjoyed this podcast. I listened because I was interested in one of the events and I am going to give serious consideration to do. It was the only one where the director talked about corporate sponsorship. It was the only one where the director talked about the artists making money as one of the goals of the show. I usually don't do first year shows. However, we are all looking for that Cherry Creek experience where everyone who did that show sold everything they brought.
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