"Welcome to the ___ Art Festival! We hope you enjoy the wide array of fine art and craft we have presented for you. Please be considerate when visiting each booth; do not photograph or touch art work without permission. Please keep your children and pets under control. Please be respectful of our artists; each of their booths are their "gallery" spaces; not a public space to check your email, visit with friends or have lunch. And, if you love art and want us to continue to bring you an exceptional event, BUY ART TODAY. Please be aware, each of our professional artists and crafters have paid for their space here today, and many of them have also paid for travel expenses just for the opportunity to sell their work to you. Our express purpose for organizing this show is to create a relaxing venue where you can shop for art. Please support our artists!"
Perhaps the T-Shirts you distribute this year to volunteers could include your logo and the words BUY ART TODAY as a not-so-subliminal message.
Comments
"Here's a thought - how about if promoters/organizers pay the artists to be at the art festivals?" Agree! And charge people admission! I have felt this way for years -- after all, artists provide the same entertainment value as musicians or performers. Art shows and art fairs are performances. We are actors. We want to sell, but sometimes people just don't buy. It makes us feel a little bit like people playing the violin on a street corner with our case on the ground and a few dollars are in it. I think artists should be paid for every venue we show our work in because people DO just come to browse and view and have a nice day outside. Buyers are fewer and farther between than in past years. And yet the costs to artists of being in art fairs continues to climb. I wonder why that is. We could go broke just buying art supplies, but then add in the costs of some of these art fairs and the decision of which one to be in becomes very, very important. I have been in some art fairs where no one bought anything from anyone, and I paid for the privilege of smiling at these people all day long.
Nels has by far the best approach. He has a greeter in his booth who gives the patron a shopping cart while gently encouraging them to ask questions regarding financing options and fulfillment. But, get this, at the conclusion of the sale he informs them of the warranty package that is available at a nominal cost...and most times he closes it!
This was the email I sent to the arts committee of the bomb show I had this past weekend:
Dear ______
I am going to apologize here for leaving in the middle of the day Saturday. I know it probably wasn't the most professional thing I've done in 14 years of art fairs. I do believe I am experienced enough to make a few important suggestions to your committee for next year. Needless to say, I won't be returning, however, there were a few things that REALLY concerned me.
First, the tents in the row I was in should be facing west, not east. (Opposite for the row I was facing.) Baking in the scorching sun for 3/4 of the day was totally unnecessary! If the tents in my row faced west, we'd have been in shade all day, because when the sun moves to the west, there are trees already shading that area for the rest of the day.
Second, was a complete absence of volunteers in 90 degree+ heat. It would've been nice if anyone had offered to booth sit for 5 minutes, or bring around cold water for the artists. But, there was no presence at all. And, without diligent volunteers (especially for hydration,) you put your participants' health at serious risk! If anyone had had a heart attack or suffered heat stroke the committee would have had a serious law suit on their hands. No sales aside, a good part of the reason I left was feeling that I would suffer heat stroke if I didn't leave.
Lastly, I'm not sure the heat can be blamed for the lack of traffic, because I talked to other artists around me, who have done your fair in cooler weather and they said there has never been good traffic. I felt hoodwinked and very angry at having wasted a booth fee, two night's hotel, gas, tolls and time; based on an extreme over-statement of the show's reality. Most of what I saw in Bartlett was hobby art that was under-priced and those hobbyists were thrilled if they make back their booth fee. What??? I would never even consider a show if I thought all I was going to do was make my booth fee back.....what about cost of materials, labor, transportation, hotels, meals, etc.? An addition to your submission guidelines of; "our target audience spends between $25 and $75," would have been very helpful. (I would not have applied.) No one I talked to made sales of anything much over $40/item. I consider myself blessed to be able to continue my art because I include a fair profit in my prices; otherwise it would be a very expensive hobby.
I hope your committee will take my educated suggestions to heart even if I wasn't the perfect participant. I know it was probably embarrassing to see me leave the way I did. Had any of your volunteers (beside the guy with the hat who was trying to garner donations for the youth art early in the morning....he was the last I saw) stopped by to ask if I needed anything, I would've requested water....plain and simple; not a biggie, I might have felt a tiny bit more compelled to stay but, that didn't happen, which only added to my frustration. And, a solo artist should NEVER have to ask a neighboring artist to watch their booth while they take a potty break...they have their own art to watch over!
So, to wrap it up; I'm sure the committee is disinclined to return my booth fee, but I will assure other professional artists I know to skip your event in the future.
Best of luck to you,
Gayle Weiss
Tough, yes, Susan. Interesting, intriguing, constantly changing as each show is in a different place with different clientele there are few constants. Have you read the excellent articles on here by Richard Sherer on how he chooses which shows to do and by Robert Wallis on juries? Worth a read, for sure and it will help you out.
Having retail knowledge is really helpful, because you "get" the marketing aspect. Most people who do reviews on this site will tell you their media, that is helpful. You might also visit our site artshowreviews.com and read reviews there because every one of those is also colored by the author's media.
There are some "groups", down low on the front page that discuss issues for each media, where you might also garner some helpful info. Some times they are active and other times not so much. But you can "message" everyone in the group with a pertinent question that may get you answers. Welcome to the business.
Ya can't win 'em all, Susan. Then you can only take your best guess - was the weather too hot, cold, wet or was parking a pain or something else. Does the show just have too many booths or is the overall quality not exciting? Is this kind of reception consistent with this particular show? Hmmmmm…..
You know, I notice that a lot of festival artists gripe consistently about buy/sell and the quality of work - I wonder if it is the lack of sales that keeps some artists away. Imagine spending $1000 for booth, hotel, gas, food - not to mention the cost of the art - and then making $400 all weekend... it's just not a good business model for most fine artists.
I agree with you Maryllis - and I am always cheerful, my "gallery" on the go looks professional, and I try really hard not to eat in my booth space. I always look good, but during the summer my hair gets crazy, so a big hat hides all that.
I also agree that when I walk a show, I don't look in every space, but I also don't waste an artist's time by talking with them about their technique, where they show, what materials they use, and asking for prices if I have no intention of buying.
There is always an educational factor that must be dealt with when presenting art. An informational flyer - short, upbeat & attractive is a great idea! I'll agree that promotors do walk a fine line, but they need to step up on these issues if they want artists to pay the fees for doing their shows. A careful edit of Sandhi's text, possibly incorporating Erik's ideas could result in a very effective yet welcoming & informative flyer that could help patrons' overall awareness and appreciation.
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