I did the Magic city show this weekend . Sales very poor and Sunday non existent because of rain. So glad I and many others left before the pouring rain hit at about Noon. Funny, The city called the show early on but the event did not.I was back home in Atlanta just before that hard rain came in.
Vandals, came through on Friday night and hit two inside rows of tents on both sides of the park. They put 6 inch cuts on the sides of many tents. I was so thankful that I escaped any of this but felt so badly for the others.
Sales were poor for most if at all. Well, another one to cross off the list. Too bad as this used to be a great selling show but in B'ham's case it is the economy that has hit this area.
Comments
Comment by B. David Kay 1 second agoDelete Comment
Larry, I too fully agree with you. Count me in as hitting the Like button.
Suzan quote in her post is as follows: "I would blame it on another artist, or someone working security, if I had to have my say."
Sounds to me like she is saying that she thinks it was caused by another artist. But that is my opinion and worth $.02.
It is a shame to blame anyone for the vandalism without having any proof. I feel bad for those who suffered the damage. Also for those that did not do well at the show. It just seems that it is getting harder and harder to make a decent wage doing the art shows. Then to have vandalism on top of it.
Larry, Ditto!
Suzan, how do you do festivals if you have to worry about your booth being vandalized by your fellow artists?
Larry, I wish there was a like button for your post.
This quote is really difficult to understand, especially coming from another artist.
"The homeless people were all really nice, I talked to several of them, and they were polite. I honestly don't think that the homeless vandalized anything, and my tent is one of the ones that got cut. I would blame it on another artist, or someone working security, if I had to have my say."
Whether or not the homeless people are really nice isn't the issue. But accusing your fellow artists or show security of vandalism is beyond comprehension. And I wonder why no one else picked up on what you said.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100This
Susan,very interesting your take on the show.I am saddened to think that some artists are coping others work. This is so very wrong on multiple levels. But what a strange thing for another artist to say,"A lot of Atlanta artists copy" I am an Atlanta area artist and I have not seen this at shows. I doubt that anyone could ever copy my style.
I will agree with the layout of the show, it is a bit odd. I had a bit of a time trying to find a friends booth and a lady who took a piece home to try out with her colors had a hard time finding her way back to my booth and I was on one of the pathways.
Special is neither here nor there for me, I can bring my own drinks and food, as I always do. I can do without the awards dinner too, as one of our AFI'ers said "just bring me buyers". I did feel that some areas had more traffic then others, again I think do to the layout. The dolly in and out stuff is a pain but I requested a spot closest to an unload area, which my have left me in a less trafficked area. I am happy for you that you sold It appeared that in my area, the Green area according to the map did not fair very well. I do think that there was an over abundance of wall art thus very steep competition. This was a poor show for my but 2 artist friends did ok. Oh Well, that's how it goes sometimes.
This show's director, Eileen Kunzman, has always gotten rave reviews for her consideration of the artists and I'll bet she is dismayed by this turn of events. This is a show that does all the right things in a lovely park, time and circumstances affect all of our events. I'm sure this year's problems will be addressed.
As to the event itself, I was glad that the show was called Sunday morning considering the weather. The show website posted the show as closed for the first few hours on Sunday, and then switched it to read that some artists were remaining and the show would be open. I felt the promoters and staff handled the exodus well and were very accommodating. Before and during the show, I felt the staff did everything they could to make the artists feel welcome and appreciated. The dinner and awards ceremony was lovely and advertising was everywhere. The show was well attended on Friday and Saturday, the public came out, I just didn't see allot of sales.
yeah, that's about right.