Note: Just before posting this review I saw another review with a very different take on artshowreviews. I suggest you read them both for the different perspectives.
We had wanted to do the Rehoboth Beach show this weekend but didn’t get in. I went looking for an alternative and came up with the Lewiston Art Festival in Lewiston, NY.
It turned out I was wrong about this one. In an earlier comment on Connie’s “What are you doing this weekend?” discussion, I said we applied to Lewiston because the $5,000 in prize money implied to me quality artists with quality art. I should have dug a little deeper.
The $5,000 is spread over 4 awards in each of 9 categories plus Best in Show and Best Booth. No one got a lot of money. So there was no chance that big money would draw quality.
It also turns out that I overheard two local artists talk about the number of times they had each won at Lewiston (six for one, four for the other). Draw your own conclusions.
In case you think this is sour grapes, it is not. It was a case of selecting a show with incomplete information and inadequate research. I have always wondered about people who post on AFI that they just got accepted to a show and could anyone tell them whether it was a good show or not. What a backwards way of applying to shows, I’ve thought. Well, I was susceptible to that same sloppy thinking.
Here are the details. The show is set up along the main street through Lewiston, NY, which is a delightful village about 6 miles north of Niagara Falls. The street is very wide with one of those center turn lanes. Set-up and tear town were very easy.
We followed show directions and arrived about 5:00AM Saturday morning. We were practically the only ones there. Others started drifting in with most exhibitors arriving between 7 and 8. One of our neighbors showed up at 10 as the show was opening.
There was tons of storage behind our booth but it was luck of the draw. Some booths had telephone/utility poles behind them; others had big shade trees. Worst case would probably be that you would have to ask a neighbor if you could stick a bin or two with their stuff.
Artist parking (for our location) was in a shopping plaza right behind the booth. There was a wall between the lot and the street so you still had to walk a short distance to reach the van that was only 6 feet away on the rhumb line. No big deal.
Port-a-Potties were also in that lot (and in many other locations throughout the show). They were expertly serviced on Saturday after show hours so they never got in super gross condition.
One of the show’s major sponsors was a waste disposal/management company who touted their “green” programs but it seemed like the frequently mentioned recycling cans were pretty thinly spread out.
Security was provided overnight but this village looked so quaint that it was hard to imagine there would be any big problems. (As we drove away Monday morning we did see an overturned port-a-potty so maybe there was the potential for a little miscreant activity after all.)
Food was the usual festival food truck fare but prices seemed a little more reasonable that what you often see.
We never saw any booth sitters (but with two of us we didn’t need them). We ended up watching a neighbors booth a few times each day so he could get some lunch, etc.
There was an artist breakfast/awards ceremony at a local restaurant on Sunday morning but we didn’t go so I can’t comment.
The weather was perfect and the crowd was very strong between 11AM and 4PM. The show ran until 6PM each day, which was probably an hour longer than necessary. The prospectus claims 30,000 people over the weekend and that‘s probably pretty close.
Was there high quality art here? Yes there was. There was also a lot of junk and some buy/sell. Also, Hudson River Inlay was in the show program. I assume that one of the “Jeff Nelsons” was there but I never saw their “production” works.
Here is a booth selling “Hotel Bamboo Pillows” (made in China) by the pallet load. The also had some plastic gewgaws that the kids found amusing. Not good for artists.
Also, the rule of art show decorum were frequently violated. Here is an artist a few booths away who migrated his space well out into the street making it impossible for patrons to walk a straight line down the tent row. He also thought we should all have to listen to talk radio and music on his boom box; the operative word being “boom”.
Another artist (bow ties) thought it would be cool to mark the length of the street with bow ties and arrows pointing to his booth. When I called him on it, he said “Don’t worry. It’s only chalk spray and it’ll be gone with the next rain.” I think he missed the point.
The Lewiston Council on the Arts has a strong Kids program and an emerging artist program and overall, they put on a highly organized event but one that seemed weakly juried. Having said that, they obviously know the community and delivered what the community wanted,
Our challenge was price point. We had plenty of great compliments but a glance at the price tag caused people to scurry out of the tent.
We were next to an artist with very clever functional ceramic work. Among his other pieces he had bowls that were priced around $20. On more than a few occasions when he told the enquiring shopper that the bowls were $20, the response was “Each??” followed by quick booth departure. At the same time, he did end up having a very good show because his work was clever and unique and because most of his price points were below $45
Bottom line, craft worked best here and the less expensive the better. We managed a few hard earned sales but inexpensive wearables, quilted bags, gimmicky wood carvings, SOS, etc., etc.owned the day. I suspect some jewelers did pretty well too. However, If you were 2D wall or sculpture with most price points over $50, you probably had a tough time. I know we did. (Of course there are sure to be some who did okay. In contrast to the other review, I did not see much 2d other than matted prints being carried out)
We ended up calling this a “vacation” show. Staci had never been to Niagara Falls before and we had a great time doing all the touristy stuff.
As for the show, how does that line go? “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars…”
Off to Mt. Gretna!
September 5-7
