All Posts (7723)
Sort by
I am new to the bay area, moved from texas and am looking for some feed back on what shows, juried , are worth while. I am work with mixed media and create one of a kind pieces of jewelry or accessories.
This is a sponsored message from us for a new service, Swipe, powered by Goodsmiths, that should be of interest to our "mobile merchant" subscribers.
 |
I have approximately a 10 ft wide by 8.5 ft deep LED-lit booth set-up using the moonbeam colored Propanels (light grey). So far, I have only made one $350 mistake by ordering panels which wouldn't allow me to hide my deep cycle marine batteries or use my tent weights...
I am hoping to be accepted into a Howard Alan event. I was accepted into one in Baltimore which got cancelled b/c it was the same weekend as the Baltimore Gran Prix.. Their booth guidelines suggest flooring other than asphalt or grass... Of course, their booth guidelines also ask for no exposed metal, suggest potted plants and other booth accents which most events do not ask for..
If I have to put down flooring, I am thinking it's to my advantage to put down something light dirt colored and easy to maintain in case of excessive mud and water/traffic. I would also like it to be of reasonable cost. My budget will likely be in the $100 maximum range.
I have seen everything from woven grass and bamboo mats to oriental area rugs.
I salvaged several from an flash-flooded summer show which folks left behind in either disgust or decided were too much to deal with. None of these is large enough to fit the space or they do not have the right colors to match the panels...
Thoughts?
These fine folks sent me an unsolicited e-mail asking for a portfolio submission in order to evaluate my work for potential representation. website address is www.amsterdamwhitneygallery.com
The person 'signing' the e-mail was Ruthie Tucker
Can anyone relate an prior experiences with Amsterdam Whitney International Fine Art Inc? They are located
I am always leery of unsolicited gallery e-mails.... Some of them have all the cachet of your typical Nigerian e-mail scam.
The most recent in memory was a gallery in NYC which offered rental wall space, plus took a 30% commission... And their per square foot wall space rental price was so unreal that I was unsure if this was a real offer or a joke... Four or Five floors up in a building with limited access and they wanted a couple grand for a 10 ft expanse of wall space in an area to be shared with other artists
- Carol Wilson - TrimLine Canopy from Flourish.com
- Jacqueline Zajac - Free booth space at Sarasota's Festival of the Masters from Boulderbrook & Richard Sullivan
- Ralph Sharp - Black Gum Wood Bowl from Jay Daniels, www.icthuspens.com
- Robert Wallis - free booth space at the Lexington Art & Craft Show, Lexington, KY from Lynn Wettach, HolidayArtShows.com
- Tim Longwell - 3 changeable gallery frames with art fair handles from Mary Anne Einarson, ChangeofArt.com
- Joyce Wathen - Marketing for Artists & Craftsmen from Carolyn Edlund, www.ArtsBusinessInstitute.org
- Bonnie Eastwood - free booth space at the Old Town Art & Craft Show~Winter, St. Augustine, FL, from Lynn Wettach, HolidayArtShows.com
- Elle Heiligenstein - 1/2 day booth sitting at the Ann Arbor Art Fairs from Connie Mettler
- Suzanne Ens - free booth space at any Paragon Art Event from Bill Kinney, www.paragonartevents.com
- Megan Martin - Leather messenger bag from Carol S. Miller, carolsmillerhandbags.com
- Renee Snell - Oil Painting by Katalin Luczay, www.seascapesandlandscapes.com
- Judy Zeddies - free booth space at ArtWorks: Studio Clearance Sale from Colin Murray
- Marge Park - Art Display Panel Plans from Ernie Kleven
- Sue Shefts - free booth space at Fall Festival on Ponce from Patrick Dennis & Randall Fox at AFFPS.com in Atlanta
- Roberta Starbird
- Jane Miller - Handturned Honduran Fountain Pen from Rich Horner, www.handturnedfountainpens.com
- Jenny Henley - free booth space at Piedmont Park Arts Festival in Atlanta from AFFPS.com
- Susan Hohman - Imaging services from Larry Berman, www.BermanGraphics.com
- Ann Light - handbuilt pottery from Lucy Clark, www.lucyclarkpottery.com
- Mary Meehan - free booth space at the Gold Coast Art Fair from AmdurProductions.com
- Geri Wegner - Canvas Gallery Wrap in Float Frame from Steve Sawusch, http://www.tptpro.com/
- Barry Bernstein - $100 Amazon gift card from ACTInspro.com
- Richard Sherer - Mixed Media wall piece from Phoenix & Scarlet Blackstone, http://www.etsy.com/shop/TurtleCoveTreasures
- Victoria Heisler - 2013 + 2014 Online Subscription to the Art Fair Sourcebook from Greg Lawler, http://artfairsourcebook.com/about-us/art-show-craft-fair-book.html
- Greg Little - free booth space Sandy Springs Artsapalooza from Patrick Dennis & Randall Fox, AFFPS.com
- Christine Rodriguez - free booth space at any Rose Squared Productions event from Howard & Janet Rose, www.rosesquared.com
- Candiss Cole - Expert Website Review from Scott Fox
- John Kennington - Essential Sourcebook - Pocket Edition from Greg Lawler, http://www.ArtFairSourceBook.com
- Andrew Shea - 1/2 boothsitting at the Ann Arbor Art Fairs from Connie Mettler
- Jan Gussin - Pandigital Photolink One-Touch Scanner from ArtFairCalendar.com
- Lucy Clark - consultation with Connie Mettler
- Delpfine Welch - Expert Website Review from Scott Fox
- Susan Cherry - Flameworked Glass Starfish Earrings & Pendant Set from Melanie Cech, www.melaniecechglass.com
- Bobby Harr - $50 gift certificate from Mark Rogers at FrameDestinations.com
- Kathy Clausen - One year Festival Network Online membership, FestivalNet.com
- Jacqueline Bradley - Window frame wall art with original photos from Carolyn Landis, www.carolynlandisphotographs.net
- Mike Leedom
- Joanna McCoy
- Teresa Haag - free booth space at the Wilmington Art & Craft Show, Wilmington, NC, Holiday Art Shows, from Lynn Wettach
- Joyce McAdams - coral necklace from Dabanga dos Santos, http://Dabanga.com
- Mary Perkins
- Patricia Plasko - Hummingbird feeder from Bill Merritt, www.ozarklake.net
- Miguel Wong - a year's member ship in the NAIA
- Lorrie Dallek - $25 gift certificate from Mark Rogers at FrameDestination.com
- Barb Machulis - Polymer clay flower wall piece from Layl McDill, www.claysquared.com
- Stephanie Gutzman - free booth space at Chastain Park Art Festival, from Randall Fox & Patrick Dennis, AFFPS.com
- John Powell
- Angela Howard - 1 year subscription to ArtsyHome, www.ArtsyHome.com
- Jim Norton - free booth space at Spring Festival on Ponce, from Randall Fox & Patrick Dennis, AFFPS.com
- Dalga, Tara - 1 year subscription to ArtsyHome, www.ArtsyHome.com
- Jerry Maschinot
- Br. Xavier Pankovits
- Chuck Bruce - free booth space at any Howard Alan Colorado art fair, ArtFestival.com
- Michelle Bende
- Carol Joy Shannon - Bodyscape photograph from Allan Teger, www.Bodyscapes.com
- Dale Yakaites - $50 gift card from Binders Art Supplies & AFFPs.com
- Alison Fox - Art Glass Cuff Bracelet from Leslie Belcher, www.accessoreez.com
- Greer Peters
- Hinde, Dave - $25 gift certificate from Mark Rogers at FrameDestination.com
- Schwartz, Francine - 1 year subscription to ArtsyHome, www.ArtsyHome.com
- Cech, Melanie - Artist consultations with show director Patrick Dennis, AFFPS.com
- Freeman, Noma - hour consultation with Connie Mettler
- Fisher, Lynn
- Wolfgang, Maryllis - free booth space at the Old Town Art & Craft Show~Spring, St. Augustine, FL Holiday Art Show, from Lynn Wettach
- Burke, Jane - free booth space at Peachtree Art Festival, from Randall Fox & Patrick Dennis, AFFPS.com
I just received a call for artists, and this is a new one for me - an art show at a nudist resort!
I'll be passing (have they seen my photo!?!) but here is the info, in case any of you are interested! I'd really like to hear a report from this show!!
John Kennington
Please accept this invitation to participate as a vendor at the Second Annual Fall Art Festival. This year the Festival will be held on Saturday, September 21st at Oaklake Trails Naturist Park (OLT) (www.oaklaketrails.com). A vendor brochure is attached. The fee for a vendor space is $20 which includes free admission for two to the resort. We do not ask for a share of the sales.
The purpose of the Fall Arts Festival is to provide a clothing optional venue for artists and interested parties to explore the arts au naturel. The event is designed primarily for young adults but open to all ages.
Oaklake Trails is a 420 acre clothing optional family resort with heated swimming pool, hot tub, sand volley ball, and hiking trails. We are located about half way between Tulsa and Oklahoma City just off old Route 66. Food and beverages are available weekends at the Bare Buns Bistro.
We are also interested in artists who would like to give demonstrations of their techniques. If you have expertise in any art and would like to facilitate a session, please contact Bruce Dean at jotquec@yahoo.com or 918-261-4919.
To reserve your space or to get more information about conducting sessions or being a vendor, contact Oaklake Trails Naturist Park at 918-324-5999 or email oltnaturistpark@aol.com
Also please consider another opportunity. Stroud, a nearby community, is hosting a Historic Route 66 Wine and Food Festival on June 8th and is looking for vendors. For more information, follow this link http://facebook.com/stroudwinefoodfestival .
Many thanks to Alice Moulton and Carolyn Bird from the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival for joining me on yesterday's podcast where the two veteran show organizers of this fine all volunteer run event filled me in on some insider info about the show. Did you know that their offices are in a train car that sits on the tracks that run through Winter Park? I wonder if any other show has such an interesting setup.
On to the news! Using Random.org Alice and Carolyn drew the names and here is the list, including some very familiar names:
1. Geri Wegner
2. Barry Bernstein
3. Richard Sherer
4. Victoria Heisler
5. Greg Little
6. Christine Rodriguez
7. Candiss Cole
8. John Kennington
9. Andrew Shea
10. Jan Gussin
11. Lucy Clark
12. Delpfine Welch
13. Susan Cherry
14. Bobby Harr
15. Kathy Clausen
16. Jacqueline Bradley
17. Mike Leedom
18. Joanna McCoy
19. Teresa Haag
20. Joyce McAdams
21. Mary Perkins
22. Patricia Plasko
23. Miguel Wong
24. Lorrie Dallek
25. Barb Machulis
26. Stephanie Gutzman
27. John Powell
28. Angela Howard
29. Jim Morton
30. Tara Dalga
31. Jerry Maschinot
32. Br. Xavier Pankovits
33. Chuck Bruce
34. Michelle Bende
35. Carol Joy Shannon
36. Dale Yakaites
37. Alison Fox
38. Greer Peters
39. Dave Hinde
40. Francine Schwartz
41. Melanie Cech
42. Noma Freeman
43. Lynn Fisher
44. Maryllis Wolfgang
45. Jane Burke
& we still haven't heard from one of last week's winners, Roberta Starbird.
Thank you and congratulations to each! You may recognize many of them as they have been participants on AFI for some time.
The first 20 winners have already chosen their prizes, you know that TrimLine is long gone, but there are still plenty left. The procedure to claim your prizes is:
- visit the discussion at this link: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/forum/topics/available-prizes-in-the-next-5-28-prize-drawing
- choose your top 4 prizes
- send me those choices: info@artfaircalendar.com
- I'll make arrangements for fulfillment
Which, of course, also means that if you haven't pledged yet you have more time to help us support our websites. We really appreciate each and every pledge, no matter the size.
Three Rivers Art Festival - my local show
I'll be walking the show both periods. This year for some strange reason they are not offering my services as an award, something I've done for the last three years. But I'll be down there doing booth pictures and discussing jury images with interested artists. I also carry an iPad to show examples of the work I do with artist's images.
If anyone is interested in speaking with me or needs a booth shot, give me a call. 412-401-8100
I also rent my gray Pro Panels each year. So far this year they are only rented for the second period, so if anyone needs them first period, give me a call.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
Celebrity guests from the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival join Connie Mettler of to share art fair stories and draw the names of the winners of the rest of the prizes for the Birthday Party Pledge Drive on Tuesday afternoon at 3 pm ET.
Will they call out your name? Did you contribute to our pledge drive?
Have our websites
- helped you avoid a bad show?
- found you a deal on our classifieds?
- made a friend either online or as a result of your presence on this site?
- helped you find a good show?
- taught you things to avoid in this crazy business?
- taught you where to find credit card solutions, the best tents, insurance, display equipment?
- lessened the isolation of your studio?
- given you something to laugh about and share with others?
Will you be the winner of these artful prizes?
- Free booth spaces from show directors around the country
- Art Fair Sourcebooks from Greg Lawler
- consulting with Scott Fox about your website
- consulting with Connie Mettler about your art fair questions
- a $100 Amazon gift card & other gift cards
- lots of art
- 56 in ALL. Check them out here.
Then, tell me, isn't it worth $24?
What you'll get back
- eternal gratitude from the boss (me)
- a collectible Red Dot AFI bumper sticker
- recognition on your page on AFI with a special Art Star
Last chance, folks! This afternoon we are going to call the names and we'd surely like it to be yours.
Click here to contribute and we'll add your name to the list for the drawing:http://www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/pledgedrive.html
Listen here: www.ArtFairRadio.com.
Call us too if you'd like to speak to Carolyn Bird & Alice Moulton of the WPSAF: 805-243-1338
It is another summer season in the Chicagoland area. Amy Amdur kicks it off with her festival in Barrington.
The good and the bad about an Amdur festival is that you see a lot of the same artists at all of her shows. I say good and bad because if you like that artist, you get a lot of chances to see them but it also means you don't get to see as wide a variety of artists at her festivals.
I did find a new jewelry artist who makes very unique necklaces, some at very reasonable prices, so there went my plan to not buy jewelry. Fortunately for me (but not the artist) I forgot to stop back at another booth with amazing jewelry at great prices that I saw when we first got there.
Amy usually has signs indicating there is an art festival but we didn't see any on the way and since I am an on-line newsreader, I don't know if there was an ad in the Tribune like there has been in the past but there was an ok crowd during a cool, cloudy morning on Saturday. Didn't really see any packages but it was early.
There was some questionable art and an orphan booth area. 95% of the artists are on two streets that intersect. Mixed with a few sponsor booths were a few artists and they were to the left off one of the cross streets. The metal sculptor with the big animals was at the corner kind of hiding all those booths. These spots were definitely not getting the traffic that the other areas were. They seemed to be new artists to the show but I can't say for sure that they all were.
Amy is usually very particular about how the booths look but there is one jeweler that shows up at a lot of her shows with a booth full of what looks like junk jewelry. The booth looks like a flea market, visually crowded with way too much stuff on card tables. But, she buys a double booth to show all this stuff. As usual, money talks.
The candle people were there as well as a painter's rep who shows up at a multitude of Amy's shows representing an artist who lives on the east coast who had booths at 3 other shows this weekend.
And so it begins.......
I'm new to this fair life. in fact my first away game is this 8th and 9th of June. I signed up to AFI about 15 minutes ago but I've been reading all I can about the do's and don'ts for about 6 months. So i've bought the van and set it up for light camping. I've purchased a dome tent with a few bells and whistles and set it up in the barn driveway... Need more practice there. I've made the weights out of PVC filled with concrete. I have the stock of watercolors and the bins to put them in... and amazingly me and the all of it seems to fit. My question is if you cannot back up to your site and unload the tent
and especially the tent bones how do you get them from A to B that last 100 yards or so? The bins are easy, stacked on a two wheeler but the bones weigh a ton and and don't seem to want to be corralled with bungy's or cord or ratchet straps.
October 12 & 13 
Sedona, Arizona
On the campus of Sedona Red Rock High School
126 Artist Booths
Deadline: June 7
Jury: June 8
Invitations: June 15
We invite you to apply to the 23rd annual Sedona Arts Festival. A favorite in the Southwest, the festival showcases 126 juried artists, the Gourmet Gallery, the Guest Gallery (featuring an international guest artist) and KidZone, as well as music, great food, and raffle prizes. Fall is "high season" in Sedona and both tourists and locals support the festival, its artists, and its mission to financially contribute to arts education in our community.
We cater to our visiting artists, providing:
- load/unload assistance
- booth sitting
- refreshments
- and premium restroom facilities exclusive for artists.
In 2012, we completed a total redesign of our field layout, reducing the number of artists from 144 to 126. Our field is now set up with 100 quad spaces, providing artists with a corner booth location no matter where they are located on the field! We have 26 booth available at a reduced cost on the perimeter of the field of artists. The response to our redesign was enthusiastic and artists sales were UP over the previous year!
Our organization produces a premier, annual fine arts festival which promotes awareness of the arts, supports artists, and builds community in the greater Sedona area. We financially support art programs and provide scholarships for our youth.
Our annual festival is a fundraiser for our giving programs. Since its inception in 1989, the Sedona Arts Festival has donated nearly $300,000 to area art programs and art students.
The festival itself has grown in size and reputation over the past 20 years. It has become a destination arts festival, known for the quality of art and first class treatment of both its artists and attendees. With 126 nationally known artists displaying their work surrounded by red rock splendor, there is no better place to spend an October weekend than Sedona.
Applications available at: www.Zapplication.org
Complete information about the festival can be found on our website: www.sedonaartsfestival.org
Please feel free to call for more information. We are happy to answer all your questions and hope you'll join us in one of the most spectacular locations in the Country!
Lori Reinhart-Executive Director
director@sedonaartsfestival.org
(928)204-9456
Many thanks to all the people who sent support to our Pledge Drive. We drew the first 20 names in a podcast yesterday and here are the winners:
- Carol Wilson
- Jacquelyne Zajac
- Ralph Sharp
- Robert Wallis
- Tim Longwell
- Joyce Wathen
- Bonnie Eastwood
- Elle Heiligenstein
- Suzanne Ens
- Megan Martin
- Renee Snell
- Judy Zeddies
- Margaret Park
- Sue Shefts
- Roberta Starbird
- Jane Miller
- Jenny Henley
- Susan Hohman
- Ann Light
- Mary Meehan
Congratulations to each! You may recognize many of them as they have been participants on AFI for some time.
The procedure to claim your prizes is to visit the Prize Page, choose your top 4 prizes and send me those choices: info@artfaircalendar.com, and I'll make arrangements for fulfillment. While many people had their eye on the top prize (the Trimline canopy) after that has been chosen each person may have a different idea of which prize suits them best.
Please let me hear from you before the next podcast so I can set your prizes aside.
There are many more prizes than 20. On Tuesday, May 28, at 3 pm ET, Alice Moulton and Carolyn Bird from the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival will be joining me on a new podcast. Carolyn and Alice will share some info about their all volunteer run event and then draw the names of the next segment of winners. Hope you'll join us then to hear your name called.
Which, of course, also means that if you haven't pledged yet you have more time to help us support our websites. We really appreciate each and every pledge, no matter the size.
THURSDAY - MAY 23 - 6 PM ET - Call in at 805-243-1338
Do you love our art fair related websites where you can
- find a show to attend
- get the inside scoop about an art fair
- stay in touch with the ups and downs of our industry
- get support for your business
- or just have a good laugh?
You are not alone! As we celebrate our 4th birthday there are nearly 10,000 members and our SEO is soaring. Thank you for making this happen.
Today's show is hosted by Connie Mettler and Internet marketing author Scott Fox. They have two missions:
- Scott will give you 5 quick and easy tips helpful especially for artists for marketing your work online and Connie will share 5 quick and easy tips for marketing your work at the shows
- Draw the names of the winners in the pledge drive
This will be live and we hope you will be listening to see if you are the winner of the great prizes that our friends have donated to our pledge drive, worth 1000's of $$.
Check out the prize page here: www.artfaircalendar.com/pledge-drive
AND we welcome your phone calls! 805-243-1338. Tell us your art fair stories and ask your questions. We'll have answers. We'd love to hear from you as we celebrate and shamelessly promote our art fair websites ;)
Oscar's candid post, "The Only Thing I Ask You God", struck a note with many readers last month. If you haven't read it yet -- do it now, and then look forward to meeting Oscar at a show one day.
Congratulations, Oscar, the members have voted your story as Post of the Month! Thank you for telling this story here.
The great thing about Art Fairs is standing in your booth for eight hours and having the opportunity to visit with people. Now this may sound like tooth extraction to some of you but I love to talk to people... random strangers at that. It might be about the weather or even better about art or, best of all, my art! Nothing defines your philosophy and message of your art more than explaining it 30 or 40 times a day. And in these days of automated tellers, self checkout at stores and self-service gas stations when do people even talk to each other anymore? It's a leisurely setting, people are relaxed and not in a hurry and it makes for pleasant conversations. It's human contact. With all of our online lives and busy schedules it's a wonderful respite from our self-imposed isolation.
Well guys, I might not be the right person to write this review because it was my first time at Broad Ripple, in fact my first time doing a big Mid West show, if you don't count Paducah, Kentucky a few years back, when I was just starting out. Set up was easy and the organizers from the art center were on hand to help direct you to your area ( Yea Kile), which was color coded. This was a massive show, spread out in all directions. I lucked up and could drive my car right in front of my booth, but many were among the trees and gardens and had to dolly in quite a ways. It was scorching hot on Friday for set up and although I got there early, and had some water, I was on the verge of heat stroke a few hours later and had to leave everything and get in my car for a Gatoraid run. It came on fast, headache, stomach-dizzy, word to the wise, always bring a cooler and if it doesn't look like rain in the forecast bring your EasyUp instead of your Crafthut! Dang Crafthut, a love /hate relationship at best, but it did help with the storm on Friday night (once I got the thing up- it was only my second time and I was by myself).
The doors opened on Saturday morning, the weather was cooperating and the crowds zoomed in, I think everyone thought it was going to rain later in the day and came early. Sales were good and I saw many people buying and packages going past. It wasn't as hot as the day before and it sprinkled a bit but the crowds kept coming. After three o'clock the crowds kind of died off but I heard it was a Pacer's game and well, that made sense, since they are in the playoffs. I had lots of small sales and a few medium priced work sold but nothing big on Saturday. People were great, interested and many cash sales-people came to buy.
Sunday was a beautiful day- a bit hot, not too much breeze but that didn't stop the crowds from coming. So many people said they would come back but I couldn't imagine that they could find me again, the show was so spread out and big, but they did and I had some really good big sales in the afternoon. It was busy all day. I never got to the other end of the show, to see the layout and artists, I would have liked to, but it was too busy to leave, I think most were in the same boat, nice problem to have.There were booth sitters galore but who wants to leave when people are buying. Load-out was easy, breakdown, and then a tag to get your car into the grounds to pick up. The tent going down was a lot easier that going up-why is that? All in all I was pleased with the professionalism of Broad Ripple, it was a first class show, smooth as silk, great crowds, great venue, lots of advertising and people came to buy. It was my first Mid West show but it certainly won't be my last....in two weeks Summerfair Cincinnati- Woo Hoo!
Odds in the recent Powerball lottery were 1 in 175.2M!
Odds in winning a prize in the Birthday Party Pledge Drive are more like 1 in 3! You not only help support this website that helps you in your art fair business you are really likely to be saying soon, "Wow! I won. I never win anything!."
Some of the Prizes:
- a fabulous new TrimLine canopy from our friends at Flourish
- 20 free booth spaces from Paragon Art Festivals, Howard Alan Events, Amdur Productions, Rose Squared, ArtWorks, AFFPS (8 shows in Atlanta), Holiday Art Shows (4), American Art Marketing (2), Boulderbrook; paid jury fee from Broad Ripple (3)
- Art Fair Sourcebook (2)
- Gift cards - Amazon, Frame Destinations, Binders Art Supplies in Atlanta
- Consulting: Larry Berman, Connie Mettler, Scott Fox (consulting on websites), Patrick Dennis
- Art supplies: frames, canvas wraps, slide & negative scanner
- Subscriptions & E-course: from ArtsyHome.com's site, a marketing course for artists from the Arts Business Institute, festival network online membership
- Donations from artists: leather messenger bag, Honduran rosewood fountain pen, pottery, oil painting, mixed media, jewelry, knitwear, wood bowl, sculpture, photography from Allan Teger, an etsy.com shopping spree, glass, more ...
Please help support our mission to bring patrons to the art fairs - so you can continue in the lifestyle you love. Click here to learn more.
We'll be drawing names during a podcast on Thursday (May 23) at 6 pm ET. Hope you'll be listening!
Spent the previous weekend in lovely Prescott, AZ (pronounced Press-kit) at the 35th Annual Arts Guild show. The show is located on the lawns around the courthouse in the center of town. People know that it is an annual event and being the first show of the summer season it seems there isn't art show fatique. But that isn't the reason for writing this post. As if there aren't enough shows in AZ these days for promoters to promote it seems that there was another promoter promoting a show adjacent to this one! I mean kitty corner from this show! I've seen this other promoters shows when I've done shows in Carefree, AZ and they were down the road a bit but this is ridiculous! When I was participating in the Sonoran Arts League Show in March there were two other shows taking place no more than a mile away from each other!
The larger issue here, and we've probably all acknowledged it at one time or another, is the proliferation of shows that are taking place! Paragon is on the move, Amy Amdur has a show in just about every corner of the Chicagoland area on any given weekend, Howard Alan must own Florida by now and has had a presence in the Colorado high country for a number of years as-well-as trying to make in-roads at Lake Tahoe and Park City for a couple of years. I did his Park City incarnation one year as I wasn't invited to the Kimball show that year, it was behind a shopping center, I mean REALLY BEHIND, apparently it wasn't a good gamble as I don't see it on his calendar anymore. Now the same people that bring you the Rio Grande shows in Albuquerque are making a play for another show in the Denver area, lets see, that makes at least 6 shows in the same market! Jim Delutes did such a good job of resurrecting the Downtown Denver show at the Pavilions that they decided to kick him out and do their own show on the very same weekend (ArtStir) and just a few blocks away!
Now I read a blog about how all these shows are diluting the market for fine art (craft) and we all want to vilify promoters for their shameful gluttony but, artists share responsibility for this land grab as-well-as the promoters they want to string up. Truth be told, if artists weren't so willing to run to the latest and (presumably) greatest show on earth there would be less shows and less dilution of the bottom line.
As I think about this issue I recall the Ken Burns PBS production on the Dust Bowl. In addition to changing their tilling style so that they were tilling the soil less deep, farmers were also planting many more acres. Then, when the price of their crops went too low to make a decent living wage their answer was to plant more acres! Guess they never heard of supply and demand. In the end when the rains dried up with an extended drought and tilling the soil went on unabated the land gave out and blew away. In fact there are still areas of South East Colorado that have not recovered from the ravages of the dust bowl era. Seems to me there is a lesson in this. Those that ignore their history are doomed to repeat it, no matter what business their in. So who's responsible for the bottom line becoming smaller? Probably all of us, promoters and artists alike. I let you draw your own conclusions as to how to answer this dilemma for yourself. But it seems to me that not applying for these newcomers in an already diluted market might make the most sense. Or, as has been suggested, if a show does not support you, don't support it. I was wait listed for the Downtown Denver show this year and I didn't plan on applying to ArtStir, the next startup in an already diluted market, instead I'm attending a small show in New Mexico in a market without any other shows. But that, as they say, is another story.
