Blog

The 2^nd annual Detroit River ArtScape, with more than $15,000 in cash awards, will be held on the Detroit riverfront, June 14-23, 2013, culminating with the very successful Detroit River Days festival, June 21-23.  

• In its second year, 15 artists will be selected to showcase their large, weather-worthy pieces, and win cash prizes of more than $15,000.
• The purpose of the event is to promote arts and culture in Detroit and to showcase the Detroit riverfront.
• The attraction is intended to raise the already renowned quality of programming and culture at River Days, as well as to promote the Arts to the Metro Detroit community and specifically to the 100,000 plus people who attend the River Days festival.

The 15 finalists of the Detroit River ArtScape competition will be invited by the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy to display their selected large, prize-winning artwork, before and during the River Days Festival.  These award winners will have the additional opportunity to be selected for the People’s Choice First Prize Award of $2,000. No fee to exhibit, $20 application fee.

Learn more: www.juriedartservices.com

PLEASE NOTE:

1) In my response of 3 hours ago I need to correct a detail I incorrectly mentioned there - that the helpful response to my problem came from Woodforest National Bank (1-800-327-0093) not 1st NB, who acts as their agent - no wonder they were surprisingly pleasant!  

2) If you have a wireless terminal there is a $35 reconnect fee each time, when using it "seasonally" as explained in my earlier post. Make sure to discuss all these angles with Customer Support... after 3 calls to different people on different days there may be a clear picture & consistency of facts? Apply these to your situation regarding months you need to process cards & whether you have wireless or not. Hopefully we do not all come out on the losing end...

I have the good fortune of choosing between theses two shows.  I have never done either.  I have B&W Photography with the subject matter primarily focusing on  rural Appalachia.  Any input would greatly be appreciated.

March 23 & 24

Deland, Florida 

Highlights:

• Long history of excellent community support
• $5,600 in cash awards; $1,500 Best in Show, plus Spectator Awards voted on by showgoers
• Limited to 95 Fine arts and crafts exhibitors  and 77 traditional artists and crafters   
• No application/jury fee; Booth Fees: Fine art and craft: $150 ($135 to Jan. 1, 2012);Traditional art and craft: $125 ($110 to Jan. 1, 2012)   
• Artists amenities: restrooms, continental breakfast, reserved on-site parking, booth sitters, 24 hour security
• Estimated attendance: 10,000+
• Extensive advertising and marketing: television, radio, newspapers, magazines
• Friday setup; Short dolly or carry in to booth space
• DOAF has adopted the Atlanta/Maitland Scoring System. Artists work will be judged on their Originality, Presentation & Execution. Artwork no longer leaves the artists booth.  

For more details, downloadable artist's prospectus and application visit: www.DelandOutdoorArtFest.com

"Hearsay" - drawing by C. L. Cunningham

Anticipation runs high for artists as they head into the nation's top art shows. It is "show time!" All the studio work and creative time is about to be unveiled and shared. C.L. Cunningham says she likens it to a fine dinner party. The show organizers, the volunteers, the sponsors, everyone comes together to establish the atmosphere, set the table, polish the silver, extend the invitations and then the artists present the banquet! 

Cunningham's mixed media drawings are a mix of 28 materials that include watercolor, pastel, india ink, gouache, iridescent pastel, crushed and pulverized glass and school chalk applied to handmade watercolor paper. Her retro imagery is a slice of life, catching the light and shadow that enraptures the viewer and brings her collectors asking for more.

Learn more about C. L. Cunningham and her work: www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/featured-artist.html

Meet her March 15-17 at the Winter Park (Florida) Sidewalk Art Festival, www.wpsaf.org.

Have you seen Zapps new look? Essentially it contains all the old gizmos with a new look (not bad overall) plus a few more new tricks. I just reviewed an application I was holding on to and found when you go to arrange your images they have a new "drag and drop" feature. It takes some maneuvering to get the images to split if you want to drag an image in between two others. Just like the "old" Zapp, if you go back to review an application your image order is all scrambled up so check carefully!

How about check-out!

Did yah Notice 3. where it says, "click the "Checkout" button"? I challenge you to find a "checkout button" it isn't there. You have to click the "Review Cart" button which then takes you to the usual window with the Paypal option, etc. I sent off a quick note about this issue to them and they got back to me immediately saying, "We appreciate you bringing this issue to our attention. We are in the process of correcting this." I appreciate their responsiveness!

Finally, although my initial look was only superficial, when you review "My Zapplications" I don't know if it's my old eyes or just a bad choice of colors. I remember when I was in Graphic Design school one of the cardinal rules about type style and color was "if you can't read it, it isn't functional". No problem with the type style probably just Helvetica but the light green for a heading? Not my first choice for readability.

Okay, so I've started the ball rolling...any other oops or applause?

It was with great dismay that I heard about the Naples National volunteer who was encouraging patrons at the gate to " the artists are all hard up, come back Sunday and get a deal".  It is a shame that the thoughtless words of one person could have a devastating effect on the lives of the artists.  Rather than be credited for their heroic effects, braving all wind, weather and economical conditions to sell their work, they face being demeaned and treated as lowly carnival acts. 

Artists have families, children, mortgages and jobs.  Being an artist is a job, a real one, just like any other profession.  No better no worse.  It's an honorable living using God's gift.  Instead of being given proper respect as with any other trained person, it seems lately we are used and abused beyond belief.  We are always the first people to be called upon for any charity act.  Donate.  Donate.  Donate.  Or to be used as entertainment, depending on us to at least be of interest for a stroll down the street or a walk in the park. 

The artists have to literally go to war to get a fair shake.  They fight through the jury process, they fight to pay the exceedingly and ever increasing ridiculous booth fees, while the organizations keep adding more booth spaces to increase their profits while diluting the sales of the artists in the process.  They create silent auctions based on donations from the artists.  Every sale in the auction booth is one less sale that could have happened for the artists.  It's become quite obvious the organizations don't care about the artists. 

If organizations cared about the artists, they would consider the times and decrease the booth fees.  If they cared about the artists, they would stop doing silent auctions and pre-show auctions and turn their focus to what they are really SUPPOSED to be be doing, which is supporting creativity and the arts in general.  It has become all about the dollar.  Guess what....artists are quitting right and left.  They are sick of it.  Sick of all the shenanigans and hoops they have to jump through just to put food on the table. 

If organizations cared about local artists, they would stop using them as fillers in the national shows.  Putting local artists straight to the wait list, waiting to see who was a "no-show" and plugging a local artist into that spot at the last minute is a slap in the face to the artist and nothing more than a way to double sell the booth space.  Instead of $500 for the space, they gained $1,000 knowing that the local artist is anxious to fill that space. 

It's about time someone in charge got a reality check.  Street shows are a hard way to make a living.  Driving long distances, staying in motels, getting up at 4am, setting up in the dark, many artists with no helpers, facing extreme weather, knowing there is no refund and then presenting oneself to the public with one's creations, only to hear....."they're really hard up, come back Sunday when they are desperate". 

Patsy Reeves

Naples, Fl.

I am a professional artist that attended the Naples National Show as a patron a few weeks back.

I do fine art festivals for a living. Upon entering the festival, as I was giving my donation, the woman taking the money and giving out the stickers said to me, without me asking so much as how are you, "I'll tell you a little secret. Come back tomorrow if you're looking for a great bargain. The artists are desperate to sell because they don't want to have to haul their artwork around anymore. Believe me it works, I've done it!" Not only was this said to me, but as I entered the show, I overheard her saying it to the next group behing me.

I was/am incredibly offended by this. Not only was this woman chosen as the first point of contact to represent the show, but right upon entry, without my even asking for "secrets" she's advising people to barter with us hard-working artists simply based on her skewed belief that we would rather not be paid fairly for our artwork than have to handle it again. We're "desperate" in fact. Also, it was Saturday morning. She was turning patrons away from purchasing that day. Most artists need strong sales both days to make costs/profit for a high end show such as this one.

This was very disappointing, because I drove an hour from Cape Coral expecting to enjoy what I have heard to be a quality event, run by an artist-friendly organization who claims to support arts/artists. To be greeted by this upsetting statement was unacceptable and needs to be addressed.

Hopefully this has brought some awareness or sparked some dialogue about the relationship/communication between show representatives and art festival patrons. We trust them to represent us in a favorable light, and encourage adding value to us and our work, not taking it away by broadcasting that we are desperate, easy to sneak a deal out of and well. lazy.

Thank you for your time.

Well maybe not entirely but I would like to relate an experience that I had with my credit card merchant account. A few years ago I decided that it was probably in my best interest, and in the interest and convenience for people that wanted to purchase my work, to finally break down and sign up for a credit card merchant account. Up till then I was doing no more than 5 and maybe up to 10 shows a year. I didn't have any problems with sales not involving a credit card as people came to the shows either with cash or a handy checkbook and an ATM, at least at the shows I was doing then, was always nearby. It wasn't an inconvenience as people understood when I explained why I didn't take credit cards; not enough shows to warrant it at the time.

Fast forward a few years and I felt it would be in my best interest to up my game and begin to accept credit cards. I did what I felt was thorough, though not exhaustive, research on the different companies that were willing to support a weekend warrior/artist. The costs just for monthly statements ranged from $7 on up. The discount rates, as we all know, varied greatly as well. I called 1st National Processing and was given what I felt at the time was a reasonable program. They sent me a Nurit 8000 set up with a "store-and-forward" program. My statements were only $7 at the time and the discount rates were among the lowest as well.

November of that same year rolls by and I'm hit with $129 for a PCI fee! What the heck is that!? I call 1st National and am told that it is the annual indemnity fee for my account. Didn't know about that one! Basically, if someone gets hold of my account and finds credit card numbers stored on my machine, which it was set to delete anyway, I would be liable for any problems associated with it. I didn't want that! Water under the bridge, life goes on, lesson learned, I suck it up.

Soon I noticed that my $7 a month Merchant Account Statement had grown another fee. An additional $4 "Regulatory Fee" was being appropriated from my check book per month. "Enough of this", I thought. Besides which I was beginning to experiment with Square and was thinking of migrating over to them anyway. The "Store-and-Forward" system was beginning to make me nervous. What if something went wrong and I lost an entire days receipts? Before I tossed the whole previous system out however I saw the ad (like the one blinking at me now from the sidebar) for  "FREE" Credit Card Processing. I called them up and was satisfied with what I was told. Indeed, they said, there would be no fees accept those associated with the cards that I processed.  Seemed like a good idea, that way I could migrate over to Square and have this other system as a back up if it were ever needed (By-the-way, don't leave your iPhone in the sun!). They canceled my old account and gave me a new account with a new number (and a new account provider). Given the caveat as previously described I did use the "back-up" and was charged for the transactions as described in the plan. No problem.

The end of the year rolls around, no other fees as yet as advertised, yet now I'm seeing $16.95 being charged against this account for PCI fees again. Wait a minute, if you look long enough at the flashing ad, it says "NO PCI fees"! (or upfront fees or recurring fees, etc.) I call up 1st National explain the situation and indeed they concur, no fees. The money goes back into the bank account.

January of this year rolls around and I receive a letter which states that "due to escalating costs" I would be "assessed an incremental fee based upon the difference between $10 and (my) transaction processing fees." They also reminded me about the PCI fee (again!) What's this all about, I thought my account was "FREE". I called mid January and was told by Jason that he would have to research this (stalling tactic?). What? The bank representative doesn't even know what's going on? He dutifully took down my phone number and assured me that he would get back to me. I didn't hear from him so out-of-sight, out-of-mind.

March 1st rolls around and much to my chagrin I receive a "Merchant Statement" (I haven't seen one of these since the problem with the second round of PCI fees being charged). I call Merchant Services and Jared apologizes profusely for Jason not having gotten back to me and explains there is nothing he can do to reverse the charge. I will have to call the sales office at 1st National Processing. It is a few days before I can call 1st National. When I do I am greeted by what at first I thought might have been "Dog The Bounty Hunter" or at least someone who just finished charm school at a collection agency. He was gruff, as though I had just taken him away from an episode of Storage Wars and didn't appreciate it. I was, to say the least, taken aback by his attitude for, in their defense, any time I had contacted them previously they have always been pleasant, patient and attentive to my questions or concerns. I explained the situation one more time to him and he basically told me that due to the fact that they (the bank) had "escalating costs" they had to charge the $10 a month fee and that they (1st National) couldn't do any thing about it because the banks could do whatever they wanted to and that if I wanted he could cancel the account effective the same afternoon. I did!

What kind of "escalating" costs could they possibly have? From my perspective a "FREE" account is a win-win for both the bank and the vendor. The bank wins because they can charge their "discount" rates for swiped or keyed cards, they continue to make money. The vendor wins because they (were) not charged unless they actually used the machine. So basically they are telling me that if I'm not using the thing it is going to cost me $10 a month no matter what. So much for "FREE". If I were using the machine on a regular basis however, and my processing fees were $10 or more, than it would be "FREE" but there are times I'm not doing shows at all and don't want to be assessed the $10 per month! I guess they just can't stuff it into their pockets fast enough!

This past year I've been pretty much using Square exclusively anyway without a hitch, except maybe for the incident described above. Their on-line statements are much more useful to me with a breakdown of fees charged, tax paid, etc. then the other merchant statements ever were. (By the way Square charges their 2.75% on the tax as well! Can't figure a work-around for that one) All that glitters is not gold, so do your own due diligence when shopping credit card vendors.

Cheers

Inspired by many calls and by the post- Can the System be Improved, (Thank you R. C. Fulwiler) I would like to start a new thread exploring ideas of how to create that improvement.  My proposal is that we generate some ideas and then ask the National Association of independent artists (NAIA) to help champion it.

As a starting point, can we assume that artists would like the following from the jury process-

1) Criteria- You want to know what you are being judged on.

2) Process- You want to know who is judging your work and how.

3) Numbers- How many slots are open for how many categories.

4) Results- Specific comments so as to be able to make decisions going forward.

Other desires?

While each sounds simple, they also each have issues.

Criteria- reminds me of the Supreme Court Judge who stated "I can't define what is obscene but I know it when I see it".  Stated criteria needs to be just as flexible or we would never see anything new at the shows.  It can be simplified. A statement like- our jurors will judge your work based on: Technique, creativity, and originality tells you what they are looking for without giving you any information.  Artists do you have examples of how this has been done well?

Process- Of the above, this is the most likely to be public in my experience.  Projected, monitors, three jurors, score of one to five, yes, no, maybe...   Not so hard to let artists know the system and, while you may not agree that a monitor is acceptable, at least you know what is expected.

Numbers-  If there are a particular number of slots open in a medium that information could be useful.  A show cannot let you know how many applications will be received but could give historical information.  Predicting the future changes the future.  If I tell you that I have ten slots for photo and generally get 40 applicants you may not apply.  I might end up having to select from fifteen applicants suddenly and miss out on having your work in my show.  Any ideas of how to make this fair?

Results-  Not every artist really wants to know the jurors comments.  Many say they do, but then argue each point.  I try to be clear, but after I get attacked a few times for my jurors subjective opinions it is tempting to go back to generalizations.  Movie line "You cant handle the truth".   How am I handling this now-  The notifications go out with general comments.  If artists want they can call me and I will let them know what the jurors comments were.  I start with the safer things- "Um, your booth shot was out of focus".  If you prove to me that you want to hear I will continue going and discussing for as long as it takes to be helpful.  If you instead start arguing with me it will be a very short conversation.  Zapp just added an option to share juror feedback with the artists.  Let's see if that helps.

Please, let's hear some more stories and maybe together we can change the systems.

August 31-September 1  
Oakbrook, Illinois
Oakbrook Center
Sat. 10am-7pm; Sun. 11am-6pm
120 Artists
Deadline: April 1

This event is a classic summer tradition, drawing thousands of visitors and showcasing thousands of works of art every Labor Day weekend.  The Invitational Fine Art Exhibition hosted by Oakbrook Center celebrates its 51st year and invites you to explore a world of artists, with works in watercolors, pastels, acrylics and oil, photography, pottery, sculptures, jewelry in fine metals and precious stones, works of art in fiber, glass, metal, wood, leather, stone and mixed media.

Oakbrook Center is a premier outdoor shopping center located in the  affluent western suburbs of Chicago. The Center features more than  160 fine shops,including Bloomingdale's Home and Furniture, Lord  & Taylor, Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, All artists  are located throughout the mall's walkways among trees, flowers,  plants, waterfalls and fountains.

If you want to be in the heart of where Chicago shops this is the place.

This is a contemporary fine art exhibition. ONLY original work in design and concept is allowed. Thus, no imports or works made with  the use commercial kits, molds, patterns, plans, stencils, or prefabricated forms accepted.

Festival Facts: 

• Jury Fee: $25  
• Booth Fee:  $350
• Ribbon Awards:  $5,000+
• Attendance:  157,000
• Event is promoted extensively through various media outlets
• Friday evening and Saturday morning set-up
• Continental breakfast for exhibitors on both days

Oakbrook Center's Invitational Fine Art Exhibition showcases work from artists all over the U.S. and Canada.  The admission is free.

Artists interested in applying for Oakbrook Center's Fine Art Exhibition, please click here, or email : oakbrookcenter@ggp.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find more art fairs looking for you: www.CallsforArtists.com

A perfect weekend for shows in Florida, and a welcome change from last weekend.  The Bonita Springs National, sponsored by the Center For The Arts, was a pleasure to attend.  It is well promoted and well run.

The attendance is not huge, but they are the right people, and there are plenty of them.  We had fewer sales than on the average weekend, but they were much higher sales overall; making for another successful weekend in Florida.  It was a very well-heeled crowd.  A mailing-list really works wonders in South Florida, and a lot of our fans made a special trip to see us.

Now we are off to Winter Park for our last Florida show.  The weather is again predicted to be delightful.

So how were Vero, Juno, and the rest?

I have just been accepted to the Charlotte Fine art show May 10-12th and I'm curious if anyone has participated in this show and how it was/is? This is only my second year doing the festival circuit and the show charges $725 for a 10x10 space...that is the most I have seen for a two day festival thus far. I'm sure there are more expensive shows, but it seems like a much bigger risk paying that much.

I have also been accepted to LEAF (Lake Eden Arts Festival) outside Asheville where I live, but it's much less expensive $375 for a four day event. I can't decide which one to do.

LEAF is about 20 min from where I live (no cost on hotels) and Charlotte is 2 hrs.

Any information would be helpful.

Thanks everyone!

Leif Erik Johansen

sugarloaf somerset -- booth 527. come over and say hi if you are exhibiting as well.

We juried the Royal Oak Clay, Glass and Metal Show Monday.  A few observations. 

First it amazes me every year how creative people are able to get within these few mediums.  One hundred and twenty booths and each stands out as creative and unique.

Secondly, while I did not feel that the booth shots were given more weight than the work images, the majority of rejected work had poor booth shots and the majority of accepted work had professional images for their booth.

I say majority because it is not universally true.  We accepted some work from artists with poor shots, even from an artist that had no booth shot.  For this event at least you can't entirely blame the "fourth image".

I try to be communicative with the applicants so I did send some specific notes to artists regarding their displays.  Of course those reflect only my opinion, but if you would be interested in seeing them, you could check out the posting on my website- Integrityshows.com/blog.

If you have not looked at R. C. Fulwiler's blog yet- Can the System be Improved?  I would suggest doing so.

September 6-8
Clayton, Missouri
(one of St. Louis' 91 municipalities)
Central Business District
181 Artists
Fri. 5pm-10pm, Sat. 11am-10pm, 
Sun. 11am-5pm
Deadline: March 21

Cultural Festivals, the Producers of the Saint Louis Art Fair invites you to apply to be an exhibitor at the 20th annual Saint Louis Art Fair.  A fine art and fine craft festival.  Held in the central business district of Clayton, MO., one of St. Louis' dynamic communities.  Each year the fair attracts over 125,000 arts enthusiasts.

Things to know:

• 181 Participating artists (includes 31 award winners)
• Up to $21,000 cash awards
• 2012 cash sales $8666 (source: post event survey-show did not open last year on Friday evening due to storms)
• Artists Amenities:  free electricity, 24 hr. security, free reserved parking, artists breakfast (awards breakfast)
• 10x10 booth spaces with 2 foot buffer on all sides
• 5 Jurors-3 Artists-1 Buyer, one gallery and or academic, bios can be read online at www.culturalfestivals.com
• Jury Fee: $40, Booth Fees: $625-$725

Too many customers? Matthew Hatala has many admirers at the St. Louis Art Fair

What helps to make this event so successful:

The Saint Louis Art Fair offers an affluent, educated and sophisticated audience at our show.  Research shows that of our 125,000+ patrons, over half sustain incomes over $60,000 while over a quarter maintain incomes in excess of $90,000.  Research also shows that nearly half of our patrons are college educated or have received post-graduate degrees.

For more info: www.CulturalFestivals.com

or call (314)863-0278, email: info@culturalfestivals.com

To apply: www.Zapplication.org, (listed under Saint Louis Art Fair-NOT St. Louis Art Fair)

Visit the St. Louis Art Fair on YouTube.com:

Saint Louis Art Fair

Several artist friends and I are dedicated to modifying the jury system as we know it.  We are emailing every show that rejects us and asking for our score and how it relates to the acceptance score and the waitlist score.  We explain that this information is essential for our growth in this business and besides, we paid for it..

The result has been mixed.  Some have embraced the concept and some have been completely pig-headed.  The most recent response was from a show I've done many times over the years and always have rated as a top show.  It is also held in my hometown of Milwaukee, WI.

I was rejected for the third year in a row and inquired about my score and my category.  The return email blew me away!  I'm sure it revealed more than the respondent intended.

It started off with a completely ridicules statement.  It said the scores were confidential.  Confidential?  From me?  I paid to be juried.  The score only applies to me.  Who are you protecting here?  The rest was all designed to assuage me and get me to apply again next year.  Then, in answer to my question about my category he dropped the bomb.  I had entered in the Digital category.  He said 2 artists from last year were re-invited and there were 22 applicants in my category.  Of the 22 applicants ... wait for it ... 1 was accepted. There will be 3 Digital artist in this year's show!

I don't know about you, but something doesn't seem quite right here.

The last Saturday in February brings the Garage Sale Art Fair to Kalamazoo, MI, at the fairgrounds. Let me tell you folks, people in the region are definitely looking for excuses to get out of the cabin and they flock to this event. I love to attend not only to shop, but to see so many of my "old" friends. 

Bonnie Blandford and Michael Kifer (a jeweler and a potter) do a great job organizing and advertising the show. The parking lot was full when I arrived 15 minutes after opening. One of our favorite AFI-ers Barry Bernstein gives a full review here: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/bonnie-blandford-s-garage-sale-art-fair-or-out-with-the-old

Here's a brief video from this year's show: