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Hi everyone, Does anybody know who to contact to try and get juried into the Ann Arbor Art Fairs at the last minute?

Pro:

Anyone can read it without being approved or pay a fee

Con:

Any post has the potential of silencing others from expressing their opinion

Pro:

If everyone can read what is posted even non-members can learn information and can take action from the ideas shared on the forum

Con:

Sometimes you don't want the "outsiders" to know what you are talking about, or is this a "Pro"?

Pro:

It can be a melting pot from a wide variety of opinions

Con:

You can't speak your mind without possibly getting in trouble with some vested interest

The first popular online open forum in our business was the NAIA forum which was a very dynamic forum until a few obstreperous people continually derailed the discussions and the group voted to make it members only. This really slowed down the discussion and participation dwindled.

In the beginning of AFI all different kinds of people joined and I was pretty clueless about managing it. It was pretty interesting to watch my friends and many strangers show up and debate the questions of the day. People could post anonymously and there were (to my mind) some fists flying. People joined and resigned and rejoined. Many sent  me emails wondering why I was letting such uncivilized behavior occur. At one point there was a mass defection. We changed the rules about anonymous posting, set up a vetting process to allow members into the site, and rewrote our Code of Conduct. Early on some show directors joined and they were attacked and they left, silencing their voices here.

Some of these early voices determined who was on the site and who was not and set the tone.

One thing I have learned is that every comment has the possibility of encouraging someone else to speak and someone else to be silenced. I've heard "well, if they can't interact on an Internet forum how can they expect to prosper at the fairs?" You've got to know the purpose of this site is not to toughen people up.

I don't pay attention to the statistics of the readership or the "hits" and am often surprised when I'm at a show to have someone I know say they read the site regularly and their name isn't even on the membership list. It makes me wonder who is reading the site besides the people who post and comment and what function AFI has for them. My hope is that open discussions can influence people's behavior at the shows and in running the shows.

I can edit everything on the site. I have banned people from the site who came into the forum only to attack others and who never had a constructive point to add and who were just plain mean and rude. I have removed a few that were deliberately attacking another person in a personal way, but probably not often enough.

Many comments and posts have disappeared from the site (including a very recent discussion) because when a person resigns from the site all of their content (comments, discussions, blog posts) disappears with them. I have no control over that.

I've allowed others to stay because sometimes they are very good and sometimes they are very bad and I like to believe the good they contribute outweighs the other. Mostly its a pleasure to get up in the morning to see what is going to happen here today, as there is a solid amount of useful content and I am surprised by the generosity of many of you, but let me tell you folks sometimes it keeps me up at night.

Looking for your input ... is this a fair place to post your views? Got any suggestions on making this a better place for all?

Has anyone done this show in the last few years? Show date is in late Oct. I am considering doing it this year. I am a painter and live in Atlanta. Thanks!

September 14-16
Ferndale, Michigan

9 Mile Road at Woodward

120 artists

Deadline: July 3

"Twice as funky as the average fine art show."

The Ferndale fair focuses on work that skews a little younger, a little hipper. While traditional artwork does sell here, this show focuses on less pastoral work. As many as 40,000 art shoppers attend over the weekend.

Ferndale's vibrant downtown attracts people in their 20's, 30's and 40's. It is a lively community with varied shopping and exciting clubs and restaurants. These people have the means to purchase items that appeal to them.

The show is looking for work that challenges the mind, or simply sparks the imagination. Artwork that does not sit quietly, but invites a reaction. Overall however, keep in mink, this is a high quality juried fine art show.

The art fair is organized by Mark Loeb of Integrity Shows, a veteran organizer of metro Detroit events. Like all of Integrity Shows events, artists are assured of three year's of participation when accepted. Why shouldn't you be able to plan your year?

Booth rent has been held at $275 for five years, with a small up charge for corners or electrical.

Loeb's shows are widely praised for the effort placed toward supporting participating artists. He understands that your success is essential and does what it takes to meet your needs.

Apply on line at: www.zapplication.org

or visit: www.MichiganArtShows.comfor more information

I fully appreciate that a lot of artists are not happy with the extraneous 'entertainment' that is occurring far too often at what used to be strictly art festivals.  I still think there is room for food, music and vendor booths if it is done correctly.

LFOA understands this.  Admission has risen steadily over the years but you can get discounted tickets through a variety of venues that allow you to pay about half the $15 gate.  There is parking with a shuttle bus for $5 but we parked at the Children's museum parking lot for $10 and had a 2 minute walk to the gate.  As you enter you are given a wristband and PNC handed out cloth tote bags.  Then, if you wanted to, you could walk through a sculpture garden featuring works of various artists along with some beautiful plantings by one of the vendors.  All the vendor tents were in  one place also, as you walked in.  You could ignore them or check them out.  There was noone yelling about wonderful deals.  The children's area was also along the same path as the vendor booths.

Most of  the participating artists are located inside one multi-block long gigantic tent.  (There are about 20 artists inside the museum)  It is easy to navigate around the show as the tent is extremely wide.  There is storage for the artists behind their tents but there is no space between them.  Everyone is on cement (it is a street in front of the museum) but you don't have to worry about staking your tent because the 'big tent' is capable of withstanding even hurricane strength winds.  The only thing not art related  in the tent is a souvenir booth for the festival and it is on an uneven section of grass, unsuitable for an artist's booth.

Between the big tent and the museum is artist check-in, volunteer check-in, the silent auction booth, another  souvenir booth, a couple of vendors, the music stage and the food booths.  In the middle of all this are tables for the patrons to sit down and eat.  While we were there, the music was never so loud as to be intrusive inside the tent.  While eating fairly decent food, you can watch sailboats  and enjoy the lake breeze.  When you are ready you can go back in the tent and again be totally immersed in art.

And the quality of the art is wonderful.  This is an above average festival.  I didn't see any buy/sell or anything that hinted of b/s.  I don't know how sales are going.  I know that one jeweler had sold 8 various pieces in the first 90 minutes and a ceramic artist sold a 4 figure piece.  Jim Parker is there with his wonderful photography and he will be able to tell more about sales.  

Two side notes--  I always look at the jewelry that people are wearing at art festivals.  This festival had some of the best jewelry worn by patrons I have ever seen.  Hopefully they bought more, they had plenty of chances.

Birget of the "copied jewelry" fiasco was at the show.  I mentioned to her that I could see why someone would copy her work, it is lovely  and also that I was glad all her equipment made it to Chicago on time, saying that facebook lets a person learn all kinds of things.  I never told her who I was and only mentioned I had read about the copier on AFI.  She then asked me if I could watch her booth since she didn't want to wait for a boothsitter.    I love that artists believe in the best of people.  Taking checks, letting people take something home to see if it is 'right' for their house and letting a complete stranger sit in your booth while you are gone for ten minutes.  

Community Art Fair next to 57^th St. Art Fair, Chicago, IL

I need to think hard about this show. This was one of my first art fairs that ever did. I remember dolling in from 51^th St down to the show. I did not have any idea what I was doing. I think about all those things and black and white work (mostly people). Just happy to make some money of my work and the booth fee was 120. So even with three bad shows in a row I may still do the show again next year.

The show does not make any promotion. They gonna start a Facebook page this year. All promotions are done by the 57^th St people. So we depend on them. There no clear cut where one show start or end if you visit the show for the first time. The show is set up on small park on 57^th and Kenwood which is the next street from 57^th Art Fair. The hours are 10 to 6 Saturday and Sunday. Once you are in you are in. The demand for spot is very high. The people that run the show are very nice and they do what they can but we all getting old.

The set up is very simple you need to early and dolly into the park. Do not go by the time they tell you get there early. The early the better, in my case 6 am. There no electric, bathroom are the same as 57^th Art Fair (school in the middle of the fest), no breakfast, no, no, no and the booth fee now is 325.00.

The weather had been nice in Chicago for the past month but people did not show up at the show for the third year in a row. The crowds are way down. This crowd are just looking and do not buy art period. It could that this show lost his luster. We use to get people from Indiana and near states. You get some ex students of the University of Chicago coming in for the reunion but very few buy art. At this point we only getting local people that just tired of us. Most items are way under 100.00 and very few big sales. The big buyers are very few for all us. Some people blame Amy Amdur for the show the goes against this one in downtown Chicago. Other people blame the economy. Not what rason the only thing that matter is how much you take in. A lot of artist told me that is was just very bad. Even the staff of the show was talking how bad the show was this year for most the artists. Same you can said about the 57^th Art Fair.

My advice if you are not local or do not have a strong emai or mailing list dont do this show for a while. The area has been affect very strongly the economy but the University is developing a lot and is neighborhood of our current President (Mr. Obama).

I would like to know from your experience, if I can sell my handbag designs by taking orders during Art Show? My business model is made to order. Can anyone tell me the best show for my product.

Thank you so very much!

I am a newbie to the art fair business and am in need of a photographer in the Houston Tx. area who is familiar with the Zapp process.

Wells Street Art Festival or better know as Wells Street Drink Festival.

This had always been a very hard to set up and hard to deal. I never saw what happen this weekend. Regardless of the drink you can count in this show to bring money or good connections.

Lets start you need to paid for electric. That means add 150 to your booth fee. Parking can cost you another 100. You want to be closer to Schiller that any other spot. Use to be closer to North your better you will be but you also need deal with drunks all day long. In simple terms you want to avoid to be close to any bars. You need to be on line by the time they schedule to set up. Please follow the instructions because is one way. There is not to much organization by the promoter and they are there to make money for the organization not for you. You need hope for a good captain in the area for things run well. If you are selected to donate a piece as I did you are in for next year but you still paid for the booth fee. Make sure to put a explain what is minimum you will take since half of the sales is yours.

I got there at 545 am but I could get in until 615 and Food vendor was blocking your way to the booth. It was just freaking nightmare to set up. There one thing you need to know you only get 10X10 space. Booth are back to back and side to side. I will recommend to get corner or a double space.

The show started at 10 the good buyers come in morning and the party start at 2pm Saturday. I only did one sale for 70 all Saturday. Did I mention that the show start 10am and does end until 8pm but you can pull your car from parking lot provide to artist until 10pm. And yes you paid for that parking space. Around 25 to 50 artist took off Saturday because it was just out of hand.

Sunday crowd was better less drunks and more buyers. I did some sale and recover all my expenses but to me was more important the three connections that I did . One is in progress and the other two I hope that they happen. One the one I am waiting will be very good for me. I plan to follow up in this connection. The artist next to me make a killing and I was very happy since she had great work and price to buy.

I think that you need to do the show again and again but you need to use your mailing and email list. You wont get that much help from the promoters. I trying not express how really feel about this show but if you are not from town avoid this show. My 70 old mother came with me to the show and she mention to me people are here to drink and woman are dress to go the beach or pick up man for the night. 

Spring Cottonwood Art Fair

I wanted to have pictures of the trip but did not happen.

Cottonwood is held in Richardson, Texas. This a town just north if Dallas. The hours for the show are 10 to 8 Saturday and Sunday 10 to 6. Out town artist can set up any time Friday and local artist can set up Thursday night. The Break Down goes Sunday after closing. The show is held in a park. Free parking for artist and very good dinner for the artist Friday night.

I am from Chicago so start my trip Wednesday morning (5am). It takes 16 hours to drive down to Richardson, Texas. After talking to several artist I was planing to divide the drive into days but I end doing the trip in one day. Each way I took off at 5am and make to the hotel or home by 8:30am. No speeding just a smooth ride. My advice is very simple you need to drive only with daylight. I can tell you I do want to cover the route during the night. If you running low in gas fill up the tank as soon as you see the gas station. The gap between station are big. Gap between town is big. If you see bad whether you want pull into a town and wait for it to pass. I took I 55 to I44 to I 65 that become I75. I could have the roads numbers wrong but you get the idea. All this will let to believe you need to have two days regardless if you can the trip in one day.

The set up and break down is just to died for it. You may get help but do not count for it. You need to get there Friday early in the morning and get on line. You pull over in the middle of the park and dolly your work into your booth space. That could 10 feet or 120 feet. The east side of the park does not have any trees and the west side does have tree. I think you better in the west side of the park. On thing you need to do is get electric. Just paid for it regardless where you are. You will need fans. All spaces will allow you to use one side wall to display as well as your back.

Most people told me sales where down for the show. There was a show piece sold by a potter for $65,000. So money is not an issue in the area. You need to bring your best work to the show. Bring big stuff. This is a show where you need to do several times because people will follow you. There are no bad place in the show since people walk the show several times before they buy. Link your website the show website. Since most people visit the website first and then come and buy from you. People are very smart and buy what they want. Just be polite and happy. I plan to go back during the fall show as well next year.

Many thanks to the members who make this website work so well for so many. The members have voted and the following people have been chosen as the most generous and friendly and appreciated for their constructive contributions:

• Annette Piper - member since 3/11, our only international member who greets all newcomers with cheer and joins in the discussions and keeps them rolling along. A member like this is a treasure! (over 400 sharings)
• Ruth Finkenbiner - member since 3/11, brings all the West Coast news to our site and has great stories to share with everyone. Also, I suspect she has been a great recruiter for AFI in her neighborhoods, participating and initiating over 300 posts
• Dave Hinde - member since 4/09, almost one of the original members here who has continued to share his information with the East Coast with generosity and graciousness; participating in nearly 300 discussions
• Steve Appel - member since 6/09, and still sharing information and keeping the discussions going in the West

These  members can be identified by the Red AFI symbols on their photos.

Thanks to them from all of us. We appreciate all your contributions.

This morning in my email I found a PayPal payment for a link to the Supplier's section on this site from a website in Hong Kong. What a nice thing to get up in the morning and find money in your mailbox!

Here is the text they plan to place on AFI:

The text for your ad, 40-50 words

-- Title: fine art paintings of oil painting portrait and more
Description: Here you can find biography of 350 famous painters and many free techniques to paint, as well as art materials for sale.

·  your url
---- http://www.oilpaintingfactory.com

What do you think my reply to them should be/or was?

I hate it when I tell people that I'm an artist and they immediately ask what my husband does for a living. I especially hate it when I'm showing at a festival and someone is IN MY BOOTH and asks what my husband does. Are you trying to tell me that my artwork sucks and there is no way I could ever make a living off of it?? Because that is what I'm taking from this conversation!

I want to say "Lets get this straight! I am not a starving artist! Art is a business like any other, and I'm good at both the creative and business aspects! I OWN THIS BUSINESS. I am CEO, CFO, and every other three letter acronym. Yes, my husband works too, but I don't need him to pay my bills for me."

Instead I say he works at a boring job and change the subject.

I wish the starving artist term would be banished from existence so the next generation could see artwork for what it truly is -- important.

I just don't understand why people do not consider artwork worthy of manking a living off of.  I'm not getting rich, but I'm not struggling to pay bills either.  I go on vacation. I eat out.  I buy occasionally rediculous things like pumpkin costumes for my dogs simply b/c I want to buy them.  And I work my butt off.  I am not idly sitting at home "waiting for inspiration".  I am painting, creating, researching, responding, applying, editing, experimenting, eatingbreathingsleeping my business every single second of every single day. 

I guess what I would really like to say is: 

Don't dismiss my work so quickly just because it is different from yours.

www.britthallowellart.blogspot.com

I recently spent 4 long days in the hospital taking care of my husband after surgery. I learned tricks on my iPad that I never had a chance to explore before.

I loved the art apps. Believe it or not I designed couple paintings and when we came back home from the hospital I ran directly to my canvas and started painting some of those ideas.

Doing a little more research here are some great art apps for when you are on the road and feel creative, I hope you like them! :

http://www.redbubble.com/people/redbubble/journal/8972882-10-apps-for-creating-and-discovering-art-and-design?utm_source=bubblewrap&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Story1&utm_campaign=june_2012

I put this on the NAIA forum but wanted to get opinions here as well from people who know how to work the Facebook thing, thanks for any info.

-------------------------

I've been looking into signing up for Facebook. Here is something I have heard about FB, and it has always given me pause. This line, in their Terms:

---
You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings. In addition:
For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.
---

In effect, this gives them permission to use any photo I post to their site in any manner they want, for free. But I'm wondering about the part that says "you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings". Does that mean there is something in the settings that would NOT allow FB to use my work for free?

I also don't get the difference between the personal and the business pages, but I could probably figure it out. I'm just not interested in putting my actual art images on their site for them to use for free. (Do artists actually do that??) As for casual snapshots, it's still wrong for them to get all that for free, but I probably wouldn't care that much. It's the art images that I might put on the "business" page (if I set one up) that I am concerned about.

How do you FB users handle this?

: DA :

I am guessing that I am probably not the only creative soul who is over-sensitive.  I'm sensitive about my work, my life, everything.  When I was very young, it caused a lot of problems in my life, including one rather awful relationship that would have made for a very difficult life if things had ended differently.  Luckily, I had a happy ending and I am supported by a wonderful husband who encourages me in every way.  I hope you have a partner in your corner, too.  We artists can use all the positive influence we can get.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads this Sunday!  In my blog today, I wrote about my favorite father in the world... the father of my two boys.

http://pencilenvy.blogspot.com/2012/06/ode-to-joe-or-how-i-used-to-be-idiot.html

 Thanks so much for the kind words you've given me about my writing and stories.  It's a joy for me to be getting back to writing.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the drive from Denver to Omaha. I decided to make a "Road Trip" out of it as I had consulted roadsideamerica.com before leaving in order to map out and see all the fun and eccentric stuff that I thrive on: Largest ball of stamps, metal backyard zoo, Carhenge and more! And, of course, I had to drive the old Lincoln Highway which is pretty much as it was left after I-80 was constructed. If I have to go somewhere I'd rather make it a photo opportunity rather than just blowing down the highway.

This was a first timer for me and I choose to do this show as I had read a couple of positive reports from the past about it in Sunshine Artist (should have looked at AFSB instead!) and thought it might be good to go in a different direction for a change. Now just the facts:

Show Organizer/Promoter: Omaha Summer Arts Festival  http://www.summerarts.org/2012/index.html

Fees: $30 Jury Fee on Zapp, $325 Booth Fee. Taxes are collected after the show with a form from the Nebraska Revenue Department, no advance license is needed. Unlike all the shows in AZ where each of the individual cities gouge you with their tax license fees.
Quality of Art: One previous review suggested that the range was pretty wide in the past. The show promoters must have been doing their homework with this years show as the quality and variety didn't seem to diverse, with some exceptions. I didn't see anything that was even suspiciously B/S, it all appeared hand-crafted.

Logistics: The show is very generous in that set up runs all day on Thursday. The show takes place on a wide one-way avenue in downtown Omaha. Load In/Out was very easy on our end (15th - 13th) with a little more congestion on the 10th-12th avenue end. Artists are given entry passes with staggered times. Your entry is strictly enforced by the local police who also provide security for the show after hours. If you try to enter even a few minutes before your scheduled time you will be turned away (did I get turned away? Okay I tried to get in 5 minutes early!) Parking was plentiful near the show and on Sat and Sun street parking at meters was free but I heard a rumor that the city might change that by next year.

Show Hours: The show runs from 11-8 Friday and Saturday and from 11-5 on Sunday.

Amenities: Reminded me of the "old days" when the shows that I did really took care of the artists! An artists lounge with snacks, ice, computers, chair message was available all three days. They came around with water on a regular basis, one note about that...in the artist goody bag they included a water bottle that was refillable! Kudos for that I idea as I dislike the idea of all those empty water bottles being tossed in the land-fill! Saturday morning at the awards there was a very nice full breakfast and Sunday a nice continental style breakfast.

Demographics: Unlike most of the shows that I had done in Arizona this past winter this show had a wide cross-section of age groups!  I was hoping for more of an upwardly mobile young urban crowd.  Who was buying? That seemed to be more of the middle age bracket with the low end age group buying inexpensive art reprints. What sold? Mostly the $25-$100 range. I read a past review (2009) that called this the "Wal-Mart" crowd. Although perhaps not that bad it didn't seem like there were a lot of high end art buyers present either.

Food and Such: There were some great restaurants in the area and the usual way over-priced fair-food. One exception was the vendor with what seemed a reasonably priced steak sandwich or ribs with fries! The show featured some great musical acts from all around the country on a stage put up on one of the side streets so the sound wasn't too loud to drown out the artists trying to talk with customers. Most of the food booths were set up closer to the stage area so there was some distance between the stage and the artist booths.

Reflections: One thing about this show that seems to be consistent with what I read is the miserably hot and humid weather! Got up to 90 or so each day with what felt like 50% humidity! Growing up in Chicago I'm no stranger to humidity but living in Denver for 35+ years has spoiled me. Whew! Luckily the rain and wind didn't show up this time as previous shows have been hit pretty hard. The rain didn't show up till 6:30 on Sunday and I was pretty much put away by then but the tent was in high running water at the curb when it did rain.The show promoter was a previous artist/exhibitor and he really seems to know what it takes to run a show. Just about everything I thought of that they could do was done. The initial email version of info was supplemented by another packet at check in which had much more info. like local restaurants, parking, etc. Not only was there an artists name tag but on the back were phone numbers for the concierge service, art delivery, show coordinator and manager. They seemed to think of everything. I only wish they could have done as well with the crowd, but I guess that is asking for something out of their realm. Friday had a thin but steady flow of visitors, Saturday started out with Friday like numbers and really boomed mid-day thinning out soon after 2 (must've been the heat), Sunday was just a tad bit more crowded then Friday. There didn't seem to be a lot of high buying energy throughout the show even the promised "Sunday is the best day" didn't materialize. Although I did make sales from items in my mid-price range most were from lower end items. The jeweler next to me said she did okay but a lot of it was from some stuff in the $16-$22 range. The "Junque" artist next to me did good with several high end pieces and then a lot of lower priced items, he felt that the few higher end sales saved the show for him. From comments I heard on the street it seems that the show promoter is doing a good job of trying to keep the quality of the show up as previous incarnations of this show were rated pretty low in quality.

Three Rivers Pittsburgh

First to note that I'm not an exhibitor there anymore. It's my local show and I did it for about 20 years and now sponsor an award of my photography or imaging services each period. I did booth pictures for a half dozen artists this year.

Though there was a mix of responses, overall the artists I spoke to did well. There are two different weeks and new this year were 20 Saturday and Sunday two day spaces on the island in the middle of Penn Ave facing the plaza part of the show. Those Penn Ave spaces were a little confusing on the map sent to artists prior to the show because there had never been booths there before. But the exposure was probably the best in the show and most artists I spoke to mentioned that they would have preferred to be there if they were only going to do two days. The first Saturday I was down there about two hours before the show opened and those spaces were mobbed even before the artists finished setting up.

A little history. This was the third year since they dropped the last week and limited it the show to 10 days instead of 17 days. When they did that, they turned the food booths around to face the park and put about 50 artists booths on the sidewalk lining the perimeter of the park. Those artists faced two problems. The stage is also in the park and the music can be loud, and there is no where close by to unload and dolly from. You can't drive into the park. Additionally they scheduled artists to be in the park even during the week for the first time this year, breaking it up to a seven and a three day period. I think it should have been two five day periods like the plaza spaces, but I guess they felt that having almost the entire show turn over at the same time would have been too much stress on the downtown area with no close place to unload from. There are open surface lots that vans can fit in but they are a few blocks away. The closest parking is the open lot in front of the Post Gazette building a block away. Even closer are two indoor garages that only minivans can fit.

I feel the plaza (between the Gateway Center buildings) is the prime space to be in the show. When I used to do the show, I always opened up around 9:00 (show has always opened at noon) and was able to catch people walking through the plaza on their way to work.

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100