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We were discussing the concept of "pay what you think it's worth" in another blog post recently. Briefly, customers name their own price, based on the value they believe they receive. 

I'm a registered owner of Reason/Record (music sequencing and recording software), and normally upgrades cost around $100. The company sent this email to its customers today. 

Today we are excited to announce a special offer for registered Record Reason Duo users.

From the day of release on September 30th until the end of October, owners of both Record and Reason will be able to upgrade to Reason 6 by naming their own price.

Wait, what?

That's right. If you own both Reason and Record you decide what you will pay for the upgrade to Reason 6. We trust you to decide what Reason 6 is worth to you. Whatever you decide, that's what you'll pay*.

*Anything you want, as long as anything is at least $1.00/€1.00. But you've already decided to pay more than that, right?

Amazing -- a mainstream software company following the lead of some upscale restaurants and Panera Bread. Would this work for artists? How would a customer determine value on one of a kind artwork? Comments?

The past few months I've become more aware of a disturbing trend that seems to be on the rise-breaking into artists' booths at night.  I'm dwelling on this now by the cozy light of a campfire in nowhere, Rhode Island and a cold one in hand, and I'm...puzzled? vicariously violated? utterly astounded? all of the above? -by the fact that people are desperate enough to steal from the starving.  OK, most of us here debunk the myth of the starving artist (I hope) but, let's face it, society in general does not view us as the movers and shakers.  Our work doesn't command that much on the resale market, if you can call it that.  So what are these lowlives looking for when they invade booths at night?

I was in Setauket, Long Island last weekend- a nice little village on the North Shore of stately historical registry homes, estates- your typical upper middle class neighborhood.  This was a show in its 46th year, no fly-by-night venue.  Out of all the cities I've been in over the past 3 months, this was the last place I would have expected to encounter such an egregious violation of one's hard work.  Hell, when I grew up here, we didn't lock our doors at night.  Call me naive, but I never thought of artwork as inherently stealable unless it's a Thomas Crowne Affair.  Let me clarify, I know I'm walking a thin line here.  I know jewelers who have been stalked and robbed at gunpoint, but what I'm talking about is non-precious metal/jewel art that can't be melted down or resold to a pawn shop.  My paintings really don't have much value to the average scumbag, and I'm ok with that.  I'm really disturbed that this happened in an upscale village to the extent that it did.

Many artists arrived Saturday morning to find that, at the very least, their booths had been violated and work had been moved around.  The worst was a painter who had $4000 worth of work stolen.  What was appalling was the show's response to her, which was to brush her off and refuse her request to pack up and leave.  Show security?  I didn't give it much thought before this show, but Framer Dude (who missed his calling as a detective or bounty hunter) has always done a late night walk through to test security and deemed this patrol as lacking, along with several others we have done.  I realize that shows have only a certain amount of dollars to divide up, and perhaps they too are guilty of the same naivety and complacency that I am-that art shows are not big on the hit list.  But this show's layout was a prankster's or a thief's field day- one older gent for security, a dark street, and a row of booths that twisted around through the woods, with a bar in the middle.

My point here is not to lament the evils of the world.  I'm not that much of a rube or a whiner.

I want to pass on a tip that may thwart would-be thieves- who are probably low tech and seeking easy, unsecured targets.  Framer Dude and I take out stock in zipties, also known as cable ties at Home Depot, for setting up the booth.  These have a multitude of uses and we discovered a new one when we sat down and thought about how to make the booth less accessible at night.  When we close the zippers down, we now use a zipties in the four corners and four side zippers, through the holes in the zipper toggles, and attach them to the legs and bottom poles.  I think most thieves are counting on easy access, quick in and out and won't waste the extra time or thought (if they have any after letting off their crackpipes) to tackle a booth that requires a pair of wire cutters to get into.  

Not a fail-safe, but at least it makes it a bit more difficult, rather than just unzippering the tent.  Of course, if they're crackheads, they might carry razor blades and slash their way through the sides, but I haven't thought of a way around that.  Perhaps I should leave my huge German shepherd in the booth at night?

What are you doing this weekend? Do you live in the Midwest and have a few hours? The very coolest art event of the year appears in Grand Rapids, MI, September 21-October 9, ArtPrize. Designed as a very different art competition, the goal is for the general public and artists to collide, exchange ideas and come away changed. An international group of artists compete for amazing prices, people come from all over to view the art and vote for the prizewinners. This is year 3 -- please take my word for it. Downtown Grand Rapids explodes with very cool art and lots of folks turn out to enjoy it. Consider being there. More info:  www.ArtPrize.org.

Usually a few adventurous people from the art fair business apply to compete. Who is going to be there this year? Any of you. Amazingly, someone from the art fair business took away the $250,000 prize last year. Here's more info:  http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/250000-prize-to-one-of-our

Artist John Leben is participating. He has installed "Fukushima", a digital painting, at the Courtyard Marriott: here is John's story: http://lebenart.com/Exhibits.html

I'll be there on Sunday. Will you? Let me know so I can vote for you or we can meetup. 

The bottom line (profit) - it was not as good as I hoped but better than I expected given the cold rainy weather. 

Disclaimer – I work alone and don’t get away from my tent much so all of this is observation from my tent at space 48 and a couple walks early in the morning.  YMMV   This is a relatively small show with two sections separated by a very busy road.  One section, where I was, is surrounded by stores that, with the exception of the closed Borders, look open and healthy.  The other section does not have stores around it and is all artists.  I did not get over to the other section but reports I heard on Saturday afternoon were not good.  The weather improved slightly on Sunday so hopefully the folks over there got some business.  My section was helped by a Saturday morning farmer’s market that brought a lot of people in and the various stores and restaurants.  There were a few booths in a dead zone at the every end.  A break in the booths for a parking garage entrance seemed to keep people from getting all the way down there.

Setup – Anytime you reduce the traveling area to one van wide you are going to have issues.  Clif and I arrived right on time and were able to get in and unloaded quickly.  At that time there were no tents setup so people were able to drive around us but once we got unloaded and went to move the van (as per instructions) security said to stay where we were because it was too congested and we couldn’t get out.  This was not a terrible thing for me since I have a lot of stuff I want to put back in the van after setting up but someone with a space in the middle who arrived late would have a hard time getting close to their booth.  But security was present and very helpful to get as many people in and out as possible.  This setup would benefit from staggered setup times – the end people first and so on.  The other side of the show setup on Saturday morning.

Show – This is a much more eclectic customer base than I was used to in Florida.  Every walk of life, race, and nationality was represented.  They were friendly, appreciative, and unfortunately surprised.  This is the one complaint I have about the show.  Many people said to me “I didn’t know this was here”.  Advertising fell down somewhere.  Most of the customers I got had come to the area for another errand, the stores, the farmers market.  The worst part was Sunday evening after breaking down when people asked me what was going on.  They were sorry they had missed it.  I made mostly framed sales  for $225 - $250 and a special order.  The guy next to me zeroed with $1000 - $3500 pieces although he thought he might have made some connections for future sales.  The woman next to me with handmade purses and clothes seemed to do quite well.  From those I talked to I would guess that mid-range works best here.

Other than the advertising I have nothing but good to say about Bill Kinney.  He was present, involved, and concerned.  Most shows I am lucky if I see the promoter at all.  Bill checked in several times throughout the day with everyone.  He did remove a buy-sell booth and I’m pretty sure he had someone move their van back to parking when they hadn’t broken down completely.  Security was also present and very supportive.

Load-out – The single filing eased as people broke down and moved their stuff to the sidewalk.  It was generally painless if you followed instructions.

There was a parking garage nearby for parking which was free on Saturday and Sunday.  It accomodated all but the tallest vans and there was space provided elsewhere for oversize vehicles.  There were several hotels within walking distance.  I stayed at a hotel 6 miles up the road.

Traffic is nasty all around Washington D.C.  Bring patience and leave in plenty of time to get where you are going.

I have been looking at getting a large format printer (Canon imagePROGRAF iPF6100 Large Format Printer) and I am seeking input from any experts out there who might like to chime in. I would be using this to print up my own work for sale.

I welcome any input anyone is willing to give. I know a little bit about printers, so don't be afraid to throw in technical jargon if the situation calls for it. : )

Thanks in advance

Michael R

My wife and I are quickly coming to the realization that we will need a bigger van with a better load capacity than our current Kia Sedona. I have been exploring Chevrolet Express or something by Ford, but like many art fair travellers, I need the best possible deal I can find.

So, does anyone have any thoughts on vans, what works, what doesn't work, pricing, sizes, types...etc.

Thanks for the help.

Michael R

Call me stupid, I guess, but I took a loss and I’m still undecided about giving it another shot. Okay, so the good things about the show first. The Friday morning set-up was nice. I was there at 7:30 AM and took my time getting set up and was ready by noon and the show didn’t start until 4:00PM. The Friday evening thing sucked, and was pretty much a waste of time as most late Friday shows are. OTOH, I suppose if you’re going to have a Friday set-up, you might as well see if you can squeeze out a sale or two after set-up. Nothing squeezed and I didn’t hear from anyone around me that sold anything on Friday.

The temp on Friday morning was 44 freakin' degrees. Too damned cold for an art fair, although just a few weeks earlier it was 100+ degrees. I made the right call and had packed my Mr. Heater Buddy portable propane heater. Saturday was likewise cold and everyone was shivering. The artists next door to me stopped in a few times and warmed up. It made a big difference and you could feel the warmth as you walked into the booth.

Space was 11x11, and it was tighter than a crab’s butt at six fathoms behind the booth with no place hardly to sit. I got lucky, and the person behind me was in the wrong place and someone with a small tent set up instead who didn’t need any space behind the booth. The 2 feet was dead on though, and just enough to place a lawn chair sideways back there for my wife, and I sat in the doorway in the back. If I got anything out of the tubs in the back, it was a major operation in logistics to remove everything to get to it. Since I didn’t sell much, it was a moot point anyway. With the amount of space available on the street sideways, it would have made much more sense to space the booths further apart and keep the back space the same.

I never did see the promised Porta-Pots and we were told to use restrooms in the restaurants in the area. BW3 and a couple others were okay with it, but one restaurant on the corner closest to me put a sign up that said “No Public Restroom”.

Quality of the work at the show was all over the ballpark with some very good outstanding work and work that looked like trinkets. Funky art, as the name of the show implies, doesn’t have to mean lower quality. I suspect the cachet is also implying lower cost as that seemed to be an issue in many cases on my work, which is mid-priced. I sold a few $80 pieces and mostly $20 pieces, and not enough to total a positive outcome. There weren’t many photographers there which surprised me, and I saw where one photographer was printing movie stills of the Three Stooges. I guess it’s in the public domain so it’s legal, but it still gives me a queasy feeling. I guess if I had to summarize the work at the show, it would be more oriented toward outsider and naïve art rather than traditional modes.

The show has more potential, although the 20 or so commercial vendors at the show are being used as a revenue stream to keep the cost to the artists down. I understand the need, but it still bothers me. On the positive side, they lined the sidewalks and weren’t in the artist’s rows although they were opposite on the street.

Tear down went pretty quickly and I was out in two hours which is fast for me. Artist parking was about 5-6 blocks away if you were on the wrong end of the street as I was. I have a bum knee and an arthritic ankle, so I’m not a fan of hiking particularly when I’m tired. The last day, sorry to say, I said to hell with it as I was losing my shorts and wanted out of there fast and parked up close where we were told not to. I noticed more than a few trailers and big extended vans in there besides mine, so it looked like I wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

Many of the artists around me said they didn’t make expenses, although one photographer said he was doing “okay” whatever that means. Several said they didn’t sell anything and were tremendously bummed out. It looked like you would do okay if it was a local show with no lodging or travel expenses. I would consider trying it one more time, only if I could generate enough bright splashy work with eye-candy appeal to fill a booth.

I am licking my wounds right now and avoiding my credit card statements after the last two shows where I didn't even make expenses.  Two shows which by all research should have been at least paycheck shows, and I'm all out of Xanax.  What is an artist to do?

Setauket, a little village of wonderful demographics right next door to my hometown on Long Island, sorely disappointed in many ways, especially with the nighttime booth robberies.  But I'll address that in another blogpost.  I did well as a rookie art show artist here in 2008, and expected (perhaps delusionally, in retrospect) a sort of prodigal-daughter-returns-home kind of show.  It was a dogwalk.  There are some shows that urge me to take up pet portraiture again, because THAT would have sold.  The shoes were here.  The weather was perfect.  The wallets stayed firmly out of sight.  And every breed in the AKC was here too.  I had some maddening nibbles from two interior designers, who of course  did not have their business cards on them, one said she had a client on the Gold Coast who"didn't want a landscape, but something beachy" and my giant conch "was perfect".  Now I know how guys feel with a case of blue balls. 

Well, ok, I thought, this whole trip so far has been one good show, one bad show.  Onto Montclair, NJ.  Let's go wrangle this monster RV over the Cross Bronx Expressway and the GW into the well-heeled Jersey suburbs.

Aaaack.

Did I say my prayers Friday night?  Did I neglect St. Luke, the patron saint of artists?  Should I have conducted a small animal sacrifice? Should I have bought far more cheap wine and cigarettes to numb the increasing panic as the hours ticked down to five o' clock Sunday?

Oy vey. (I can say this, I just back from Long Island and stuffed myself on good bagels and lox)

Howard and Rose did everything right.  They advertised prolifically, and are wonderful people to boot.  The show is in a great area.  The weather again cooperated.  But the dogwalkers ruled the day.  Munks described in a recent post the vacancy in peoples' eyes, the absence of hope.  My booth buddy neighbor said, "These people could walk off a cliff."  I was not the only artist who didn't make expenses.  I'm stymied, and more than a bit anxious.  And I don't like the cheap red wine I'm drinking.  I'm second guessing my decisions made earlier this year (completely sober, thank you) on where in New England to show my very New England beachy work.  If it's true that it takes three years for an audience at a particular show to accept that you are here for real as an artist, well then, I'm screwed, because I'm basically unemployable at anything else.

So how do YOU prop yourself up after falling face first?

I just returned from Grand Rapids where I installed my ArtPrize entry over the grand stairway at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel. Its called "Fukushima: The Bald-Headed Suiters and the Angry Slab." It is a digital painting made up of 44 20-inch square canvas panels and it measures about 7 feet high and 19 feet wide. It was inspired by the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima, Japan. Its about technology run amok.

I've been sweating bullets for the last couple weeks, worrying about getting it done, and worrying about how to hang it. Thanks to a couple of very handy maintenance guys at the Marriott, the picture looks great.

ArtPrize begins on Wednesday, September 21 and runs for two and a half weeks when the city of Grand Rapids turns into a giant art gallery, with over 1500 paintings, sculptures, installations, videos, films and what-not on exhibit at about 150 different locations around the city, all vying for over $450,000 in award money awarded by popular vote. Its an incredible event and worth seeing if you get a chance. When I was installing my piece at the Marriott, the hotel manager was still waiting for an artist from Beijing to arrive with his entry. There are artists from around the world exhibiting in Grand Rapids, Michigan!

Now I have to scramble to get ready for the Peoria Art Fair this week-end. Too bad my ArtPrize piece is booked in Grand Rapids. It would be great to show it in Peoria. Wouldn't fit in my 10x10 booth anyway...

Check out www.ArtPrize.org to see how you can participate in picking the winners. And stop by the Marriott. I'll be there Wednesday evening with my entry.

John Leben

Wanted to post a little about a one day show I did on this past Saturday. Prairie Day at Dardenne Prairie,MO.,a suburb of St.Louis.

This was my first time doing this show and thus, I didn't know what to expect. This was a juried show (although I think all entries were accepted) and the booth fee was very reasonable.This was an outdoor show and the tent was provided, which was a plus.

Of course the day started off with showers,which held the crowd down until afternoon. There was a large steady crowd after the rain stopped,until closing.(6PM)

I believe this was their third year for this festival and unfortunately the date conflicted with several other large events in the St.Louis area, including another art fair.

In my opinion,this was certainly geared toward families and children,more than anyone else,which is not all bad.

There were a lot of freebies and free events which helped draw the crowd,but there were certainly many more lookers than buyers. My neighboring booths were also seeing very slow, if any sales at all.

Most of my work is large and thus I think was probably priced out of reach for this type of event.

I did sell a few smalls and had lots of nice comments,but bottom line...it was a bust.

Being fairly new to the "Art Fair World", I thought it would be a good experience and it certainly helped getting my work viewed,but that was about it.

This is the 3rd year that I've done the Arts in the Heart of Augusta show.  It's located in Augusta, Georgia.  In the past this show has been a good show for me, but resulted in average sales.  This year several changes resulted in making this my best show ever both sales wise and every other way I can think of.  Previously this show has been held in both paved and unpaved parking areas, but this year they managed to talk the city of Augusta into holding the event on the main business street of the city (way to go!) and what a difference it made.  It's now located on a wide street with unloading right in front of your booth and parking right behind your booth every day. 

Previously there has been a part of the show that was sectioned off for buy/sell vendors, but this year they limited the vendors to artists and craftsmen and they did a great job in the jury process.  There was a wide range of arts/crafts and it was mostly of very high quality.  The folks that attended responded very positively.  I talked to a couple of vendors that had to call home to have additional things brought in.  I saw one double booth consolidate what they had left down to a single space.  I ran out of boxes at one point, but that didn't seem to matter, folks took things home in a bag happily. Every artist that I talked to was having a great show and that ranged from wooden toy makers to photographers.

I have to point out that the weather was amazing.  The temperatures were perfect and there was no rain and that contributed to bringing the crowds out, but that was just icing on the cake.  This show was  run perfectly.  I'd recommend this one to anyone! 

Suwanee day 2011 ( Suwanee Ga.) was the best year yet. This was my third year, and well worth it.

It a pain to get in & out, because you can not drive to your spot & unload. you have to be loaded onto these trailers being towed by these ATVs, and they take you to our spot. But they have tons of wonderful volunteers that make it go smoothly and quick. after the show you do the same procedure in reverse, except 150 artist are all trying to get out the same time. with a little patience you get out just fine. again they have tons of help. back to the show, it's on this huge park on the corner of two main streets. The festival is super well organized. Nice motor coaches bring customer from 3 off site parking. 

People come to shop, I think everyone around me did well. I have no idea how many people came buy, except it seemed non stop that people were in my booth.

Tonight I was reading a post by Kathleen Clausen on shoplifters.  Shoplifters hit her neighbor's booth and then proceeded to her booth.  The shoplifters were able to get some jewelry from both booths and who knows how many other booths before that.  Luckily, Kathleen and her neighbor were able to recover their artwork. 

Shoplifters don't take vacations or ask for permission before they strike.  It happenes when we least expect it.  Plus, we usually realize it long after the perpetrators are gone. 

So, what do you do to minimize thefts from your booth?  Have you had many thefts?  Have you caught anybody red handed?  Tell us how you combat this problem.  Your experiences may just help another artists to protect themselves and their hard work.  It is always good to be prepared.

Jacki B

Connie and I both received the following from the art director that I have been corresponding with regarding Mistura.  I am continuing to respect the continued request for anonymity but will say that I know that most people on this website would be happy to be accepted at this art festival.  I also feel confident that the information will be passed on to other festival directors.    I am sure that Mistura will continue to be wonderfully successful selling their very cool watches at the appropriate venues.

Would one of you mind posting that the "anonymous" show director has
emailed Juan Barreneche and Daniel Schemel with the allegations
against them - giving them a fair opportunity to explain themselves.
She is specifically asking about 4 people working for them that are
not listed on their application and what their roles are, how they
have time to make 85 hour watches while providing stock to over 15
stores and 3 online sites while attending many art festivals and
specialty shows and asking them to elaborate on how they create their
watchbands, which have been rumored to be purchased not handmade. She
has set a response deadline of tuesday at 5 pm central. If they are
unable to explain themselves sufficiently or fail to respond, she is
removing them from the show. She wants to thank everyone on this blog
for giving her enough clues to be able to approach them.

May 11-13, 2012
Greenville, South Carolina
West End Historic District
120 Artists
Deadline: October 6, 2011 - paper applications
October 20, 2011 - online applications (Zapplication deadline)

Greenville is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwest corner of South Carolina, halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte. It is one of those lucky U.S. cities impacted positively by high tech development where industries such as BMW, General Electric and Fluor are flourishing.

 What to expect:

• Since 2005 the Purchase Awards Program provided an average of an additional $17,500 in art sales
• An extensive advertising and publicity effort that publicizes the festival throughout the state and the Southeast region in print, radio, and television. The festival will also be marketed through direct mail, social media and advertisements in tourist publications
• $10,000 in prize money
• a well-educated audience who have good jobs
• great time of the year for pleasant Spring days

Now in its eighth year, the top-ranking Artisphere festival is an annual three-day event that gives arts patrons the opportunity to meet exhibiting artists while purchasing original works of art.  Recently ranked in Sunshine Artist Magazine's "200 Best Fine Art Shows" and a top-twenty event in Greg Lawler's Art Fair Sourcebook, Artisphere's mission is to showcase and promote the arts.   

Artisphere is a 501(c)(3) non- profit art organization.  Proceeds are used to produce the annual arts Festival and are also distributed back to local non-profit arts organizations as part of Artisphere's Volunteer Arts Partnership Program.

On the fence about applying? Visit their website for a good overview: www.Artisphere.us 

See artist review here: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/artispherea-little-jewel-of-a

For a prospectus and more info, contact Liz Rundorff Smith, Program Director/Artisphere, 864-271-9355, or liz@greenvillearts.com.    

Download the application:  www.artisphere.us

************************

Putting together your schedule for 2012? Don't miss this daily updated site:  www.CallsforArtists.com

My new Joelle's Dolls website and blog can be found at 

http://www.joellesdolls.com/

Just returned from a super show in Rochester Hills, MI… the weather was so-so and the buying crowds were out in small numbers…The Paint Creek Center for the Arts staff and crew really did their jobs… all of the artists around us seemed to do fair to middling well with one glass artist doing much better than "well". The painter next to them said that she was told they did $15,000 on Saturday and $15,000 on Sunday. Of course the painter is French and has trouble with zeros, so it may have been $1500. Actually, I bet it was closer to $150. Still, not a bad take. And the painter had a couple of big sales on Friday night.

The rain pretty much held off after the Thursday afternoon setup, and the Friday night open was downright steamy. A few folks made money Friday night (the aforementioned painter), but most just sat around whining and snivelling about the lack of sales. Saturday was good for me, Sunday not so many sales. I did a couple of deliveries on Monday, to people that had come to Arts, Beats and Eats and followed up with me at the show in Rochester. 

And to make matters worse, I won an award, which came with a big check, which is something you can expect if you show up five years in a row, and have great stuff, like I do. I was happy to stand up on the stage with the other winners (7 in all) and accept my kudos with grace and honor. They like me, really they do.

Even without the awards, I like this show. I'm local, which helps. No travel costs, no gas. Just show up, set up and sell. It's a pleasant venue, usually cooler weather, and a nice stroll through the trees in the Rochester Municipal Park. Booth fee is reasonable ($300), and they have great pie. But many artists say that the show has been slipping over the years, and a lot of buy/sell has crept in. There were three or four of those "alphabet" photographers. You know, assemble your name out of pictures of not-so-interesting architectural elements. More than one kids puzzle maker, too. Joy Taraweiscz is the original, she's been next to me for several years. There were some good jewelers: Trisko was there, as were Marc & Wendy Zoschke. Luciano was there, in his usual spot. And Dog Remien was there, too, texting me in full detail things I just didn't want to know. Dog's a good friend, though, so it was ok. We share.

This show has good potential. The locals do come out, they love it, they love the relaxed atmostphere, and they do buy. Occasionally. My average transaction was up this year, but number of customers lower. People with cash are still spending it. Occasionally. I think if some of the good national artists would come back to the show, they'd be pleasantly surprised. Besides, there's good pie. It's hard to build a show when the only folks that apply are local or buy/sell.

And I heard lots of whining and snivelling. Personally, I'm quite fond of snivelling, myself. I do it all the time to clear my nostrils. I do get a lot of snot up there, and snivelling helps to… Wait, what's that you say? Snuffling, not snivelling? Never mind… Did I mention that they have apples and pie for sale? This is really more of a vegetarian show, but they do have a nice pulled pork sandwich. But mostly apples. I guess that's why they call it Art & Apples. 

Welcome to the Cooper studio, where we've predetermined to talk again about the summer art fair. 

 Aaaah, sunny days, the green grass of the park scattered with cute little white tents, happy artists selling their fine art....

Oh wait.  How much of that line is fiction?  Imaginary?  Delusional? A sham?

I've spent quite a bit of research time lately on the topic of the "fine art fair".  Some of them have a heck of a history.

Every time I looked up one of the grandaddy art fairs, and was able to find their mission statement, they all seemed to have something in common.  Some examples for you to peruse:

---Wanting to create an event where local artists could showcase their work to the community, Womer established the first 57th Street Art Fair in 1948

---The Annual Edmonds Arts Festival began in 1957.  The mission then as now, was to celebrate and promote the arts with a lively and pleasurable presentation of local and national work.

---It all began one hot Chicago summer in the early 80's when four neighborhood artists (Bob Smeltzer, Joe Kotzman, Tony Cachapero and Rodney Patterson) decided to have an art fair--a picnic in the park.  Rodney suggested that it might be a good opportunity for local artists to show and share their work to each other and to their neighbors. 

Did you catch the commonality?  They are all working to showcase the art, to friends, neighbors, community.  To "celebrate and promote the arts".  So how did we get from that, to this:

---Art Fair has become both tired and tiresome.  It's held in the absolute hottest part of the summer.  The prices are ridiculous and most of the so-called art is schlock.  How many times can you mill through the crowds viewing the same old fare every year?

--Taken from a news article about parking garage revenue during the AnnArbor Art Fair, but certainly not a unique thought amongst art fair patrons.

What jumps out at you from that comment?   Maybe the SO-CALLED ART IS SCHLOCK?

Shortly before reading the comment, I read another--this one a discussion at ArtFairInsiders regarding (of course) lackluster art fair sales, and various artists comments about if they would be exhibiting at art fairs next year.  One artist said even with poor sales, she was not quitting.  She would "cobble together" something that would sell. 

What happened to celebrating the arts?  Showing our work to the community?  If the purpose of an art fair is to showcase our work to the community, shouldn't we be showing our best? 

(here comes the politically incorrect part)  Are you an artist, or not?  Are you being delusional in calling what you exhibit at an art fair ART? Ouch.  I suggest if you are cobbling something together that you think will sell, adding to the patron impression that the "so-called art is schlock", then maybe it's time to re-think your game plan. 

There's always a discussion out there somewhere about "what art is" and there are a bazillion different answers.  I suggest that "schlock" is not one of them.  I also suggest that if you are cobbling together something to coax a twenty dollar bill out of some art fair patron's pocket, that something is not art either.  The summer art fair is not dead, but it has been seriously injured.  Injured by artists who have put grabbing a buck, in front of creating their art.  Yes, we all have to make a living, but we'll do it best by keeping our priorities straight.  Art fairs were created to showcase and celebrate art, not schlock.

If you are an artist planning on exhibiting at an art fair next summer, I'm asking you to bring your art.  Bring your BEST art.

Later, Cooper