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September 11 & 12Chicago
presented by EM Events
Sat. 10 AM - 6 PM
Sun. 10 AM - 5 PM
130+ Artists
Deadline: March 1
Beautiful fall weather brings you an event in a hip Chicago neighborhood, a great place to finish your outdoor art fair season in the Midwest.
The Lakeview East Festival of the Arts is Chicago's premier fine art and fine craft festival showcasing over 130 juried artists. Lakeview is located on the north side of Chicago, near Wrigley Field, north Halsted and Lincoln Park in a very diverse, culturally rich community with unique boutique stores, cafes and restaurants.
The Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce has hosted this event for the past three years and has been rated as one of the top shows in Sunshine Artist's Magazine. More than 40,000 attendees are expected to attend this year's festival.
The festival is set on Broadway
Avenue just north of Belmont Avenue. This event has a strong marketing and media plan and hosts an annual artist reception. Other amenities include:
- artist reserved parking
- vendor fee permit waived
- Saturday night Artist Party
- a full breakfast served Saturday and Sunday
Booth Fee: $400
Make checks payable to: Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce
Prints allowed
Download the application at: EMEvents.com
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Looking for more art fairs for your 2010 season?
Visit: ArtFairCalendar.com/callforentries
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Looking for more art fairs for your 2010 season?
Visit: ArtFairCalendar.com/callforentries
September 18 & 19LaGrange, Illinois
West End Art Festival
presented by EM Events
Saturday 10 AM - 5 PM
Sunday 10 AM - 4 PM
90 Artists
Application deadline: March 1
Artists from across the country participate in LaGrange's late summer festival that attracts art admirers and patrons each year.
This is an affluent community where 64% of the homes are priced from $200,000 to $500,000, located 14 miles west of Chicago.
Presented by the LaGrange Business Association and held in cooperation with the Village of LaGrange, the festival is held in the shadow of the landmark Stone Avenue Station along Burlington Avenue between Brainard and Spring Avenues. The charming and historic West End area of LaGrange provides a picture-perfect setting to showcase art.Other highlights include live music, food from local LaGrange restaurants and children's art activities for an event to be enjoyed by all ages.
Booth Fee: $285, Prints allowed
More info about LaGrange: villageofLaGrange.com
Make checks payable to: LaGrange Business Association
To download an application: www.emevents.com
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola Museum of Arts' Art in the Park
Saturday and Sunday 10 am to 5 pm
100-120 Artists
Deadline: March 26
Southern artists -- look at this great date! Are there any other art fairs going on in you neighborhood in mid-May? I like the looks of this: sponsored by the Art Museum and in a centrally located popular and
lovely park!
Art in the Park will be held in Pensacola, Florida’s historic Seville Park, located in Pensacola’s Cultural Arts District, adjacent to Pensacola’s beautiful waterfront and steps away from the Pensacola Museum of Art.
This event was formerly coordinated by the Arts Council of Northwest Florida, an organization which no longer exists. The Museum of Art has stepped up, turned it into a juried event and moved it to Seville Park, a beautiful park surrounded by lovely oak trees and just steps away from Pensacola Bay. The park is home to many art and cultural events take place throughout the year.
Artist Amenities:
- $5000 in awards
- Complimentary breakfast provided Saturday & Sunday morning
- Water & Snacks provided throughout the day Saturday & Sunday
- Volunteer Booth Sitters
- (1) VIP Party ticket Saturday night, for all participating artist. Additional tickets can be purchased for $10. Juried awards will be
presented during this time - Discounted hotel rooms
- 24 hour security
Apply today: www.zapplication.org
The B&B is across the street from the school parking lot where the artists park. I have reserved the entire first floor which has 2 BR's, one bath, kitchen, DR and LR with a sofa bed. Kit. is stocked with food for making your own breakfast. There is high speed internet connection and parking passes for on street parking (saving cost of artist parking lot).
I have one couple that may be interested in one BR for Friday and Sat. nights only. The rate will depend on how many people and the length of stay - the range will be $215 - 300 per night. Give me a call or email me if you are interested.
Ginny Herzog
ginny@herzogart.com
952-920-4736
downtown streets of Clayton, Missouri
Presented by Cultural Festivals
165 Artists
Deadline: March 1
Festival Dates and Times
Friday, September 10 - 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 11 - 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 12 - 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Cultural Festivals, producers of the Saint Louis Art Fair, invites you to apply to be an exhibitor at the 17th annual Saint Louis Art Fair, a fine art and fine craft festival. Held in the central business district of Clayton, Missouri, one of St. Louis' most dynamic communities. Each year the Saint Louis Art Fair attracts over 125,000 art enthusiasts.
The Saint Louis Art Fair is ranked 2nd in this years Art Fair SourceBook's ranking of Top Fine Art Events for 2010 and ranked 5th in their ranking of top 25 Contemporary Craft Fairs nationwide.
In addition to the amazing visual art exhibition the festival will feature live performing arts ensembles on three stages, artist demonstrations, the Creative Castle featuring educational art projects for children, the Art Studio with hands on projects for adults and twenty of St. Louis' most delectable restaurants.
With artist average sales of $6988 (2009 survey from Art Fair SourceBook - Gross Sales Minus Show Fees & Per Diem) and cash awards totaling nearly $21,000, the Saint Louis Art Fair has even more to offer:
- Discounted hotel rooms for artist
- Complimentary snack and beverage delivery
- Artist V.I.P. area complete with buffet, beverages, AC, indoor eating area and restrooms
- Complimentary Artist Awards breakfast for all artist
- A 10'x10' booth space with 2' buffer all around
- 500 watts of electric provided free, no generators
- 24 hour security with booth sitters
- Free/Reserved parking
Visit www.Zapplication.org to apply today.
*New this year, open jury process. Artist and Jury reception Thursday March 18 and open jury process Friday March 19 from 1pm to 5pm
The very latest, fresh out of Chicago, is Amdur Productions moving the granddaddy of all Chicago art fairs, the Gold Coast Art Fair, out of the River North where it has been for some years now to the larger expanse of Grant Park!
A couple of the problems that artists have had with the old location will be gone, specifically the constant flow of traffic near some booths and the crowded nature of the booth spaces.
Here are the details from the press release: Gold Coast Art Fair Moves to Grant Park
Have you participated in the Gold Coast? Have you ever attended this art fair? Tell us what you think of the move below. Please leave a comment.
Now it seems there is another event CityArts that has been going on in another location is moving to Fair Park and encompassing the 500. Sounds like an excellent strategic move to me.
Read all about it here: City Arts Festival to Move to Fair Park
What do you think? Is this a good idea? Will it reinvigorate the event or water it down? Has anyone done this show recently?
Quincy, Illinois
Washington Park in the heart of the central business district
sponsored by a coalition of community and cultural arts organizations
50 Artists
Deadline: March 31
Where is Quincy, IL? Visit this link.
From the director, Megan Backs:
Quincy is a lovely town located on the bluffs of the Mississippi. We have a rich arts history and are home to the first Arts Council in America. Our architecture also represents the best in the Midwest.
We are in our 7th year of putting on a quality juried fine art festival and accept approximately only 50 artists in order for each of our artists to have the opportunity for good sales as we continue to grow our faire. We give out approximately $5,000 in awards, with best of show receiving $1,000. We have many repeat artists but always like to recruit new artists to apply. You can ask any of our past participating artists and they will tell you we treat artists like gold! Our community is happy to host them for the weekend!
Here's the rest:
- Our artists represent diverse styles and techniques including oils and acrylics, vibrant watercolor, unique sculpture, dazzling jewelry, decorative ceramics, vivid photography and so much more.
- The city of Quincy is dedicated to making the faire a positive experience for both artists and guests
- The faire encourages artists to demonstrate and discuss their work
- Great entertainment, wonderful local food and a variety of children's activities
- Application Fee: $10; Booth Fee: $100
--This show has the potential to be one of the best shows of the summer in the Midwest.
--The Faire is well organized, the staff is friendly and they have a good selection of artists.
--A show of this quality so close to home is a dream come true.
Download an application online at: www.artsfaire.org
For more info: mafdirector@gmail.com
The Art Awards Show had the best variety and quality of work that I have seen at an Art Show in a long time. The Artists were all the best if their fields. I think the total number of Artists was 115, and that was just about right for the size of the convention center. The facility was nice, as you'd expect with a relatively new convention center. Lighting was very bright, so lights in the booth were not really needed. Load in and load out seemed to go well, especially considering there were events in other parts of the center that were also loading and unloading. After a number of booths were cleaned out, the remaining artists could drive into the convention center to load up.
The crowd was a lot thinner than was hoped for. This event had originally been planned for the end of January, but snow forced a date change. A lot of the advertising punch was lost with the date change. I also understand there was a problem with the local papers failing to print the advertisements in the Sunday supplements.
One other problem with the crowds, is that the public did not know the quality that was in the show. This was the first real Art Show held inside in this area in a long time, and the locals are not used to paying admission to see a great show. They also expected to see the same mix of artists and quality that is common with the local shows. The guests that I talked to were amazed by the quality of work being show. Figuring out how to get that message across for future shows will be the trick that makes this show a real winner. I'm looking forward to their next show in Richmond.
"Crafts on the River" is intended to give crafters and the buy/sell crowd a more or less equal shot at the downtown tourist dollar. Crowds were pretty light on Friday, due to the blustery weather and the fact that there weren't any other notable Festival events to lure visitors, but somewhat to my surprise those who visited, bought. My day's take wouldn't have disappointed me at a higher-end show like the previous week's Coconut Point. Most of my sales weren't to locals, but to visitors--many of whom told me that they'd come downtown because the weather was too cool to go to the beach.
Saturday's crowds were light, too, until mid-afternoon, when folks began to arrive and stake out spots for the 5:30 PM 5K run and the 7 PM float parade, both of which would pass directly by the show venue. It was a family-oriented, kettle-corn buyin' crowd that definitely didn't have art in mind...though my sales were fair and the fine paper-cast artist (a cheerful lady named Ellen) next to me had very respectable sales. The show organizer left it up to each participant if they wanted to stay open through the race and parade. Many did, including the nearby vendors of the Street Fair Holy Trinity: kettle corn, beef jerky, and Budweiser) but I shut 'er down when the sun set. Because most downtown streets are blocked off for the parade, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get out of the artists' lot 4 blocks away. But mercifully the barricades started a block away, so it was easy to escape--despite the parade watcher who crashed the artist lot and parked his/her SUV so it blocked the rear exit to the highway I'd planned to take home. Arrgh....
Sunday was light for everyone despite the antique Corvette and auto show at curbside, as the day dawned with fair skies and warm temperatures, and the sun-starved denizens headed for the beaches in droves. Clouds and even a spritz of rain moved in not long after teardown began at 4 PM.
Lessons Learned:
* Three-day shows, especially ones with a low booth fee, can be profitable, even when the crowd isn't my usual target market.
*The vendors/artists who make country crafts work as hard all day as the "fine artists" in the upscale shows. And they're just as much fun to be around.
* Don't try running a 5K race after you've been standing up selling photography for 7 hours straight. You're not as young as you used to be!
Judith Wood of West Palm Beach won Best in Show for her woven leather jewelry
David is quoted in a press release. “It was incredible in design
philosophy and spirit. And, it was her first time in the Naples
National."
Now that is a very interesting award, don't you think? Rarely do jewelers win Best of Show, but woven leather? This must really be something! So I had to go looking for her. Here is a sample of her work, still it doesn't look like woven leather, although undoubtedly, Judith really knows her jewelry making. Here is a link for more of her work: http://www.absolutearts.com/judithwood/
Looking through the list of winners I see that ArtFairInsiders.com member C.L. Cunningham won an Honorable mention for printmaking. Good job, Cynthia!
Read the rest of the article here: Winners of 31st Annual Naples National
I heard a great concept/exercise from person named Gary Halbert that bearsrepeating to help illustrate the importance of finding ones niche.Suppose you get an opportunity to open a restaurant – a burgerjoint let's say. What is the one thing you want most of all?While most people will think about good location, money, an awardwinning burger recipe, and plenty of parking, they are all missingthe boat. The true answer is starving crowd! Without people wantingto buy burgers, you have nothing. So what does this mean for craftartists? Sell what people want, not what you love to make.
The best way to find your niche is by keeping your eyes open and noticecurrent trends. To find trends start by looking at currentmagazines, ads, t.v. shows (notice what people are wearing in realityt.v. shows or how home make overs are decorated), as well as whatpeople are tweeting and stating via facebook.com, online socialnetworks.
A big road block Americans are struggling against is the state of oureconomy, however it isn't stopping people from buying gifts fornewlyweds, consumers seeking unique birthday gifts for friends andfamily, and purchasing souvenirs to bring home from their travels.Artists who are able to capitalize on the following list of populartrends, they will not be affected by the economy:
Garden art
Photography that specializes in inspirational nature landscapes
Accessories that enhance tech gadgets
(cellphone charms and handmade purses that have pockets for iPhonesor mp3 players)
Functional and aesthetic art for the kitchen
Anything remotely related to aromatherapy
Jewelry and other fashion accessories
Eco friendly/recycled art
(Note: this is just a few of many - some may or may not agree with me - make your opinion known via the comment button!)
It is clear everyone has different tastes and an opinion about everythingwhich makes it difficult to stay ahead of what people are wanting tobuy. There is one thing that Gen Y'ers to the baby boomers cannotresist, and that is offering one-of-a-kind art or crafts to feed ontoday's consumers who showing off their individuality. Teenagers aswell as their parents and even grandparents eat it up when given theoption to customize a new car, cell phone, music on their iPhone somuch so that this can continue into art forms we all create now.Letting art show patrons know you can do a custom order if they don'tsee a color or style they like – great for jewelry makers, fiberartists, even those who work in clay. Have you ever noticed thatphotograph prints tend to sell more than framed art? Chances are itis because customers like to put their own touch on the artwork andframe it themselves so it will compliment the place where it will bedisplayed in the home.
Another trend I see is how people love and take pride in finding bargains.It isn't so much about getting something for nothing, but knowingwhat they are buying is worth it. The more authentic an artist canmake their “individuality” mark on their work the more peoplewill buy it. For example, some 2D artwork that sells for $1,000 ormore is highly desirable among buyers who have a hard time findinglarge pieces of art for their home and no other artist is offeringat the current show, hence a niche is formed. This is why I feeloffering all kinds of work at different price breaks will aid craftartists in catching multiple big fish in the small pond that is artshows as we know it. While we can't discount our work and putourselves in financial ruin, we can offer things like free shippingon orders say $100 or $500 or more, offer lifetime guarantees onpieces where if they are ever damaged you (the artist) will fix it noquestions asked, or another ideas is to offer a discount on wholecollections say a necklace, bracelet, earring set. Some artists findhaving a clearance section to sell outdated work where the old priceoi slash with a discounted price visible via a different price tag isalso a great way to land a sale.
The more resistance to change artists have, when it comes to keeping upwith trends, the harder they are making it for themselves in the longrun. While we as craft artists don't have to follow every trend outthere it is sometimes a necessary evil that comes with running acraft business where our primary focus is to sell what we make. Ihope these ideas and tips will open some doors to new ways of makingones art or craft more marketable. Please stay tuned for the nextquestion in the series focusing on how to prevent creativity burnout.
Madison, Wisconsin
On the Capitol Concourse around the Capitol Building
Presented by The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
400 Artists
Deadline: March 1
This is THE big art fair weekend in the Midwest and frankly this is THE place to be! An artist's favorite in a cool college town with beautiful weather enthusiastic buyers, quick two day event and easy load in/loadout, driving up to your booth.
Art Fair on the Square is not only the single largest art fair in the Midwest, it is also rated among the best fine art shows in North America by artists from across the country, and by publications such as Sunshine Artist magazine. Furthermore, Art Fair on the Square is the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art's most important annual fundraiser, providing crucial support for exhibitions and education programming.
For two days, the eight blocks that surround Wisconsin's beautiful State Capitol are transformed as artists, entertainers, vendors, and some 200,000 visitors come together to celebrate the arts.
For more information: www.mmoca.org/events/artfair
Apply today: www.zapplication.org
Thanks for the blog and the update on your van which I remember from the Woodstock show. (Mine was the booth 2 down from you that went over in the wind with me, weights, tables, and broken glass!)
I didn't make it into St. Stephens this year but based on your review I will apply again next year, with photos of some of my larger sculptures. I did the fun Delray Garlic Festival for the 3rd year, and did the same as in the past with the added perk of good music.
Hope to see you and your dragons and faries soon.
Andrea Olson
"I am always looking for the next great shot," says Nels, whose photographs are full of a sensitive use of the light and strong color, reflecting his life growing up in sun-drenched Florida. Art fairs have been his livelihood for over 35 years and his imagery reflects this.
"I have always had a love affair with Key West and go back there regularly for new work. I love the water and do a lot of work along the Gulf, especially the Florida panhandle.
When I'm shooting my photos I try to capture the feeling that you are right beside me, with a cup of coffee as we watch the sun come up over the Bahamas. I look closely at the relationships between colors and look for the designs in nature and in man made objects--because I care to look closer at them--I don't take them for granted."You'll know you've found Nels at an art fair -- he is this guy in shorts, bearded, with funny color socks, wearing an aloha shirt--they show you this man gets to live the life of the images he captures. Like many others in the art fair business Nels says, "This was the job I was always supposed to have."
Where you can find Nels and his sun-drenched images:
February 13-15, Coconut Grove Arts Festival, Miami
February 20 & 21, Naples National Art Festival, Naples, FL
February 27 & 28, Old Island Days Art Festival, Key West, FL
You'll enjoy reading his very intriguing journey through life at: www.ArtFairCalendar.com/featured artist
Royal Oak, Michigan
on Washington Avenue in downtown Royal Oak
Sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce
125 artists
Deadline: March 7
When artists first hear about a show with only Clay, Glass and Metal they
worry about too much competition. Actually it's an advantage. You are
not competing with prints, photos and corndogs. Everyone there is
interested in your artwork.
Patrons are astounded by the variety and depth of possibilities. Artists report that it is a
pleasure to work with customers that already have an understanding of
the medium.
We encourage artists to showcase their methods by giving additional space free to accepted artists that wish to
demonstrate techniques.
Any loud music is buffered by our restaurants and then sponsors, assuring that no artist loses out to music and smoke.
This festival features 125 clay, glass and metal artists, demonstrations and
related activities. As a result we get a large focused audience.
The Royal Oak Clay, Glass & Metal Show provides:
- Qualified Buyers
- Cash Awards
- Overnight Security & Free Parking
- Artist Breakfast
booth and application fees by deadline. Why shouldn't artists be able
to plan their year?
The art fair is organized by Mark Loeb of Integrity Shows a veteran organizer of metro Detroit events.
NOTE: ONLY CLAY, GLASS AND METAL ARE ACCEPTED. WORK MAY INCORPORATE OTHER ELEMENTS BUT MUST BE PRIMARILY CLAY, GLASS OR METAL. SORRY NO POLYMERS
SUCH AS PRECIOUS METAL CLAY.
For more info: www.RoyalOakChamber.com
APPLY TODAY: www.zapplication.org
SUCH AS PRECIOUS METAL CLAY.
For more info: www.RoyalOakChamber.com
APPLY TODAY: www.zapplication.org
This was our fourth Coconut and somehow turned out to be our best. We got lucky with a few big pieces sneaking their way through our Nurit along with the usual stack of cardboard that we usually sell. I call it cardboard when it isn't framed.
We stayed close to our booth this year. In previous years we have wandered the show and talked to people in St. Stephens along with the folks in the Sham Wow and Knife Sharpening Festival in the former expensive parking lot which is now an even more expensive art show. You can pay a thousand dollars and show off your painted rocks. It's nice to know that there are people around who can afford this sort of thing. I just wish they would use their money to buy art instead of paying huge bucks to just show it off.
The Coconut can be unpredictable when it comes to sales. At our first one in 2007 we did twice as well as a friend on Saturday. On Sunday we switched numbers almost exactly. No two years have shown anything like the same pattern.
Two friends of ours who did much better than we did last year didn't do as well as we did this year. They usually kick our butts pretty thoroughly in sales and will no doubt do it again soon. We just got lucky this year when an enlightened couple of apparently ample means bought our most expensive piece.
Nels Johnson (beneath whose crusty exterior beats the heart of a snarling misanthrope) was complaining about his totals and was seen trundling stuff out the gate a little before the show closed. He actually did about the same as we did, but the man is harder to please than most. After finally getting into the show after 25 years of rejection he really did deserve better. I don't blame him for being less than ecstatic.
Right after setup our corner caught a gust of wind that must have been about 70 MPH. About six tents went down around us and ours was skidded over a couple of feet with minimal damage. We had 65 pound weights on the corners and had screwed the feet of the tent onto the asphalt. The extra few seconds it took for the tent to rip out the screws apparently saved it from being blown into the bay.
All the bent tenters became tent renters and went on with the show, with the exception of the painter next to us who went without a canopy the entire three days. Fortunately the weather was cool and sunny so they were comfortable.
This is one of the few shows that will feed you every meal except at teardown. It may not be gourmet in every case but it's calories, folks. At the award dinner they had two kinds of rice that were very well prepared. It would have been nice had there been something to go with it besides salad. Halfway through the dinner they came out with cream puffs and key lime pie. There was enough for about a third of the crowd. The waiter brought out a tray that got cleaned out and went back through the swinging doors, apparently for more. Then he came out, leaned on the door, and watched us while we were waiting for the next batch. He enjoyed this for about ten minutes until someone asked him if there was any more coming. He smiled broadly, said they were out, and went back into the kitchen. I am not making that up.
Our setup and teardown went well since we are on a corner next to the info booth. We are able to park our van out of everyone's way during setup and teardown. We had made friends with the gate guard and he let us into the entrance that was right next to our booth. Nels, not far down from us, paid an extra fifteen bucks for a nearby parking spot that day so he could get out a half hour earlier.
We are looking forward to doing this show again and will bring more weights next time.
