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Once upon a time security at art festivals might consist of Boy Scouts patrolling the streets of Ann Arbor at night; Boy Scouts camping in the park at Winter Park or the University of Miami football team being "security" at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. True story ... 

Then came 9/11. Everything changed and continues to be more challenging. I was staff on the Super Bowl committee in Detroit a few years ago. We had security briefings that included local police, sheriffs, FBI and the border patrol. That was an event with a huge budget.

What has happened at the art fairs as we try to control these hugely popular, sprawling, well-attended events? Who'd attack an art fair? Who knows? Insurance companies and municipalities are requiring the shows to add 24 hour security, barricades, security cameras, train staffs for disasters. I'm sure I'm missing something here.

At the recent Arts Festival Conference sponsored by Zapp in Florida one of the topics was how to prepare an event for emergency situation. The truth: it is very costly. And VERY frightening. I learned:

• Concrete barricades need to be put in place with a crane. How do you pay for that crane? One of the shows found a crane company to be a sponsor! 
• a semi full of bike rack needs labor to get it on the street and off again
• Maureen Riley from the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair said that their security costs have gone up 267% in recent years; just police was up 86%
• Shows hire professional security people
• Off duty policemen get paid double time and since this is such pleasant duty the ones with the highest seniority (and highest pay) are likely to be patrolling

Shows are looking for grants, partnerships with sponsors, partnering with their cities to find the funds so they don't get passed on to you. 

It used to be that the only disaster we had to prepare for was seriously bad weather.

As I sat there listening I was pretty horrified that it has come to this. Why is life so complicated? (rhetorical)

2018 version of the Fountain Hills Great Fair in Fountain Hills, AZ an isolated community NE of Phoenix. I say isolated meaning that it grew up outside the boundaries of the larger metro area but still within reach. This was the third time I've attended this show with diminishing returns this year.

Just The Facts...

Show Hours and Dates: Fountain Hills Great Fair, Fountain Hills, AZ. Feb. 23-25, 2018, 10 - 5 each day but it helps to be open by 9:30 for the early crowd. There is also a November edition of this show. This show can be found on the Zapplication call for entry website.

Logistics, Load-In/Out:

Load in for the show was Thursday afternoon starting at 5 pm after businesses are closed and roads are clear. Depending on your location load-in/out can either be frustrating or less so. I was on the far NW side of the show so it was a little less congested then down near the fountain. I can't help but wonder if my location lead to lower sales, i.e., if I had been closer to the fountain would I have done better?

Amenities:

This show has always relied on the artists to figure out their own plans for food, the usual "fair food" is available. I had leftovers and there are nearby regular restaurants and a grocery store that I've gotten sandwiches from the night before. The occasional volunteer booth sitters came by.

Storage, Booth Space:

Most booths, that I could see, had some sort of storage space behind them. Booths are allowed 4 feet of clear space behind them which was enough for me to put my two wheeler back there and stack stuff on it.

Demographics/Buying Trends:

Can't speak to "buying trends" as I didn't see much buying going on. I guess that is a trend in-and-of-itself! Low end was the rule of the show. Not so much artwork as trinkets were walking by.

Quality/Range of Art:

The range of "art" was very wide. From my survey of booths content was variable. There of course were some high end artists and a lot of (good and bad) craft items, food, ointments and clothes.

Food:

You either brought your own or went to the typical "fair food" vendors. On my end of the show there was the lemonade vendor that is at all the AZ shows and the huge fair food truck/booth. I think a service organization was cooking the obligatory burgers and hotdogs somewhere.

Weather:

I don't often comment on the weather but it is notable here. In previous years of doing this show it was just right. Not so this year. A large cold front that was blanketing the more northerly states made its appearance here in the form of lower than average temps and a lot of wind! It made for a very uncomfortable weekend in addition to the paltry sales. I was hoping for some respite from the cold in Denver but not so this year!

Reflections:

This was not a first time show for me. I know (sometimes) when it's time to bail on a show. Usually it's when your revenue one year goes to half, you think it's a fluke, and the next year it's half again. That was the case with this show so I guess it's time to bail! This show lacked enthusiasm, it seemed as if it were being held out of some obligation and not out of a real spirit of support for the arts or the artists. As is the case, when that happens it seems to be a swan song. I've heard that there is a November edition of this show and of course "it's much better!" Maybe I'll give it a try after 2020.

Okay, now for the star rating! I'd give this show 1/2 ✩ out of 5 and that's being generous. As far as the buying goes, I'd give it  1/4 ✩ and that's being way to generous. I did lose money doing this show.

The jury system is bad - fundamentally flawed.  Each year it is the primary influence on our show year and our careers. Here it is again subject of a blog post.

Posts here and elsewhere bring up the same points.  Our fates are determined by jurors. Bad scenario. Art experts?  I think not.  They may have art backgrounds, they may work in musueums, the may be gallery owners.  They may teach "art".  So what?  Does their background make them qualified to choose?  Are they really "art experts"?  What defines art?  What relevance to defining art (undefinable IMO) have to what people wish to buy?  Does the alleged "art expert" background really serve the purpose of setting a palette of artwork the public wishes to purchase?  To compare: are movie critics correct? Do you care more about what a critic says, or the public says?  Same with books, do you only read a book that a critic gives their blessing to?  Do you only eat at restaurants given two thumbs up by a food critic?  And in the case brought before us here in the blog posts on the Krasl jurors, how can they be "art experts" and one give you a 7, one give you a 1?  Or one a "6" and one a "2"? How does that make any sense whatsoever?  It simply does not. 

And .... in this screwed up system, the voice of the public isn't listened to. You could be the top seller in your medium at a show and short of it being a commission-based show, no one knows that.  No one cares except you and your buyers but that does't mean squat, because the show doesn't care nor do the jurors.  Next year your fate will be determined by what?  Jurors, their biases and the process rather than the art-buying public that came and purchased art.  The "different set of eyes" line is meaningless for the most part ... the concept is flawed. The Krasl Scenario can and likely will happen again next year, and the year after.

So here's a suggestion.  Simplify.  Make the process "Juror Free" (ah, what a concept!  To be used in show advertising!), less biased, less expensive. Heck, maybe jury fees will go down accordingly (yes, and the earth will stop spinning on its axis and war will end ...... right).

Have the show management go through and elimate from each medium those submissions that do not meet the show rules as written in the prospectus.  Remove work that is buy-sell, work that is not creative, copies that of others, displays that are poor and not up to your standards - whatever your rules dictate. But no rating of the artwork.

Then everyone that passes that threshold and is deemed "eligible" is put into a lottery.  Their names in essence put into a "hat" and names drawn until the show spots are filled.  A few more to create a wait-list.  No judging, no rating.  Why would that be bad? Think how that might open doors for artists to be in shows that have never been in?  For the public to see work they have never seen BECAUSE OF jurors, juror biases and the jury process?  No need to "cheat" the system with Photoshop, no need to try and figure out what jurors will look at, mixing black-and-white with color, different subject matter, different color palettes, horizontals and vertical, the concept of "consistent body of work" versus "breadth of the work".  All gone.  You submit what you perceeive to be your best work representing you. Resulting in the scenario that the public that comes may have an opportunity to see and purchase your work that previously jurors and juror biases kept out.  Randomness let you in.  

Option #2 if you don't like that - choose jurors from the art-buying public in the community.  Worst case scenario is they will choose art they want to come purchase.  And that would be bad because .................................. ?

Quite a few artists posted about their Krasl jury scores on some of the Facebook art show forums. I even received two phone calls from artists asking me to check to see if something was wrong with their images.

So many artists posted about receiving one or even two of the lowest possible score of a "1" out of "7" that it makes me wonder if the people doing the jurying knows what that means, or what instructions were given by the director.

Years ago I was interviewing a show director about how their jurying worked. I was told that any scores of 1 were required to be justified by the jurors. The reason for that was because a score of 1 meant that the artist was so unqualified that they shouldn't even be applying to a juried show, probably knowing nothing of the medium they were applying in.

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

We just returned home from an amazing week in South East Florida.  We attended the Zapp Conference in Deerfield Beach/Boca Raton and showed at Coconut Grove Art Festival. 

First the Zapp Conference.   Connie has already done a review, here is mine.   I could write a full review on each session but here is a condensed version. 

This was our second conference.  The first one we attended was in Houston.  This year they changed it up after getting  feedback from artists and administrators.  The Houston conference had two tracks,  one for artists and one for admins.  Many of us felt torn on which session to go to.  I know many directors learned a lot from the artist sessions and I know I learned a lot about the admin sessions I attended.  I wanted to be two places at once.  This year they had one track.  Everyone I talked to preferred  the one track.  It was great to have the admins and the artists together at each session.    We also had more time between sessions.  This was great because we could talk, meet, visit  other artists and admins and exchange thoughts about the session.  Each session has a ton of information and it was nice to get some thoughts together before the next one.   There was a session on Wednesday for new admins but the main event was Thursday and Friday.    The first day the sessions were much more artist based.  I asked every director I talked to how they felt about this.  They all had very positive things to say.  They learned a lot and enjoyed it.  The second day many artists had to go set up for the art shows for that coming weekend so the sessions were geared more towards admins.  We were not able to attend Friday, the second day, since we left to set up for Coconut Grove Art Festival (CGAF).    We were disappointed to miss the second day but fortunately NAIA was able to do a live feed on their Facebook group and we were able to watch the other sessions. 

The conference started off with the opening presenter, Communicationg the Value of Art by Amir Jackson.  He brought some fresh ideas on interacting with the community.  

Up next was Chris Dahlquist with Get Your Story Out.  What a powerful speaker and motivator.  She is a pretty decent artist as well J If I ever grow up or am reincarnated I want to be her.  I could go on and on about this session.  She blew everyone away.  The session was a very mini version of workshops she does for artists.  Michael and I have known we needed to get refocused on many things concerning our art and the business end and she was exactly what we needed.  We broke off into mini groups throughout the session.    The thrust of the session was differentiating two different questions, why do you make art vs how you make your art.  This is a very short description but  this session alone was well worth the time and expense to attend the conference. 

Next up was the Mock Jury.  I love this part.  Artists were able to send in an app for a panel to jury.  It was free, you didn’t have to be there and you could send in up to three apps.  The app was projected.  Many of us can see what a monitor app looks like but a projected app we cant.  We sent in three apps.  If we were going to spend money and time to be at the conference we were going all in.  Michael and I were separate artists first and now a collaborative team.  Collaberating on the art is not a problem but agreeing on what images to use for apps is.  A mock jury is perfect for us.  It’s a great chance to have direct feedback from set of jurors.  Plus we learn from each and every app they critiqued.  This session is a must for artists.  After the session we were able to continue talking to other directors who were at the session and get their feedback as well. 

Last session for the day  was Mystery Unmasked: An inside look at the Jury Process.  The panel consisted of four directors and an artist.  They talked about how they run their jury process, many other directors at the conference also shared what they did.  This session was a great example of the benefit of artists and admins being in the same room.  Artists could ask questions and not only the panel would answer questions but all the directors could as well.  The directors learned from each other and how they each ran their jurys.  Another amazing session and now we wrapped up the day.

Ending the day there was a cocktail Reception.  There was so much information to process we were all ready for a drink, or two.   This year the reception was held at the Hotel where the conference took place.  I loved this.  We were able to go right to the bar with everything fresh in our minds, relax some and have quality time with everyone.  I hated to see the day end but honestly I don’t think my mind could take anymore new information that day. 

If you have a chance you really should find a way to attend a zapp conference.  The Zapp team is really amazing.  Christina, Nancy, Joann, and Kate know there stuff and are available the entire time to answer any questions and receive all feedback.  They really do listen and implement what the admins and artists want.   The directors were extremely generous with any questions or concerns  the artists had.  Everyone was there to help each other.  It was so refreshing to see artists, directors and admins work together to better the art fair community.

We were sad the event was over for us but it was time to refocus and get ready for an art show. 

CGAF was next.  I have written two other reviews on this show.  http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/coconut-grove-art-festival-miami-fl

http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/winter-2016-florida-part-3-cgaf-miami

For more info on logistics you can reference past reviews. 

There is no place I would rather be in February then Miami.  We love this city.  We were thrilled to be accepted again in to CGAF.  Hurricane Irma hit Coconut Grove, where the show is, pretty hard.   If you listened to Connies pod cast you heard the interview with Kat pretty soon after the storm.  I don’t know how they were able to do all they did with the short amount of  time after the hurricane but if you hadn’t been there before you wouldn’t have realized a major hurricane had hit the area.  Actually I spoke to at least 3 artists about the hurricane and it hitting The Grove and they asked me “what hurricane”  How soon we forget.    There were a lot of trees missing and some of the area had construction but over all it was all good. 

The weather  was great.  It was warm on Saturday and Sunday if you couldn’t find shade.  Monday morning we had some rain but it cleared and there was a nice breeze.  Saturday many artists were complaining that crowds were down and I agree they were but still many people.  Here is a pic of my street on Saturday around noon. 

Big enough crowd for me.  We had our best Saturday at CGAF.  If sales would have been over from Saturday we would have been happy.  Sales on Saturday were from customers not from the Miami area.  Everything we sold will need to be shipped.  It is nice to have an audience from not only around the country but around the world.  The boat show also is happening at this time and many of those people attend CGAF.  They buy.

Sunday it was packed.  Here is a pic of the same street on Sunday. 

I could barely get back to my booth after a bathroom break.     We had some good talks but no sales.  Our neighbor killed it on Sunday.  Monday started with rain but ended by 11.  Monday is traditionally slower and the bargain hunters come out.  There is something about Miami and last minute sales.  We have been doing shows in Miami for over 7 years.  I remember being told by other Miami artists that sales happen at the end of the show in Miami.  I know we hear this all the time but it really is true in Miami.  Every show we have done in 7+ years we sell in the last 5 minutes and often during break down.  It happened again.  5 minutes before close we had another big sale.  They didn’t even ask for a discount.  Don’t give up at the end and don’t be in a rush to get out when you are in Miami.  Attitude has a lot to do with this life. 

Sales were all over the place for artists.  One of my neighbors, a potter,  just made expenses and traveled far.  Her work was not a match for this show unfortunately.  Another neighbor, sculpture killed it.  A 2d artist friend of mine didn’t make booth.  This wasn’t our best CGAF but pretty darn close to it.  So there you have it, sounds like most art shows. 

Breakdown was pretty easy considering the size of this show.  It closed at 5pm.  We had our vehicle at the broken down booth (damn I wish more artists would break their booth down before coming in to a show) by 6 and out by 6:20.  Not bad considering Michael had to leave 5 minutes before break down to close the last sale in the condos behind out booth. 

Hope we are invited back next year.