L. P. Skeen on sun 20 apr 03
Hey Kelly, here are answers to some of your questions; we have such a fair
here. It is called (drum roll..........) Art in the Arboretum
(hehheh....).
> There would be very low booth fees and no percentage. They would like to
> see art and fine craft, no wooden yard butts and
barbie-doll-with-a-crocheted-skirt toilet roll covers. Does this mean
jurying?
********Not necessarily, at least not the first year or two. Jurying is
more for picking the best of each medium. To eliminate the "wooden yard
butts" in the first place, you word your application such that it states in
plain English what will be accepted/appropriate for the show. If/when you
do want to go the juried route, get 3 local professional (degreed is better,
in case of someone saying, "what does HE know about art?!!!") artists from
different media together in a room. Pay 'em $100 each and lunch while they
look at the slides (no names). [[those of you reading this who do jurying on
a regular basis and charge a fee to do so, look away.]] When we did the
"Remembrance" show, we did this on a point system and the pieces w/ most
points got in the show. Entry fees go towards paying the jurors and prizes.
If you're doing prizes, the jurors come back on the day of the show and pick
their faves of what's there in person on the same point system. YOU
(meaning organizers of the show) don't have ANYTHING to do with the jurying
process, and stay the hell out of the room when they're looking at slides so
when somebody gets pissed off at not being chosen, you can then say, "I'm
sorry you're not happy with the jurying results, but I had nothing to do
with the jurying process. That was done by a group of professional
artists."
>How to go about that? Can I just look through slides/pix and sort out the
Kountry Kraft types from the fine crafters?
Yep. I'll be happy to forward you a copy of my app for the Northwest
Triad Arts Festival from last year if you want it.
> As artists, what do those of you who do shows want from a show? They
> would spend a lot of money on advertising and promotion. If it was one
> day, would it be worth doing, or would you want it to be two? Do most
> folks have their own e-z up or shelter? Might the organizers offer
> shelters for a slightly higher booth fee to folks who don't have them?
ADVERTISING, the more the better. Also, a lot of ADVERTISING would be good.
Did I mention advertising????? Check w/ the local Time Warner Cable folks
about getting a commercial made and run it on the Lifetime, E, WE, HGTV, and
Food network channels. Billboards, RADIO - get a media sponsor from the
radio station in your area that is most popular with the demographics of
those "volvo drivin' soccer moms" out there. ;) Most folks don't have time
for newspaper reading nowadays, so I wouldn't put as much money towards ads
in the daily fishwrap. RADIO, seriously. Sounds cheesy, but it worked for
my little first-year festival.
That's another obstacle you're going to run into. First year shows are hard
to fill because they are untried and therefore have no history. Get your
apps out to the artists at least 4 months ahead of time - people who do
shows in the fall fill out the apps for 'em in the Spring. If you wait too
late (which I did), even the locals will say, as they did to me, "Dang, if I
had KNOWN about it ahead of time, I would have gone w/ your show instead of
Large Show 2 States Away, if only because it's closer to home."
One day is good for a first year show. Two day shows are harder unless you
want to hire security to walk the strip so artists can leave their tents set
up all night. Doing a two day show where you have to take down the first
night and set up again the second day is a BIG PITA. I wouldn't do it.
The only place I've ever been where it was an outdoor show and the tent was
provided for me was the Gay Pride show in Atlanta. Big nightmare: They got
green and yellow circus tents and it was dark as a tomb inside and don't get
me started on the temperature!!!!! Warn the folks in the app what the
terrain conditions are and tell 'em they need to bring whatever they will
need to protect themselves and their work from the weather. Anyone who does
shows for a living will expect to provide their own stuff.
EZ up tents are 10x10'sq. You will need to allow 10x10' MINIMUM for each
space, plus easement about 4' between each one if possible. Fire marshall
may have something to say about the easement between.
FOOD and DRINK availability is important. I got the Art Club from the local
high school to grill hamburgers and hotdogs as the ONLY food available - it
was a fundraiser for them, and they made a KILLING - went to NYC month
before last on the proceeds. They offered a burger or dog, chips and drink
for something like $3.00 I think. Be sure to have some big barrels marked
TRASH all over the place. You will also need a trash crew to empty said
trash bins on regular intervals.
> How far and wide to look for artists? How best to reach them? What kind of
amentities should be available besides a water-and-booth-sitters tent?
Amenities: Close-by parking for the artists is really good. At the very
least, they should be able to drive their car right to their spot and unload
before moving vehicle to parking area. Offer booth-sitters, or have someone
go around and take orders for lunch from participants. Separate restrooms
for artists only are FABOO. I closed my indoor toilet to everyone but
artists when I had the festival here. :) Go to your local arts council and
any arts guilds around and get them to advertise to their membership in the
newsletter, OR, ask for their mailing list - usually they'll give it up if
the cause is right. I called a local show promoter to ask some questions,
and he volunteered his entire artist list. I pared it down by getting rid
of all out of state folks to start with, then pitched out all the things I
recognized as "granny crafts" (aka wooden yard butts). Then I got on the
phone and called folks, because I was so short for time. I stuck w/
local/regional artists (only NC artists) for mine. Advertise on any free
medium; there are several arts deadlines and festival sites out there on the
web.
Good luck!!!
Lisa
primalmommy on sun 20 apr 03
My hubby and the manager of the local arboretum are talking about
putting together an art fair for this fall. They know about public
outreach stuff, and promotiong, but not much about art fairs.
The good news is, they have some funding to set it up and don't care if
they make a profit. It's part of their mission statement, support for
the arts and connecting to the community and such.
It's a large arboretum with big grassy areas. Not a lot of nearby
parking but for other events (like the maple syrup festival) they have
had good luck running bus/shuttles from a nearby mall.
There would be very low booth fees and no percentage. They would like to
see art and fine craft, no wooden yard butts and
barbie-doll-with-a-crocheted-skirt toilet roll covers. Does this mean
jurying? How to go about that? Can I just look through slides/pix and
sort out the Kountry Kraft types from the fine crafters?
As artists, what do those of you who do shows want from a show? They
would spend a lot of money on advertising and promotion. If it was one
day, would it be worth doing, or would you want it to be two? Do most
folks have their own e-z up or shelter? Might the organizers offer
shelters for a slightly higher booth fee to folks who don't have them?
How far and wide to look for artists? How best to reach them? What kind
of amentities should be available besides a water-and-booth-sitters
tent?
I just thought I would toss this out there. They are not intending to
draw big names or set the art world on fire, and would like to have lots
of local people participate.
I'd be grateful for any tips, hits or pipe dreams you could share, and
will forward them on to hubby.
Thanks... Yours, Kelly in Ohio... you should see my Easter eggs, wrapped
in onion skins and boiled... some with forsythia, or violets, or herb
leaves for resist... nested in excelsior in a junk shop wooden bowl.
Anybody remember what oil you use for a food-safe wooden surface? I just
want to "rise" my bread in the bowl...
_______________________________________________________________
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Lily Krakowski on mon 21 apr 03
I know very little about shows, so except that it is good to have someone
there who knows first aid, a sufficiency of toilets, and plenty of water
available for all to drink (dogs included) I know zip. Here when we have
one of those things--actually a fair for tractor buffs-- we have the local
boy scouts help out with parking etc.
HOWEVER: I have been told to use walnut oil, also sunflower oil for wooden
bowls. I use walnut and it seems to be ok.
primalmommy writes:
> My hubby and the manager of the local arboretum are talking about
> putting together an art fair for this fall. They know about public
> outreach stuff, and promotiong, but not much about art fairs.
>
> The good news is, they have some funding to set it up and don't care if
> they make a profit. It's part of their mission statement, support for
> the arts and connecting to the community and such.
>
> It's a large arboretum with big grassy areas. Not a lot of nearby
> parking but for other events (like the maple syrup festival) they have
> had good luck running bus/shuttles from a nearby mall.
>
> There would be very low booth fees and no percentage. They would like to
> see art and fine craft, no wooden yard butts and
> barbie-doll-with-a-crocheted-skirt toilet roll covers. Does this mean
> jurying? How to go about that? Can I just look through slides/pix and
> sort out the Kountry Kraft types from the fine crafters?
>
> As artists, what do those of you who do shows want from a show? They
> would spend a lot of money on advertising and promotion. If it was one
> day, would it be worth doing, or would you want it to be two? Do most
> folks have their own e-z up or shelter? Might the organizers offer
> shelters for a slightly higher booth fee to folks who don't have them?
>
> How far and wide to look for artists? How best to reach them? What kind
> of amentities should be available besides a water-and-booth-sitters
> tent?
>
> I just thought I would toss this out there. They are not intending to
> draw big names or set the art world on fire, and would like to have lots
> of local people participate.
>
> I'd be grateful for any tips, hits or pipe dreams you could share, and
> will forward them on to hubby.
>
> Thanks... Yours, Kelly in Ohio... you should see my Easter eggs, wrapped
> in onion skins and boiled... some with forsythia, or violets, or herb
> leaves for resist... nested in excelsior in a junk shop wooden bowl.
> Anybody remember what oil you use for a food-safe wooden surface? I just
> want to "rise" my bread in the bowl...
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________________________
> Get the FREE email that has everyone talking at
> http://www.mail2world.com
>
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Lili Krakowski
P.O. Box #1
Constableville, N.Y.
(315) 942-5916/ 397-2389
Be of good courage....
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