Art Show Artist - Equipment And Choosing A Show
In the last article we explored the idea of making a living as an artist by doing weekend art shows and festivals
. In this second "chapter" we will take up two topics - how to find and be accepted into an art show and equipment needed.
Before you apply to a show you need a way to display your art, because nearly all show applications require you to show them a photo of your booth set up. You don't need to buy top price equipment to begin, but you either need to do a show that doesn't require a booth shot (very rare) or you need to buy a tent and set up your booth in your yard or garage and take a photo.
Buy a white (some shows allow only white) EZ Up 10'x10' tent or a brand that is similar at Sams Wholesale or online. Use some kind of screen to hang 2D artwork or use folding tables draped with cloth covers to display jewelry, sculpture or any kind of 3D artwork. You can upgrade to a more substantial art show tent and Pro Panels (carpet covered art display panels) or pedestals after you try a few art shows and decide this is really what you want to do. But an immediate investment in a "Show Off" tent and Pro Panels, for example, would cost minimum of $2,000. Unless you can buy them used from someone who is getting out of the business, it's usually too big an expense for someone just starting an art show career.
I hope by now you have done enough paintings or pottery or whatever your medium is to have an inventory to fill the display. But be sure your display photo looks uncluttered and neat.
Next - applying to a show or two. Every show has a different application and different requirements, so you just have to read all the rules to learn how to apply. Www.zapplication.com online is a very easy way to enter shows and they have some good shows, but it costs more than smaller local art shows that require paper applications via the post office. You have a good chance to be accepted at a smaller show - they might receive 100 applications to fill 80 spaces whereas zapplication shows can receive 1500 applications to fill 200 spaces. Local shows usually have lower fees, too. Often I enjoy the smaller shows and wind up making more profit, because lower fees, less travel expenses and the same or bigger crowds makes the local show the best choice. You can expect to pay $80 - $400 for most shows booth fees, and up to $800 for some on zapplication.
A jury fee is supposedly what you pay to have a "jury" of judges look at your work and decide if it should be accepted at the show or not. Basically it is a way for a show to make more money. It is always non-refundable.
For your first few shows you aren't going to want to travel 1,300 miles, so look for something nearby. (I do travel that far to do shows, but not usually - I go to Florida in the winter and do three or four shows consecutively, because there are no art shows in the winter here in Texas. Sometimes in the summer I do the same thing, but head for Colorado or Missouri.)
Find your first shows by asking other artists. Or try www.festival.net. Or look in art show magazines such as Where It's At or Sunshine Artist. In Austin Where It's At is on the checkout stand at Hobby Lobby. You can also find festivals and shows online by looking at the website of the city you want to go to. Brochures at the welcome centers at state lines often list festivals and shows.
The name of a show will not tell you whether or not you should apply. Georgetown Fine Art Festival is a very expensive show in a little bitty Texas town and almost nobody comes. On the other hand, Gruene Market Days (every third weekend of the month), which sounds like a farmer's market, has no tomatoes but is a very good small arts and crafts show out in the country north of San Antonio. People come to it, because they know the promoter has worked to gather some good arts and crafts and does not allow junk into the show. The booth fees are reasonable ($110). But then there's Boerne Market Days in a small Texas town, and that show (every second weekend of the month) is only a great show in December. It's very hit or miss at other times, and the promoter does allow resale items. You have to ask other artists and the promoters themselves.
Some festivals have everything - music and arts and crafts, lots of food, a petting zoo and carnival rides. Old Pecan Street Festival in Austin and Gulf Shores Shrimp Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama are two such shows. Both have long hours and are hard to do. And Pecan Street has an expensive booth fee - $425. But I still do it because it is in my back yard. I was going to do a show in Louisiana on the same dates as Old Pecan Street Festival - the booth fee was only $250 - but when I added up how much I would spend on gas, and campground fees for my travel trailer or hotel room, it turned out to be more expensive than just doing Old Pecan Street Festival locally. You have to take all these things into consideration when choosing a show.
As I mentioned you have to read every application and all the rules to figure out how to apply to a show, even on zapplication. Some shows require originals only, no prints, for example. Some shows let you apply online at the show's website, even though they are not on zapplication. Some only have paper applications, but will mail you one if you email them. Just follow directions. They are all different.
Scheduling shows requires some planning. Most shows have application deadlines 3 to 6 months before the date of the show. So you have to get a calendar and make a plan. Don't quit your day job until you have at least been accepted in several of the shows you applied to. And don't be hurt if you don't get accepted. Veteran art show artists know that you can be rejected one year, accepted the next year and rejected the next year at the same show. It's all capricious whim, and there's almost nothing you can do about it - except apply to more shows. Don't get your heart set on one particular show - the only way to win at this game is to apply to more shows and get accepted.
You never know why you got rejected if you get a reject, and nobody will tell you. That's kind of suppressive, but just let it go. You don't have to get used to it - you just have to determine to win with your art no matter what someone else's opinion is. And that's all it is - just opinion. Sometimes it's even less than that - reasons for rejecting artists from art shows often do not have to do with how good your art is. It can be that there were too many applications for your category or that they had to let the sponsor's sister in. You never know. Don't feel rejected.
The only thing I know that can increase your rate of acceptance to shows is top-notch photographs of your artwork and an aesthetic uncluttered booth display. Sometimes you get rejected anyway. No matter. There are tons of shows to do.
As a demonstration of this concept, I have a story. You will see in applications that many shows offer cash prizes to artists - they have on site judges determine who has the best artwork in different categories. I don't do shows to win prizes - I do them to sell my artwork, and there is no better validation than someone wants to pay you money for a piece of your art that they want to hang in their home. But the first time I won a first place was at a show where I had already figured that there were two other painters there who were better than I was. They didn't get the prize because the judges' opinions were that my work was better. Thank you, judges! However, I would never dwell on the fact that I didn't win a prize or that I got a reject for a show. Neither of those determines whether your artwork is good or not. You just have to make up your mind to succeed and carry on, and you will flourish and prosper.
by: Penny Logan
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