I just completed my first 2 art festivals ever and am stunned the economy is so bad. I planned years for this only to arrive at apparently one of the sorriest seasons I've ever heard of! This is not just me talking, but the feedback I got from others who had been at really premier shows such as Marin County, Callabasas, Malibu, Lake Tahoe and others seems to point to a really dreary environment for artists.
I did sell one painting at each show (for half their value), and got my feet wet. Yay! Both shows were done well in terms of hospitality, and the weather really cooperated, but for supposedly high-end juried shows I was astounded by the many artists who told me they were losing their shirts. Empty booths at Marin..? Amazing. There's usually a wait list to get in. The $700+ buy-in is nothing to sneeze at.
Despite all that, I hope that mid west and east coast venues are faring better. I was in a great position to see what was actually walking out the door in La Jolla, and I'll tell you it was sparse. I'm not one to complain though as I see no way to change either the economy or crummy artist attitudes. Art is a luxury item after all.
I might mention that as an artist and the author of the book "101Tips to Sell More Art", I've either tried or know someone who does every one of those tips. I decided to do festivals as it was the one thing I hadn't done. This has not soured me, but I really feel for those who do this full time as their living. If you find it hard to sell at festivals, and galleries are not forthcoming, what's left? Internet? Maybe yes, maybe no.
I'd love to hear some more feedback as to how others are dealing with this mediocre economy or if is just a regional slump.
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I declined this years Hermosa Beach show because I have only made booth fees one show of 6 this year. That one show I made my booth fee at, I had to lower my prices in half and let a $295 piece go for $100 just so I wouldn't pack it up. But I still lost about $80 because of gas and damaged works because of the winds. I ruined 3 pieces which cost me $180
I'm sick of everybody making money but me. The show promoters make money, the mat board company makes money, the Giclee printer makes money, etc... I'm just the one working a 20-25 hour weekend to support local Rotary Clubs, art programs at schools I don't have kids in and libraries in cities 60 miles away. This is stupid. Paying $250 for a local, city art show is too much for what they have to offer and the customers they bring in. I thought my double matted 11x14 prints would sell like hot cakes at $20, but I only sell a few per show.
I could spend a while complaining about how bad business seems, but to keep it short, I gave this a shot and then promptly enrolled myself in the fire academy and I'm going back to finish up my B.A., while I'm in the academy. I'm 26, I've tried every option to keep me out of a "real" job and I've realized it's time to bite the bullet before I'm some 37 year old stay at home son because I spent my 20s starting art fair businesses, photography businesses, and everything else under the sun.
I only had one business take off and it took 6 months of hard work before it soared. My next 5 attempts were a bust, including this one. In tech, they say if you're going to fail, fail fast...
Look guys, does anyone still pay the same for gasoline as they did 4 years ago? Are our property taxes going down? People are holding on to their vehicles longer, so that means money for repairs. And when was the last time anybody went to the grocery store??? The prices just keep rising. If the Middle east explodes like I expect it to, oil prices will skyrocket.
Food and fuel are not counted as part of the inflation index. Otherwise there would a whole different inflation number coming out every month.
Whether we like it or not, the country is not in a good mood. And when that happens, they close their wallets. Even wealthy people are now shopping at Wally World.
Welcome to the dark side Greg!
I'm gonna give you the same tidbit I was told at my very first show, and it has kept me grounded all these years.
"There is nothing, nothing at an art fair or craft show anybody needs."
People do need art in their lives, but they don't need the work that's in our particular booth. With some exceptions, we are impulse sellers, and the money we get is after the household bills are paid.
We are the very front line of the economy. We are the first to feel a slowdown, and the last to feel a recovery. It's just the way it is.
It's no better in Michigan. I've also done two shows (and left a third on Saturday morning. "Fine Art Festival" my arse - more like a flea market) and have the very same observation- people are not spending money. They came into my booth and did everything but drool over the pics, said the most flattering words, took a business card, and left.
You get the sense that they're waiting for another shoe to drop and the money they spend today might be needed for food or medicine in a couple months. If I'm any judge of humankind all but the very rich are afraid. They may not know what they're afraid of, but they are afraid.
So I ask "How's that compassionate Conservatism and Audacity of Hope working out for YOU?" Eight more years of this kind of stuff and we'll all be making shoes in a government factory.
Greg, were any of the big name promoters behind any of your listed events?
And Chris, your reply is probably the sane-est thing I've ever read about the art fair business.
Not a regional slump...I am in the northeast but have done shows up and down the east coast this year and it's down 40 to 60% of what one may have expected two years ago. Last year, there were many weather challenges on the dates of my shows (mainly excessive heat) and so I believed that the weather accounted for the sagging sales but that wasn't to be the case. This year is far worse. None of us stands alone.
Many of my fellow long-time exhibitors are still plugging away but are cutting corners where they can, even in the product department (i.e., cheaper paper, framing). Making things "smaller" is another strategy. People still seem to want work but are buying far less and maybe even just a trinket. At an upstate NY show this weekend, I saw people buying several $13-$15 items at a time from my neighbor for holiday gifts...they were mini versions of his "normal" work. What do you think I started creating yesterday?
I am a full-time artist and have been relying on these shows for more than twenty years so I will continue to grin and bear it and adjust as best that I can. It's unfortunate that your beginnings in this field are met with so much uncertainty but hopefully you can still enjoy the ride, for what it's worth.
What show did you do in Upstate New York? I was in Glens Falls doing LARAC.
Yes, me, too...I was down exactly 40% of last year. My neighbors directly around me fared about the same (40-60% less). Sunday was abysmal. I was on the perimeter in "E" row. I do well at the LARAC shop though, every month, so it was worth the shot.
How did you fare?
I was about the same as last year. But a friend of mine, Kate, whom I've done shows with for almost 20 years said she was down.
I've been doing shows through great times (1980s & 90s) and difficult times. I can almost predict a recession because one comes on average every 7 years. The last one was in 2008, and many economists are predicting another one soon.
Hang on!
Curious to know about the hermosa beach art walk, was there any buy/sell and did people have art in their hands. sorry you did not sell,