Below I have copied an email I just sent to the Royal Oak Art Council. I have sent a similar one numerous times, but someday I hope they will tire of hearing the wheel squeak.
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Hello, I have a couple of questions about the art fair. I went to your site and none of these were answered there. I know your deadline is March 27 received. But none of the other important dates that artists need to know to be able to put together a reasonable schedule were listed.
When is notification to artists of acceptance or rejection?
You require booth fee upfront, which hardly any art fairs do anymore, as it is considered an artist unfriendly policy. What is your refund deadline, the date by which an accepted artist may cancel and receive a full or partial refund? (note: in the past, it has been non-refundable, I just hoped to give them the idea that refundability should be a given)
The weekend of your show happens to be a prime weekend, when many top shows are held. Most artists need to apply to several to ensure that they have a show to sell at for that weekend. This is not a hobby for the vast majority of us, it is our livelihood. We can't afford to apply to just one show and cross our fingers that we will be accepted. Knowing these dates without having to dig for them would make your show competitive with other shows, and you would receive more applications, and thus more jury fees, from a higher caliber of professional artist.
Thank you, etc.
Replies
Linnea, as someone who visits many art show websites weekly I could put together a list of information that every art show needs to include on their website. You would be amazed at the Art shows that include everything but the needed info on their website to ensure that their event ends with success. It makes it very hard to make a quick decision on whether to apply or not or to attend to spend or not.
The number one thing every art show needs to have on their website is a way to contact them. You would be shocked at how many shows do not have an email or phone number on their site. I don't know if they are afraid of getting spam or what but I have looked some sites over pretty well and can't find either. I have even resorted to looking over their Facebook page and if the info isn't on their website I can tell you it won't be on their Facebook page either.
The other thing that can be pretty well hidden is their applications. What is the purpose of keeping that under wraps? I have no idea, but that is a great way to keep new people from applying. No new artists can mean a show could become stagnant. While patrons come to look for favorite artists, they also want to see some fresh art work, something new.
Hidden fees and by hidden fees I mean all the fees an artist needs to be aware of. Jury fees, booth fees, electrical fees, parking fees, etc all need to be available on a show's website. How else can an artist make a good decision?
Application deadline. The deadline needs to be easily seen. No one wants to apply to a show only to find out the deadline has passed or that they have entered the period where it costs more to apply. Those deadlines can be very elusive.
Oh, here is another good one. How come shows make their venue location hard to find? I am sure accepted artists receive their packets with the venue location enclosed, however you would be amazed at how many websites don't post the location of their show on the website. I don't get that. If the art patron can't easily find that location, they won't be spending any money at the show.
Oh, this is a good one, too. Out of date websites. I hate it when I am trying to find current show information only to land on a show's website that is from 2011! Oh, that happens a lot more than anybody realizes. When I see that I think this show must have died and has long since been buried. That isn't always the case as I have found out. What they don't realize is that that pretty much guarantees that anyone who lands on their show page won't be applying or attending that show unless they are into spending a long time searching the internet. Most people give up and show organizers need to realize that.
Website should also be easily navigated. You can have the prettiest website out there but if it is hard to use people get very frustrated. You shouldn't have to be a computer genius to navigate a website. I realize this includes anyone who wasn't born with an iPhone in their hand.
To artists, this information is critical. I don't understand why some websites ( a lot of websites) don't go the extra mile to make sure all their bases are covered. It all goes toward having a very successful show.
Linnea, I hope you hear from the show soon.
In case anyone doesn't know this Jacki Bilsborrow works with me and is in charge of keeping ArtFairCalendar.com up to date. As you may note from her comments above, it is a daunting task.
Linnea,
I have experienced many of the same frustrations of trying to find basic info and location. They forget to look at the website and fb page as someone who has never seen it before and never attended their show before ... as an artist/crafts person or as a shopper.
Hi Cindy,
Wow, I have never run across a promoter that is trying to "hide" their contact info. in all the years I have done shows, but obviously they must be "out there". You would think if they wanted you to apply, that they would have an e-mail if you have any questions!
I guess that is just one of the reasons why our company is called " ARTIST FRIENDLY EVENTS " with our Juried Art Fair at Westfield Old Orchard May 30-31. We are listed with artfaircalendar.com & sunshine artists & that is a MUST to put some kind of contact in our ad. You are right~Artists should not have to be calling the City or wherever to have to find out info~we have ENOUGH to do~Good luck to you!
I did the show once and liked it. But, for the past 13 years, I have refused to apply because of the up-front payment and the no refund policy. Linnea's letter is one I used to send them every year to try to get them up to speed. To no avail.
Now, every year I check their rules and when I don't see a change I cross it off my list. They should know this is a business and not many of us can afford to throw away an entry fee on the prime weekend of the season. Too bad.
By the way, I had been rejected from the show a few times, so acceptance is not assured.
Yes, we were rejected also a few times, a hard blow, because we only lived 3 miles away. I have had private communication with them. They are working to get this taken care of and I'm sure it will be.
Sounds like an art festival that needs an actual artist on their committee.
It is actually an event that is run by volunteers through the city, with the duties shared among them. It is one of those under the radar shows that has done just fine, low key and easy to do for artists with a decent return for them. We participated in it many times.
OK, here is their response:
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Hi Linnea,
I think most of your questions are actually answered on this year's application which is attached at the top of our website at www.royaloakarts.com . I appreciate hearing your concerns and we will update our site to better work with potential artists. Thanks for the info.
Our Jury date is April 11th - selections are final
Notification letters of acceptance or rejection - sent no later than Friday, April 17th
Refunds are returned with rejection letters.
Last date to cancel and receive a refund would be April 10th. Once you have been selected by our jury, your spot has been saved for you and that means that someone else may have been rejected and now we have no replacement for that spot.
The Royal Oak Art Fair will be celebrating it's 45th year this summer and is considered one of the top Fine Art Fairs in the state. We pride ourselves in having a beautiful venue, live entertainment and Royal Oak is a great city to enjoy while you are here. If I can be of any further assistance, please let me know. Again I thank you for your suggestions,
Carol
Royal Oak Outdoor Art Fair Committee
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My note: the website had links to 2 different page formats for printing, one 8 1/2 x 11, and the other 8 1/2 x 14. I clicked on and read the link for 8 1/2 x 11, as that is the size paper I have : standard. It was not until reading her reply and double checking that I realized that the 2 formats linked did NOT contain the same information. The 8 1/2 x 11 contained less, being basically a form to fill out, without offering much information in return. This was obviously an oversight on their part: someone failed to upload a second page, I assume. I'm not surprised I didn't see the added info, as who would click on a size one couldn't use?
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My reply to her:
Hello again: I see now what the problem was. I clicked on " 8-1/2 x 11 for standard printing ", because that is the size of the paper I have. THAT version of the application only has the deadline on it, no notification. It is only one page. When I clicked on the larger format size for "8-1/2 x 14 for larger sheet size", then I found more information, including the notification date.
Though the site states that "Both application links above contain the same information to complete your art fair application," they do not contain the sme information. I am guessing someone did not scan and upload page 2 of the smaller format version.
Thank you for the further information on the cancellation deadline, which is approximately a week before the notification date. I assume then that if an accepted artist does need to cancel, you maintain no waiting list to fill the spot? That is a shame. Most art fairs do have waiting lists, as inevitably things do happen and some artists may have to cancel. When I had surgery midway through art fair season a few years back, the shows I had to cancel were able to fill my spot pretty seamlessly by taking someone in the same medium from the waiting list, and gave me a refund, as my surgery was scheduled well in advance. Please keep it in mind for the future, as an artist friendly policy.
Thanks again,
Linnea
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Note that the refund date she lists is 1 week before notification, which means, in essence, it is still non-refundable, despite my squeaking this wheel on an annual basis. Though I say it's a shame they don't have a waiting list, I really don't know if they do or not: if cancellations are allowed to leave a hole in the layout, or if they do indeed re-sell the space twice.
Here's the last reply I received to mine, above:
And she does say they will "discuss your other art fair issues at our after fair review", so that is something, I suppose.
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Hello Linnea,
Thanks for the heads up! The application in the smaller format should be remedied by later today or tomorrow. Most of our Artists go to the city website for their applications. Thank goodness for YOU! We'll be sure to discuss your other art fair issues at our after fair review.
Regarding the cancellation date - perhaps that wasn't clear. We will notify artists by e-mail of their acceptance beginning on Jury day and into the Sunday following - that would be 1 day after the cancellation deadline. Booth checks/samples of those not selected will be returned a.s.a.p. - we expect it could take as much as a week to get them back to you.
The Royal Oak Outdoor Art Fair is not like other fairs/festivals. This is our 45th year!! This is a quality fine arts fair, not a craft fair full of beadwork, window salesmen, and the like. We do not sell our name and we take good care of our artists.
Any money that we receive from the art fair is used by our Council, a volunteer run non-profit organization, to support "Arts Organizations" in our community. Among them are the Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band, County Artists Association, Handbell Choir, Two Theater Groups, an Art Therapy program and the Childrens Choir. In addition we give scholarships to college bound high school students studying the Arts. All of these supports depend on the funds we make from the Art Fair..
It's like a two for one - We take care of our Artists - give them a quality show in a beautiful venue and they help the Arts grow and go on in the Royal Oak Area.
Still kicking,
Carol
Royal Oak Outdoor Art Fair
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