Saying somehow the acceptance notifications got sent out before they could monkey with the results.............you're not invited after all. Oh Snap!!
That's a first! Wonder how Greg Lawler arrived at their ranking......highest bidder?
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It's usually the exhibitor who has been doing this for 3 to 5 years who seems to know everrything there is to know. And Terry, you had all the talking points of a beginner. So I went to your profile. You've been doing this for three years. You are just past the beginner stage. You automatically assume someone is trying to get away with something, and that's not the case. I haven't met Mr Lawler and know little about him, but I can say with certainty he is an upstanding person in his field.
You mention things and seem surprised they go on. You probably haven't seen 20% of what goes on in this business. You're going to meet people who will lie right to your face. You will find out that the noisemaker doesn't get addressed, s/he gets blacklisted. Shows are private events and so if somebody wants to have a booth in the best part of the show, that's life. And if a promoter doesn't want troublemakers, they have every legal right to exclude them, no matter how good the artwork is. As a recovering promoter I always reserved the right to pick my exhibitors not only on their work, but their attitude.
Shows are a partnership. It's not 'us vs them'. But the promoter has the final say as to what goes on. You're not that important in the overall scheme of things. You're just another application.
I've been thinking about this all day. Sat through Mass thinking about it. Went to a birthday brunch and thought about this post. Went to the grocery store with the beautiful Ms. Madonna and watched one of her friends announce a new baby's eventual arrival in July and I didn't hear a thing because I thought about how misleading, slanted, and inaccurate this post is when one takes some time to think about it.
This thread started about Belleville and some issues there. I apologize for taking it here, but this is where it went after all.
The first paragraph about Lawler and the impression/assumption/profile that someone with 3-5 years in the business is "just past the beginner stage", this whole paragraph means nothing and should be taken with a grain of salt, three shots of Patron, and a lime slice. I for one, could not care less what Lawler thinks of anything other than staying out of my booth when I am trying to set up.
Regarding the second paragraph, yes this business has some shadowy areas and some people who, - while they may undeniably give one the distinct impression they may look like a pair of testicles, they certainly do not act is if they actually possess any (literally or figuratively) - so they do that blacklist, gossip, and "bad attitude" game. Artists and promoters. No argument there. Still there is the part in Chris' piece about promoters not wanting "troublemakers and reserving the right to pick "my" exhibitors not only on their work, but their attitude - which exhibits flawed, outdated, thinking that completely misses the point of an art show.
The third paragraph - is so filled with holes - it reminds me of the old saying, and I am paraphrasing it here: "Funny thing about holes, if you find yourself in one - stop digging."
My point here may make some people incontinent, but bear with me please:
Shows are NOT really a partnership. The show is an organization that sells space (and whatever else) to an artist that has been accepted to buy the space. Period. No partnerships, no "We are the World", no "working together". No harmony, no love. It's dollars baby, it's dollars.
Even more importantly, the focus of a genuine art show is not the show, not the promoter, not the charity, not the committee(s), not the media that may or may not cover it, not the sponsors, not the weather, not the side events, not the entertainment, not the dogwalkers, not the food booths, not the people passing out pamphlets, not even the artists . . .
The focus of a genuine art show is the patrons, ie the people that buy art.
Many shows miss one or more of the things I have listed above and then some, but they can and often are still an art show because people are buying art from artists at the art show. It has nothing to do with who the promoter thinks is a troublemaker or not a troublemaker. It has nothing to do with anything other than making sure patrons are buying art from artists. Any promoter that ignores someone because they speak up for themselves, no matter how good the art work is - does not care about the patrons coming to the show and by default does not care about the show in the right priority.
What a fabulous phrase: recovering promoter. Thank you for that. I would like to join your organization of RPs.
Promoters work for more than money, sure it has to be there. But most of the ones I know who work in this business because they also love the art and want to help artists earn a living. I know personally many people who work in this business as art fair organizers. 99% pour their heart and soul into the business just as the artists pour themselves into it. It is not union vs management. It is a partnership and some of them do not get out unscathed. Not to be whiney here...
Terry, the post that disappeared was removed because the person commenting was posting under a pseudonym. No other reason. We require real names in the comments. Plus, the accusations were all false. Leo has it right. It is a well run event, the artists are treated very well. Yes, there was rain last year, but several people told me they would be applying again this year. It did not discourage them. I've known Greg Lawler for over 25 years, since before there was an AFSB. He has done shows for a long time, not too many in recent years, but he still has fine work and can jury into good shows. He does not monkey with the information he receives, in fact, he really tries to assure that he has the most recent data. If you are a show director, he hounds you until you get your show info to him. It is in his best interest to provide reliable data.
I'm curious, what happened to the post about Belleville being a rain-out and Greg Lawler having a booth in the tenderloin of the show? It certainly presents a conflict of interest, legally speaking and it isn't the first I've heard of this behavior. Many artists are aware of it and the relatively low number of applicants to a supposedly #1 ranked show supports that.
Greg Lawler should recuse himself from any future situation that presents a similar conflict of interest or he is compromising the integrity of not only the show but his product, the scourcebook. It's contaminated data- and frankly, his solicitation at the shows is aggressive, predatory and just plain tacky
Terry,
I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate you on your narrow escape, whew that was close! I can't imagine being in a show with such corruption. It could have been horrific. You could have been placed in some deserted parking lot while the likes of those who set show standards are bribed with choices spaces to the benefit of the show. I feel like a fool for having sent in my show data to Greg Lawler on Belleville knowing now that it was all for not... he was BRIBED!, but thank goodness his results on Belleville matched mine.
Your investigation and the conclusions you draw have been enlightening. Thank you for your research and factual data checking. Here's what I learned from your reporting.
* the Belleville director and her staff monkey with the jury results
* Greg Lawler can be bribed for his rankings...
* Tenderloin booth locations are "given" to those who can best benefit the show's status
* jury results are manipulated because the director feel they know what's best for the show
* The show's staff misrepresent their product and steal artist's money
These are gutsy accusations, but then... strange that the accusations you make don't ring true with my experience:
http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/art-on-the-square-bel...
I can certainly empathize with your disappointment, but didn't this all happened within a span of a few hours, hardly time to manipulate result. The fact that some members posting to this thread have received notification when they didn't even apply this year, leads me to believe that this was a snafu and that someone pushed the send button prematurely ( I certainly hate that when it happens to me). Of course what actually happened is not for me to say, I have no idea. I'm sure you have written to the Belleville staff and asked for clarification before going so public with these slanderous accusations.
BTW, there isn't a bad booth spot in all of the Belleville show. There are only 100 or so artists in the entire show. Anyone can purchase a "tenderloin" spot for $550 to $600 but why would you when those booths are maybe five or so booths up from lesser priced booths. All booths get get good traffic. Even in the down pours of last year, I still scored my second best show ever. This show deserves a very high ranking... there is nothing faked about it. BTW, the rankings are tallied by Greg Lawler and not created by him. He remains an artists like you and me and yes he did have a booth at the Belleville show. But then he has been an artist for years even before the Art Fair Source Book.
I cannot help but wonder about your agenda and whether you are who you claim. No matter, I do want to be the first to congratulate you for narrowly escaping such fate with the underworld of art shows.
Leo, that's why I really like you. I love sarcasm!!!
You know, in the eight years that I've been doing shows, I've never known Greg to actually have a booth at a show. He is usually out talking to artists, drumming up business for the sourcebook. He is constantly on the move, and maybe spends a day at a show. Of course, I wasn't at the show, so I can't say for sure that he didn't have a booth. What year was this?
And even if he had a booth at the show, how is this a conflict of interest again? His booth position? Many times, shows put sponsor booths in the thick of things. If he paid for a premium sponsor spot, would that be a conflict of interest, or just jockeying for good retail position? Can you back up your accusation that the data is contaminated, and if so, in what way? Are you implying that the show gave him this spot in exchange for an "enhanced" position in the rankings?
Maybe his solicitation at shows is a bit aggressive. That's a matter of opinion, I guess. All you have to do is say, not, "I'm not interested", and he will move on to the next booth. As we all know, artists are at shows to speak to potential buyers in person. Greg's strategy is no different. And he's not the only vendor that approaches me in my booth -- I get one or two per show, typically. "Not interested", or "I'll speak to you about this after the show -- contact me offline" almost always works.
From what I know about the Belleville show, it arrives at its rankings because the artists are treated very well, the town supports this show with their wallets, and artists come away with full pockets. The ones that I know personally have all done very, very well here. If you've done the show, you may well have had that experience, or not. Since you don't say what your experience with the show is, we can only guess.
So please stop slamming Greg Lawler because the show sent out an erroneous email and corrected it twenty minutes later. The connection is tenuous at best, and your accusation appears to unfounded in truth or fact. I'd love to do this show, as I'm sure you would, as well, to see what the hoopla is all about, and to perhaps come home with some well-earned dollars in my pocket.
Hold on there Connie, we are talking separate issues. Greg Lawler's reputation is one thing and professionalism and fairness of the shows is another. This is about our livelihood and survival and therefore we should be demanding the same level of professionalism from every show that they demand of us. If I had been one of those who had gotten and acceptance I'd be really upset. I might even consult an expert to see if I had a binding contract. I think the only fair solution is to let everyone in who they accepted in the first email along with everyone from the second email. Let the show figure out the logistics. Let the show deal with its lack of professionalism. Who cares who is running their show. I made the mistake of sending my contract and app check late because I was too busy focusing on my Florida trip. They excluded me from jurying even though they had my online application, with images. They had no qualms about excluding me because of my mistake. Why shouldn't they hold themselves to the same standard they expect from us?
C'mon boys and girls, don't you know all promoters are supposed to be perfect? No misteaks are to be made at all. And if they should make a human error, they must be excoriated on artist forums.
Some human made an error. And the professionals among us just deal with it. Nobody's perfect! Should Terry be upset? Sure. But it's not the end of the world. (That's in December.) But to go off on a tangent about how things are 'manipulated" is a bit much.
Everybody knows show rankings are determined by the information given by the exhibitors according to the questions asked. We all know Sunshine Artist ranks it shows on sales numbers, and sales numbers only. A flea market can be in the top 100. And that information is again, determined only by the exhibitors giving SA the information. If a show is 70% B/S and those B/S merchants send in audit cards saying they each made $15,000, guess where that show will be ranked?
As we spend more time in this business we realize nobody's perfect. All promoters are actually human beings, not robots. And errors are made every day. And if we don't like what a promoter does, we just cross them off our list of people we want to do business with. Have no fears, somebody else will gladly be in your spot next year. You're happy you don't have to deal with that promoter's mistakes, and the other exhibitor is happy s/he's doing that particular show.
And life goes on.
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