Greetings...I'm a newbie to art festivals and have been invited to participate in at least 5 shows this summer 2023. I'm putting together my tent and panels and boxes and framing art and matting art etc..
My question to you veterans is...how do you haul all your gear around to the shows? Will my 2016 Outback Subaru haul my tent, panels, art inventory? How do you get it all from show to show?
Thanks
Meg in Minneapolis
Replies
Unfortunately I'm a bit late to this discussion... I wish I popped in here more often! However, hopefully what I can provide to this discussion will be of help to someone. So we look at every single show we do (my wife is the banker and my show assistant) as a learning experience. Even if we come up with an idea during set up/teardown that saves us a minute or two, we view it as a win. (they add up) After just a few shows, we realize that we're set up much quicker than the last one.
Anyways, at the beginning of last year ('24) I invested in a Franklin 4-in-1 convertable hand truck. It was just under $200.00, and worth many times that amount. W O W... what a time saver - and did it ever make things easier. I am a fine art photographer. I use ProPanels for the walls and their flip bins as well. The hand cart was infinitely better than any prior carts or trollies we used. Nothing slips off, and you always have the power of leverage on your side. I can pull every single wall panel from my truck to the space in just one trip myself. We use stackable clear heavy-duty bins for all our smaller essentials.
The wall hanging prints all travel in their own Gallery pouch behind me in the crew cab. Plenty of space to stack them upright horizontally, with the largest (50-60") pieces furtherst towards the back. All my matted bin works fit nicely into a few canvas travel bags she found online.
I am wondering this same thng. I am a photographer and curious about transporting my artwork. For now i have a 5X8 enclosed trailer that pull behind my van. I have made a cart to hold the artwork, i will post a pic as soon as it is loaded. I am still curious about other ideas.
This picture wouldn't load with the others. There is still room for a 12-pack of Tecate oir Pacifico, a watermelon, a couple plastic bins of groceries and whatever we buy last minute locally.
I have an Outback and an ’88 Suburban. I am leather not 2-D, but principles are the same. Everything in this booth fits in the back of the Suburban loaded to the top including groceries for 3-day/5-night show. Make a cargo barrier so you protect the vehicle cab area from a shifting load above front seat height. Use uniform-size containers that make maximum use of space. I have a “loading map” and series of loading photos to remind myself after 8 months off from shows. There will always be room for improvement. In the Outback, don’t forget the space under the fold down back seat and some space around the spare tire well. Practice your set up before the shows, keep a list and add to it as you learn more about what you need and how to do the job more efficiently. You will be able to hit the hot tub with a beer sooner than folks who try to figure everything out at the show set up.
Richard thank you so much for the advice and the visuals! Yes, once I get all the gear I'll be doing some dry runs in the backyard and I will definitely adopt making a packing map and set up map...if you can transport all the tent gear plus your inventory that includes saddles (beautiful saddles BTW!) my bins of matted and framed photos doesn't seem so daunting. Best wishes for a great season! Meg