And when I awoke, I thought today might be a GOOD day ..... then, as I sat down at the computer to check to see if I have again won some unheard of lottery in Europe worth $27 million, or some unknown citizen in China died and my name was randomly selected to receive the $17.3 million in his account ..... sadly, not there. What was there makes me massively depressed. To read the little blurb from the e-mail I received this morning as did most all of you from ZAPPlication regarding their upcoming 4th annual art festival conference (I can't event bring myself to capitalize the letters as they did, given how disgusted I feel with the e-mail).
In this world, as many here have posted, of how shows seems to be failing, applications down, jury and booth costs spiraling upwards, quality of work declining, buy-sell becoming more prevalent, the dysfunction of the jurors and jury process, show costs going up, fewer people buying, the inability to get back into shows were we sell well (because of the jurors and jury process) and the voice of the public almost never heard in the decisions about a show ..... I become momentarily transfixed as I read this in their e-mail flyer:
"You don’t want to miss out on these great sessions. Register now!
Once again, the fourth annual Arts Festival Conference, presented by ZAPP® boasts an exciting lineup of speakers and session topics to benefit the arts festival community. Below are two of our favorites.
For your admins...
Ingenious Innovation: What Shows Do Right
Experimentation, transformation, innovation––all can support the evolution of arts festivals. By identifying and effectively using novel consumer-focused means (like QR code scavenger hunts, creation stories, fashion pavilions, and personal shoppers), events are poised to use interactive, participatory marketing and partner with artists to continue success. Shows that actively partner with artists via receptions, open jury processes, poster contests, and artist appreciation, and those actively promoting their artists using galleries, poster signings, meet-the-artist events, among other ideas, build healthy engagement with both the artists and the community."
"Ingenious Innovation". Hmmmm. Yes, a few shows and directors have from time-to-time shown innovation. As a marketplace? Get real. QR code scavenger hunts? Creation stories? Fashion pavillions? Personal shoppers?
Is it just me that is having this knee-jerk reaction to thinking that ZAPP out-of-touch with reality and sadly detached from what we are experiencing these days? They seem to be inserting themselves as qualified to make suggestions about how to improve art festivals.
If they ARE going to insert themselves in such a role, it seems there are potentially far more important and compelling issues out there to be discussed. As opposed to focusing on the fundamentals: advertising, promotion, no dead spots in the shows where artists receive but a fraction of the traffic flow, advertising, promotion, sponsorship, dates of their event, location of their event, advertising, promotion, how to focus on buyers not bodies, how to focus on interior design people buying for clients, on focusing on corporate buyers and getting them to the event, on advertising, promotion (did I say those already?). Or the emergence of social media and how it can be effectively used. Or the general concept of the value of QR codes.
Really! Can we not as an industry do better?
Replies
After reading zapp's response, if nothing else, they are very good at pr mumbo jumbo.
At least the conference is in Chicago. Our budget deficit is so bad that we need the hotel taxes.
Hello Ron,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the Ingenious Innovation session scheduled for our upcoming conference. We wanted to chime in to clarify a few things about ZAPP® and some of the goals of the annual conference.
The ZAPP® system is run in partnership with seven major art shows and one cultural organization and is managed by WESTAF, the Western States Arts Federation. WESTAF developed the ZAPP® system to to support the ongoing professionalization of the art show field through our technology, and now also through the conferences and social media. WESTAF regularly convenes experts and leaders to address critical issues affecting arts and culture. As part of our mission and service to the field, in 2009 we began convening an annual ZAPP-related conference.
These conferences provide an opportunity to reflect on relevant issues in the art fair field and expand the acquaintance of national and international discussions of the field with fellow practitioners. The partners’ position on improvements to the field has always been to encourage discussion, showcase best practices, and work to increase the professional standing of all shows. The conference serves as part of this effort. The conference sessions and theme are designed to not only encourage a dialogue around the current state of the art fair field but also to convene leaders in the field around new topics and trends. Each year, the programming is designed to integrate fundamentals with new ways to think about our work and our field, something that any industry must do in order to stay meaningful and dynamic.
One piece of this session description that was left out of your analysis relates to how shows partner with and treat their artists. Attracting and interacting with and patrons is only one piece of this session’s programming as it is only one piece of creating a successful event. Without the artists, and a positive relationship between the artists and the show, the event cannot be seen as a success.
Again, thank you for posting so I could tell you more about the goals of WESTAF and ZAPP® in providing these unique professional development opportunities to the art fair and festival field. If you have additional suggestions for this or for future conference sessions, I welcome topic and speaker ideas at ContactZAPP@westaf.org.
Best,
Leah Charney, Manager of ZAPP®