There are two reasons I did not attend; firstly timing, secondly cost. I think it would also be nice if Zapp were easier to contact and if they gave artists a place to comment on a show that is falsely and blatantly lying about things such as the attendance of the previous year. I was really angered when I saw this happen and I wanted to shout to the artists their lying don't waste your time and money.
At least here we can give honest reviews.
Connie Mettler > S. Michelle BabcockSeptember 22, 2010 at 4:41pm
From the little contact I have had with Zapp, Michelle, I think you really hit the nail on the head. It would be very useful if there was a give and take on a forum of sorts for Zapp (or maybe there is one???). Or at least a place for FAQ's about tech stuff, because the "tech" is what they have for sale, not the moderating.
But also to reiterate Larry B's point of view - Zapp does not police the events that sign up with them. They simply provide to the artist the information that the show provides them. They are strictly a middleman.
Erin Bassity > Connie MettlerSeptember 23, 2010 at 2:04pm
Hello everyone,
I wanted to take a moment to address some of the comments and questions mentioned here.
ZAPP® has--and always has had--an online forum. Thousands of artists use it frequently to discuss everything from specific shows to image formatting and more. Find it here: http://www.zapplication.org/phorum/.
Regarding the timing issue and topics presented at the conference, we strive to make the ZAPP® conference a high-level professional development opportunity for artists and event administrators in the art fair field. If you have ideas to share regarding a better time of year to hold the event or sessions you'd like to see, we would love to hear them. We created the ZAPP® conference to bring together the art fair field as a community, and while we are only in our second year, we hope to grow the discussion and attendance. Overall, we felt the conference was well attended this year and attendance was generally balanced between artists and administrators. That said, I will repeat the call for ideas about sessions as we would like ensure the conference meets the needs of artists in the field.
Munks, to your point about "some kind of discussion to make things better for all - the shows, the promoters, the show committees and sponsors, the artists, the patrons," that is exactly what was explored and discussed during the State of the Art Fair symposium held on day two of the conference. We agree with you that this topic is crucial to the future of the field. We recorded the discussion and plan to publish and distribute the proceedings from it.
For those of you who may not know, the organization that manages ZAPP® is WESTAF (the Western States Arts Federation), a regional non-profit arts service organization based in Denver, Colorado. WESTAF fulfills its mission to strengthen the financial, organizational, and cultural policy infrastructure of the arts in the West by developing innovative programs and services, technology solutions, funding opportunities, and advocacy services. While the bulk of our cultural policy work is limited to the Western region, our technology services are utilized throughout the country. We now serve artists and events in all 50 states, and some international countries, with our software. To save space on this forum, view our larger mission by clicking here. We are an office of artists and arts administrators, and we attend art shows and understand many of the contemporary challenges faced by artists in the current climate.
Why did we build ZAPP®? In short, to serve the art fair field. About eight years ago, WESTAF was approached by a number of art fairs and artists about developing a “universal” online application for art fairs. Eastman Kodak had recently announced that it would be discontinuing production of slides and slide equipment, so the art fair field was beginning to grapple with this impending transition. WESTAF formed a partnership with seven art fairs to develop and implement what is now known as ZAPP®.
WESTAF also builds systems to serve grantmakers, to allow artists to have online galleries, to serve the public art field, to help arts administrators find jobs, to match up artists and other creative types with people who have space available for creative endeavors, and more. The initial ZAPP® website was built by WESTAF and funded by WESTAF and the ZAPP® partners. Subsequent enhancements and the management of ZAPP® are funded by the fees events pay to use the system. The site’s functionality has always been updated based on the feedback we receive (and solicit) from artists and event administrators. Our mission with regard to technology is to build systems that help artists and administrators do their work more efficiently and effectively, and we strive to give the arts field a voice in its technological future.
Because we are a provider of software, we recommend that all of our users adhere to best practices, but we cannot dictate specific policies to the field. It is most definitely a fine line, but we follow it because events are autonomous entities that use our software to streamline their process. The system has been built to allow events to use it in a way that conforms with their process--we do not impose a process upon them. We work with our seven art show partners and our artist advisory committee to continually enhance the ZAPP® system to best serve all artists and event administrators who use it. With regard to questions about the jury process, the ZAPP® jury module allows event administrators to set their jury process and scoring scale in the system. Administrators are then responsible for giving jurors access to the scorecard or image slideshow based on their individual processes for jurying images. ZAPP® encourages events to be transparent about their jury process, and we will continue to do so.
With regard to conference cost, we understand. Unfortunately, it costs money to attend any conference, trade show, or art show. The conference is structured to be a break even event and few presenters receive a fee for their services.
I hope this clears up any mysteries or rumors about ZAPP®, WESTAF, or the conference itself. Again, we are sincere in our invitation to you all to share your ideas with us so that we can make the conference even better next year.
Thank you and please feel free to send any comments/questions my way!
Best,
Erin B.
ZAPP® Team
Erin Bassity > Erin BassitySeptember 23, 2010 at 2:55pm
Our mission is found at westaf.org/about.php, not sure why the link isn't working in my post! Thx, Erin
Excuse me folks -- why does this have to be snide and vituperative? Encouraging conversation does not require intimidating or personal attacks.
How is this contributing to our networking function? Who will want to wade into these discussions? Good points are made by all, no doubt about it, but the vociferousness is self-defeating to the mission of this website. Are you trying to kill off the site?
I simply wanted feedback on the conference...
Munks > Connie MettlerSeptember 22, 2010 at 2:51pm
I want to go on record as not trying to kill off this site - never, ever.
The question was regarding feedback on the conference. It was then illustrated that there were few artistis involved in the conference this year and as I understand it, off from last year which was not a banner year.
Points were then made that people need to be more involved, understand the process, and so forth. I would love to see 10, 20, 30, 100 people jump in and be involved. Right here on this thread.
My point was that people (artists) are suspicious, skeptical, and yes - probably ignorant of the event and the motives behind it. It was also a horrible time to expect artists to participate. To go even further, I for one am in no way impressed with going to listen to
Bruce Baker and Larry Berman speak. Sorry, it just doesn't work for me. I know I am not alone - the draw just isn't there. Bring in an artists that make 10k+ at each show (or one that can snort a teaspoon of wasabi and live to tell about it) and I'll be there, front and center.
Nonetheless, the interest among the artists is not there for various reasons.
One thing I do agree with Holly on - I would like to see less apathy and more particpation in some kind of discussion to make things better for all - the shows, the promoters, the show committees and sponsors, the artists, the patrons. I do not believe funding a union is part of that equation.
Still, a few things would be nice. We know the event was not well-attended, but I would like to know some basics. Maybe these basics will help answer "how the conference went". I wold like to know:
Who is WESTAF really? Are they publicly funded? Are they a union? An organization of - what? Exactly why did they make Zapp? How is Zapp funded? Why is Zapp in charge of the process, but accepts no responsibility for shows that do not live up to what they advertise on Zapp? Why is Zapp directly or indirectly advocating such a standardized jury system? Does pre-jurying occur? Is the jury process standardized? Why or why not? Exactly what is the NAIA? What do they want to do? Why do they exist and why should they be supported?
I could go on with questions for literally days. But I'm and artist and a gallery owner trying to earn a living. I don't have the time or interest to go listen to Bruce Baker or anyone else. I will sit down and read answers to basic questions about these organizations and why I should or should not support them. We don't need a conference to receive relevant, usable, information about these organizations, their goals, their activities, and so forth - a simple email or website posting with a question and answer forum will do the trick and the rate of participation will skyrocket over a conference in Denver or St. Louis in the middle of the show season.
Just some thoughts from a selfish guy - if these follow-up points and questions are inappropriate to ask and reflect on in this thread - I do truly apologize to you, Larry, and um, Holly too.
Whistling "L'Internationale" as I stroll past my comrades, the proletariat down the street to the studio. Stopping to purchase an overly ripe apple from a patriotic little girl selling them at co-op prices to benefit the state, I quietly thank the state for the free health care this little girl and I get to enjoy because of all the progressive thinking going on in our perfect world.
I then went to my studio, read the latest news on the telemonitor, participated in the "2 Minute Hate", and then opened this thread. Joyfully I read Holly's admonition to artists to work more cooperatively for their industry. "Yes" I thought, "Yes, Holly's right - artists cannot succeed by the sweat of their own brow and the incredible risk they take to earn a living as artists. Their freedom to make statements with their work gets in the way of what's best for the society. Many lower so-called artists working in the Re-Education Camps thought they could think for themselves. Soon they will understand and maybe even join us at the next NAIA meeting. Sitting back I reflected on how much easier it is now that the NAIA has each artist in the country on their roster, stamps approved works of art as inspected and passed by the NAIA, and endorses all lawful art fairs and festivals in the nation. I feel so much better knowing that the NAIA has their loving arms wrapped around me ever since I, a former member of the bourgeoisie was admitted into the glorious ranks of the NAIA to benefit the party. I cannot wait to provide my free works to the NAIA this year! After all I used to be an artist that didn't think cooperatively and I was an obstacle to the success of standardizing art in the country, but now I realize how selfish and conceited I was to think of my work ahead of the collective, I've learned to be more......
.... and then I woke up screaming - drenched in tears and sweat - and realized it was just another nightmare starring - (who else?) Holly! Thank goodness we will never be at the mercy of an organization that claims to know what is best for us as artists. There will never be an attempt to standardize and approve art. After all, ANY arts organization that would schedule any kind of artist conference for any time in the summer (when artists are producing, traveling, working) would not have their own interests and agendi at heart would they? Any arts organization that is not supported by artists for as many reasons are there are stars in the sky will never gain power and influence the art world in this county would they?
Or would they?
Shiver - there is a cold wind out there on this September day.
Artists need their own conference that can address their issues and give them information that can improve their chances of getting into the better shows. That's the basis of my presentation. They also need to see their images projected along side their competitor's images so they understand which direction to go on improving their presentation. One of the most important parts of the past artist conferences was the mock jury.
The scheduling of the speakers for the ZAPP conference was the kiss of death for bringing in more artist attendees. The presentation Bruce and I gave should have been scheduled on Monday, preferably in the morning so as to catch the artists in town for the show. But by Tuesday they had already left town either to go home or on to the next show.
Holly already tried to start a review of the conference thread but no one responded. I apologize to Holly for posting here instead of her thread but I've been really busy with the deadlines coming up this week.
Here's my short response.
There were a few artists there. All the discussions were interesting this year as compared to last years snoozers, at least from an artist perspective. There was an interesting discussion about the future of art fairs but I did one on one consultations in the lobby for most of the morning so I missed most of it.
I think ZAPP had the audio recorded for most of the conference and I think that would be interesting if they make it available. They did not record the session that Bruce Baker and I did. Additionally they projected the images at lunch on Tuesday but the artists that contributed to the projection thought that their images would be critiqued but there was no provision for that. Next year's conference should probably have an entire day for images and include a mock jury. Also, three hours is too short a time for both Bruce and myself. We each could have easily used up three hours.
Larry Oliverson and Shary Brown spoke about the art show he did in Japan. The Japanese visited Ann Arbor and invited a number of artists. They arranged for transportation of the artwork and gave them a place to stay.
The key note speaker was from Sotheby's and spoke about the difference between selling from a gallery vs. selling direct like we do at art shows.
I hope ZAPP figures out that they need to charge the artists approximately 1/3 of what they charge show directors and staff if they want artists at their next conference.
The highlight for me was the educational program that Les Slesnick put together for local art students. Instead of just having them do the physical work for artists, they were introduced to the entire concept of art shows. He asked me do a 90 minute presentation on what makes good and bad jury slides.
Replies
I don't know where you are getting an idea like that from, Dumplin'.
At least here we can give honest reviews.
But also to reiterate Larry B's point of view - Zapp does not police the events that sign up with them. They simply provide to the artist the information that the show provides them. They are strictly a middleman.
I wanted to take a moment to address some of the comments and questions mentioned here.
ZAPP® has--and always has had--an online forum. Thousands of artists use it frequently to discuss everything from specific shows to image formatting and more. Find it here: http://www.zapplication.org/phorum/.
Regarding the timing issue and topics presented at the conference, we strive to make the ZAPP® conference a high-level professional development opportunity for artists and event administrators in the art fair field. If you have ideas to share regarding a better time of year to hold the event or sessions you'd like to see, we would love to hear them. We created the ZAPP® conference to bring together the art fair field as a community, and while we are only in our second year, we hope to grow the discussion and attendance. Overall, we felt the conference was well attended this year and attendance was generally balanced between artists and administrators. That said, I will repeat the call for ideas about sessions as we would like ensure the conference meets the needs of artists in the field.
Munks, to your point about "some kind of discussion to make things better for all - the shows, the promoters, the show committees and sponsors, the artists, the patrons," that is exactly what was explored and discussed during the State of the Art Fair symposium held on day two of the conference. We agree with you that this topic is crucial to the future of the field. We recorded the discussion and plan to publish and distribute the proceedings from it.
For those of you who may not know, the organization that manages ZAPP® is WESTAF (the Western States Arts Federation), a regional non-profit arts service organization based in Denver, Colorado. WESTAF fulfills its mission to strengthen the financial, organizational, and cultural policy infrastructure of the arts in the West by developing innovative programs and services, technology solutions, funding opportunities, and advocacy services. While the bulk of our cultural policy work is limited to the Western region, our technology services are utilized throughout the country. We now serve artists and events in all 50 states, and some international countries, with our software. To save space on this forum, view our larger mission by clicking here. We are an office of artists and arts administrators, and we attend art shows and understand many of the contemporary challenges faced by artists in the current climate.
Why did we build ZAPP®? In short, to serve the art fair field. About eight years ago, WESTAF was approached by a number of art fairs and artists about developing a “universal” online application for art fairs. Eastman Kodak had recently announced that it would be discontinuing production of slides and slide equipment, so the art fair field was beginning to grapple with this impending transition. WESTAF formed a partnership with seven art fairs to develop and implement what is now known as ZAPP®.
WESTAF also builds systems to serve grantmakers, to allow artists to have online galleries, to serve the public art field, to help arts administrators find jobs, to match up artists and other creative types with people who have space available for creative endeavors, and more. The initial ZAPP® website was built by WESTAF and funded by WESTAF and the ZAPP® partners. Subsequent enhancements and the management of ZAPP® are funded by the fees events pay to use the system. The site’s functionality has always been updated based on the feedback we receive (and solicit) from artists and event administrators. Our mission with regard to technology is to build systems that help artists and administrators do their work more efficiently and effectively, and we strive to give the arts field a voice in its technological future.
Because we are a provider of software, we recommend that all of our users adhere to best practices, but we cannot dictate specific policies to the field. It is most definitely a fine line, but we follow it because events are autonomous entities that use our software to streamline their process. The system has been built to allow events to use it in a way that conforms with their process--we do not impose a process upon them. We work with our seven art show partners and our artist advisory committee to continually enhance the ZAPP® system to best serve all artists and event administrators who use it. With regard to questions about the jury process, the ZAPP® jury module allows event administrators to set their jury process and scoring scale in the system. Administrators are then responsible for giving jurors access to the scorecard or image slideshow based on their individual processes for jurying images. ZAPP® encourages events to be transparent about their jury process, and we will continue to do so.
With regard to conference cost, we understand. Unfortunately, it costs money to attend any conference, trade show, or art show. The conference is structured to be a break even event and few presenters receive a fee for their services.
I hope this clears up any mysteries or rumors about ZAPP®, WESTAF, or the conference itself. Again, we are sincere in our invitation to you all to share your ideas with us so that we can make the conference even better next year.
Thank you and please feel free to send any comments/questions my way!
Best,
Erin B.
ZAPP® Team
How is this contributing to our networking function? Who will want to wade into these discussions? Good points are made by all, no doubt about it, but the vociferousness is self-defeating to the mission of this website. Are you trying to kill off the site?
I simply wanted feedback on the conference...
The question was regarding feedback on the conference. It was then illustrated that there were few artistis involved in the conference this year and as I understand it, off from last year which was not a banner year.
Points were then made that people need to be more involved, understand the process, and so forth. I would love to see 10, 20, 30, 100 people jump in and be involved. Right here on this thread.
My point was that people (artists) are suspicious, skeptical, and yes - probably ignorant of the event and the motives behind it. It was also a horrible time to expect artists to participate. To go even further, I for one am in no way impressed with going to listen to
Bruce Baker and Larry Berman speak. Sorry, it just doesn't work for me. I know I am not alone - the draw just isn't there. Bring in an artists that make 10k+ at each show (or one that can snort a teaspoon of wasabi and live to tell about it) and I'll be there, front and center.
Nonetheless, the interest among the artists is not there for various reasons.
One thing I do agree with Holly on - I would like to see less apathy and more particpation in some kind of discussion to make things better for all - the shows, the promoters, the show committees and sponsors, the artists, the patrons. I do not believe funding a union is part of that equation.
Still, a few things would be nice. We know the event was not well-attended, but I would like to know some basics. Maybe these basics will help answer "how the conference went". I wold like to know:
Who is WESTAF really? Are they publicly funded? Are they a union? An organization of - what? Exactly why did they make Zapp? How is Zapp funded? Why is Zapp in charge of the process, but accepts no responsibility for shows that do not live up to what they advertise on Zapp? Why is Zapp directly or indirectly advocating such a standardized jury system? Does pre-jurying occur? Is the jury process standardized? Why or why not? Exactly what is the NAIA? What do they want to do? Why do they exist and why should they be supported?
I could go on with questions for literally days. But I'm and artist and a gallery owner trying to earn a living. I don't have the time or interest to go listen to Bruce Baker or anyone else. I will sit down and read answers to basic questions about these organizations and why I should or should not support them. We don't need a conference to receive relevant, usable, information about these organizations, their goals, their activities, and so forth - a simple email or website posting with a question and answer forum will do the trick and the rate of participation will skyrocket over a conference in Denver or St. Louis in the middle of the show season.
Just some thoughts from a selfish guy - if these follow-up points and questions are inappropriate to ask and reflect on in this thread - I do truly apologize to you, Larry, and um, Holly too.
I then went to my studio, read the latest news on the telemonitor, participated in the "2 Minute Hate", and then opened this thread. Joyfully I read Holly's admonition to artists to work more cooperatively for their industry. "Yes" I thought, "Yes, Holly's right - artists cannot succeed by the sweat of their own brow and the incredible risk they take to earn a living as artists. Their freedom to make statements with their work gets in the way of what's best for the society. Many lower so-called artists working in the Re-Education Camps thought they could think for themselves. Soon they will understand and maybe even join us at the next NAIA meeting. Sitting back I reflected on how much easier it is now that the NAIA has each artist in the country on their roster, stamps approved works of art as inspected and passed by the NAIA, and endorses all lawful art fairs and festivals in the nation. I feel so much better knowing that the NAIA has their loving arms wrapped around me ever since I, a former member of the bourgeoisie was admitted into the glorious ranks of the NAIA to benefit the party. I cannot wait to provide my free works to the NAIA this year! After all I used to be an artist that didn't think cooperatively and I was an obstacle to the success of standardizing art in the country, but now I realize how selfish and conceited I was to think of my work ahead of the collective, I've learned to be more......
.... and then I woke up screaming - drenched in tears and sweat - and realized it was just another nightmare starring - (who else?) Holly! Thank goodness we will never be at the mercy of an organization that claims to know what is best for us as artists. There will never be an attempt to standardize and approve art. After all, ANY arts organization that would schedule any kind of artist conference for any time in the summer (when artists are producing, traveling, working) would not have their own interests and agendi at heart would they? Any arts organization that is not supported by artists for as many reasons are there are stars in the sky will never gain power and influence the art world in this county would they?
Or would they?
Shiver - there is a cold wind out there on this September day.
Shiver.
The scheduling of the speakers for the ZAPP conference was the kiss of death for bringing in more artist attendees. The presentation Bruce and I gave should have been scheduled on Monday, preferably in the morning so as to catch the artists in town for the show. But by Tuesday they had already left town either to go home or on to the next show.
Larry Berman
Digital J u r y Services
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
Here's my short response.
There were a few artists there. All the discussions were interesting this year as compared to last years snoozers, at least from an artist perspective. There was an interesting discussion about the future of art fairs but I did one on one consultations in the lobby for most of the morning so I missed most of it.
I think ZAPP had the audio recorded for most of the conference and I think that would be interesting if they make it available. They did not record the session that Bruce Baker and I did. Additionally they projected the images at lunch on Tuesday but the artists that contributed to the projection thought that their images would be critiqued but there was no provision for that. Next year's conference should probably have an entire day for images and include a mock jury. Also, three hours is too short a time for both Bruce and myself. We each could have easily used up three hours.
Larry Oliverson and Shary Brown spoke about the art show he did in Japan. The Japanese visited Ann Arbor and invited a number of artists. They arranged for transportation of the artwork and gave them a place to stay.
The key note speaker was from Sotheby's and spoke about the difference between selling from a gallery vs. selling direct like we do at art shows.
I hope ZAPP figures out that they need to charge the artists approximately 1/3 of what they charge show directors and staff if they want artists at their next conference.
The highlight for me was the educational program that Les Slesnick put together for local art students. Instead of just having them do the physical work for artists, they were introduced to the entire concept of art shows. He asked me do a 90 minute presentation on what makes good and bad jury slides.
Larry Berman
Digital J u r y Services
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100