Recently I received the following email from Linda Post, who along with her husband Geoffrey, runs the well-regarded Paradise City Art Festivals on the East Coast. There had been some glowing reports on this site about their fall shows and I had written to congratulate her. I have her permission to reprint the following reply:
It does feel like the economy is slowly turning around. Both of our shows this fall (Northampton in October and Marlborough in November) were UP in attendance over last fall, and the majority of the exhibiting artists reported good sales. A number of our regular exhibitors reported their very best Paradise City show ever (this happened at both shows). We are encouraged by both sales reports and gate numbers. For the most part, the show attendance has been holding its own during the past two years. But I must admit that as an organization we have had to be especially proactive to make this happen, spending much more time and money marketing and promoting the shows and being more innovative in attracting new attendees. I think this is true throughout the industry - if you (artists AND show promoters) keep on doing the same thing, you'll see a decline in show attendance and artist sales figures. Many of the artists who do best nowadays are those who introduce fresh new work on a regular basis, or are new to the show.
The reason I am printing this here is that we rarely learn what the show organizers are doing to combat the economic downturn. Not only, of course, are the shows costing the artists more money, they are also costing the promoters more money and work hours.
Have you noticed any other events that are making new efforts to build their audience?
Comments
Well....you could tread lightly as the above recommends. Or you could dive in - - take a chance - -do as all of us have done over the years and see if your work - - well, works in places you have not tried before.
We all did this with these reults...some worked, some did not...some paid huge dividends, some did not. This is what we do.
Katherine... Fall on the East coast? Can you be a little more specific? Around D.C. you might be ok. New York City and other similar places like that might work. I would suggest one show held at the Baltimore Convention Center, but it is during the Spring - February to be more specific put on by the Rosen Group. It is my opinion, and only mine, is that the price range is too high for most places and to REALLY do your homework when choosing shows on the East Coast, if you choose to do so. Some on the East Coast taut as drawing big crowds and "there are a lot of buyers", but I haven't seen it. Some ok ones are in VA like Craftsman Classic, but again don't rely on my thoughts, get others too.
Michelle, By the Bay Botanicals - www.bythebaybotanicals.weebly.com
I live in colorado and am considering going to the East coast this fall. My paintings sell from 1200 to 12000. Do you think there is a market for my price range. I have a great following from doing shows in colorado that live in these areas but don't know what shows would be best. Would like some advice.
Katherine
The show that Michael and I put on is a different type of art fair (www.GarageSaleArtFair.com) but we still have the same issues as the bigger shows.
We finally had to start charging an entry fee but figured out our expenses using EntryThingy and are charging $10. That money will cover the extra expenses of using a "service" and the ongoing charge for keeping the images on our site for a year. I see no reason that this amount will increase unless the service ups their price.
The bulk of our money goes to advertising. TV, print, internet, sometimes radio. This year we're keeping all our normal ads and adding a second TV station, plus more print ads in different areas. We have a new local monthly magazine of things to do that's geared much younger which we're hitting hard as well. As artists, our customer base is aging so we need to attract new audiences as well! So we're doing all we can think of to attract a wide customer base who actually BUY!
I did the Post's Northampton show the first few years of it's existence. They are great shows, well run, and the quality of the work is top rate. I always think about getting back there, again.