Call me stupid, I guess, but I took a loss and I’m still undecided about giving it another shot. Okay, so the good things about the show first. The Friday morning set-up was nice. I was there at 7:30 AM and took my time getting set up and was ready by noon and the show didn’t start until 4:00PM. The Friday evening thing sucked, and was pretty much a waste of time as most late Friday shows are. OTOH, I suppose if you’re going to have a Friday set-up, you might as well see if you can squeeze out a sale or two after set-up. Nothing squeezed and I didn’t hear from anyone around me that sold anything on Friday.
The temp on Friday morning was 44 freakin' degrees. Too damned cold for an art fair, although just a few weeks earlier it was 100+ degrees. I made the right call and had packed my Mr. Heater Buddy portable propane heater. Saturday was likewise cold and everyone was shivering. The artists next door to me stopped in a few times and warmed up. It made a big difference and you could feel the warmth as you walked into the booth.
Space was 11x11, and it was tighter than a crab’s butt at six fathoms behind the booth with no place hardly to sit. I got lucky, and the person behind me was in the wrong place and someone with a small tent set up instead who didn’t need any space behind the booth. The 2 feet was dead on though, and just enough to place a lawn chair sideways back there for my wife, and I sat in the doorway in the back. If I got anything out of the tubs in the back, it was a major operation in logistics to remove everything to get to it. Since I didn’t sell much, it was a moot point anyway. With the amount of space available on the street sideways, it would have made much more sense to space the booths further apart and keep the back space the same.
I never did see the promised Porta-Pots and we were told to use restrooms in the restaurants in the area. BW3 and a couple others were okay with it, but one restaurant on the corner closest to me put a sign up that said “No Public Restroom”.
Quality of the work at the show was all over the ballpark with some very good outstanding work and work that looked like trinkets. Funky art, as the name of the show implies, doesn’t have to mean lower quality. I suspect the cachet is also implying lower cost as that seemed to be an issue in many cases on my work, which is mid-priced. I sold a few $80 pieces and mostly $20 pieces, and not enough to total a positive outcome. There weren’t many photographers there which surprised me, and I saw where one photographer was printing movie stills of the Three Stooges. I guess it’s in the public domain so it’s legal, but it still gives me a queasy feeling. I guess if I had to summarize the work at the show, it would be more oriented toward outsider and naïve art rather than traditional modes.
The show has more potential, although the 20 or so commercial vendors at the show are being used as a revenue stream to keep the cost to the artists down. I understand the need, but it still bothers me. On the positive side, they lined the sidewalks and weren’t in the artist’s rows although they were opposite on the street.
Tear down went pretty quickly and I was out in two hours which is fast for me. Artist parking was about 5-6 blocks away if you were on the wrong end of the street as I was. I have a bum knee and an arthritic ankle, so I’m not a fan of hiking particularly when I’m tired. The last day, sorry to say, I said to hell with it as I was losing my shorts and wanted out of there fast and parked up close where we were told not to. I noticed more than a few trailers and big extended vans in there besides mine, so it looked like I wasn’t the only one feeling that way.
Many of the artists around me said they didn’t make expenses, although one photographer said he was doing “okay” whatever that means. Several said they didn’t sell anything and were tremendously bummed out. It looked like you would do okay if it was a local show with no lodging or travel expenses. I would consider trying it one more time, only if I could generate enough bright splashy work with eye-candy appeal to fill a booth.
Comments
Second year, third best show for me, beat the pants off Ann Arbor.
Not buying it (pardon the pun). Less art every year, the downward spiral continues. Two basement waterproofing companies (or was that one with two booths?), Andersen Windows, sunglasses, tied-dyed clothing, trinkets, buy/sell. Calling it "funky" doesn't make it art. Fewer photographers, painters, sculptors, potters, jewelers than ever before. I live here, I was disgusted. Edgy? Where? DIY had some nice stuff but the expectations there are different - it's a "street fair" not an art fair.
The report was for 2011, not 2011. I just reported what I saw.
Hi all, thanks for your feedback. The odd thing is that I am not sure how representational it is. I have on-line surveys that are completely anonymous so there is no incentive to be careful with comments. The majority of the artists complete the surveys. In 2011 over 75% of the artists indicated that they were likely to apply again. Our applications for 2012 reflected that as accurate. This year our surveys are indicating even stronger numbers. High quality artists with edgier work appropriate for a show named funky do very well. By the way I had three experienced artists report that this year that it was their best show ever anywhere. My advice- read the prospectus and information. Talk to artists with similar work to what you do. I don't organize everything for everybody shows, I aim to fill niches that allow artists to shine.
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