How can this be?
- A craft show rated by Sunshine Artist as #4 in the nation based on survey-reported revenue alone is still begging for applications less than two months before the show. (Craftsmen’s Classic in Chantilly)
- Another art show, reported by Sunshine Artists surveys to be almost impossible to make any profit at (1/3 of the respondents reported revenues of less than $2000, and almost all of the respondents reported revenues of less than $5000), is widely reported be to almost impossible to be accepted at. (Coconut Grove)
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I started a second blog, called “A Modest Proposal”, proposing how to remedy the situation we are discussing here. The time has come to vote on that proposal.
Please vote for “A modest proposal” by clicking the “Like” button just below the blog of that proposal (not this blog) if you like the concept and think we should proceed with it. If we get enough votes, I will proceed and draft a letter along the lines in the proposal. If not, I will chalk it up as a very interesting and enlightening discussion and take no further action.
Part of the concept is that this should come from the AFI community as a whole, so a significant vote is required to proceed.
Lynnea you are so right. I'm thinking that people are seeing the numbers at art shows and thinking, "I could do this." 150 x $150 is $22,500. If you don't spend any money on advertising and a couple thousand dollars on your site, you've had a pretty good weekend. Who cares if the artists don't come back...you can get new ones next time! Now we all know that wouldn't work in the long run, but it may be the thinking of some of these folks who are misleading us.
it is pretty difficult when you ask the right questions and the promoter flat out lies to you. I was just at an event this year like that.. yes it was a small local event, and not a high booth fee. I should have known when I pulled up and was moved to a secondary area not to even unpack. I have NEVER left a show early.... until this one. After about 5 hours and that many customers in the entire show I looked at my husband and said .. go get the car. I think other vendors were waiting for someone to be the first so I claimed that prize. Once we started it was like a race to see who could leave fastest.
Well, the 25 people who did show up to wander through the tents appeared to find art itself a new concept. So perhaps we performed a public service. My favorite comment was a photographer who said the public was all "whistling gophers." ?? "What's that go-fer?" When you tell them......they emit a low whistle (of shock). So, these "worst shows ever" serve some purpose, if only humor!
Omgosh Carol, that has to be the worst I have yet to hear!
Unfortunately, the show can rightfully say it was "nationally ranked," without saying what rank, or when. It's up to us to do due diligence, but as this discussion indicates, that is often difficult.
I did a show a couple years ago in north FL which was completely misrepresented. They got a great group of artists to come because it was on our way to other shows the following weekend. The "upscale shopping center" was a Sears parking lot. The "significant advertising" was a 1" ad in a free paper, and the "high traffic area" was literally "high traffic:" the highway next to the parking lot handled 30K cars a day so they had a sandwich board out there saying "art show." Yup, that's gonna work! Not only did none of us go back, but the majority of the artists were gone by mid-afternoon Sunday. (Many had either not set up at all after seeing the situation, or packed up after Saturday.) The promoters made their money, of course, but the following year when they were getting ready to do the same thing in different towns, Connie called them and told them our stories and they, essentially, folded their tents and walked away from it.
Most of the participants were seasoned pros who would never leave a show early, and we still talk about that one whenever we cross paths. We should all put together a book = "Worst Shows EVER!" - we could change the names to avoid liability, but it might keep things in perspective when we're having rough days. :-)
Carol, it was a few years ago when I did it. Maybe it's #53 now because artists weren't going back….Needless to say, I didn't...
Karen, this show was #53 in 2013, not even close to the Top Ten. It should be interesting to see how it rates after your experience.
I am reposting this from my bio page- the worst show ever- indicative of one way that these shows get rated highly in Sunshine Artist...
Stone Harbor NJ
Promoters pretended to be trying to weed out buy/sell by subjecting artists to sending in 7 different kinds of proof that they created their art. I say pretended, because after ponying up the $300 booth fee and sitting in a boiling baseball field for 8 hours amid so much buy sell/ that many artists packed up and left and didn't come back the second day. the promoters were never seen during the whole 2 days until the very end when they were handing out the audit cards for Sunshine Artist Magazine.I guess it got rated in their top ten from all the buy/sell people filling them out.
You certainly will not get what you don't ask for. I'm suggesting that we ask, and reward the ones that comply.
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