Blog

**A Month Full of Art Fairs
News from photographer Evan Reinheimer -- After so many cancelations over the past year, it's exciting to see that I have a full month of art festivals planned for February!

It all starts this weekend (Feb. 6 & 7) in Fort Myers, FL at Art Fest Ft. Myers. The festival is open 9am-5pm on Saturday and then again on Sunday from 9am-4pm. It takes place in downtown Ft. Myers, right along the river. You can find me and my artwork in booth 329, near the Look Out Pier on Hendry St. The GPS address for the festival is 1375 Monroe Street; Fort Myers, FL. 

Learn more: EvanReinheimer.docx

**Clyde Butcher. Do any art fair artists ever "make it big?" Well yes, Virginia, quite a few do. It doesn't happen over night, but because entrepreneurial and creative people are drawn to the art fair opportunity, many of them keep scrambling and trying new things to see what works. 

One of them is Clyde Butcher. We first met Clyde in the early 80's. We did shows together for years and visited one another between shows. He'd recently moved from California to Florida and was trying to turn his photography into a way to support his family. He would show up with color photos, black and white photos, kept trying to see what would click with the buyers.

His love was landscape photography and he fell in love with the Everglades. His lucky break was being able to buy a piece of land deep in the Everglades, rarely available, where he and his wife Niki (also a photographer) built The Big Cypress Gallery. The rest is history ... gallery exhibitions, collectors, honors and awards.

More: https://www.aarp.org/work/working-at-50-plus/info-2020/

**GULFPORT, FL — First Friday Art Walk returns to downtown Gulfport this Friday, Feb. 5 with nearly 20 of the region's most innovative emerging and professional artists showing and selling their creations along the stores, restaurants and galleries on scenic Beach Boulevard. The event runs from 5 to 9 p.m. and is hosted by the Gulfport Merchants Chamber.

**From Sunday Minnich at the Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras in Morgan Hill, CA:

With the uncertainty of holding large events due and evolving developments with COVID-19, and taking into consideration the scope of work, size, attendance and the upfront costs of the Festival, it is with a heavy heart that the Board of Directors of the Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras, Inc. have made the decision to cancel the 2021 festival and are optimistically planning it’s return May 28-29, 2022. www.mhmmg.org

**Real vs Virtual Art Sales, how's it going? How buying art went digital and why it won't go back

Mike Steib, CEO of Artsy says, "I think two things have happened during the pandemic. The first is that more people have become interested in bringing art into their lives, and second, Artsy has made it possible for those people to come into the art world, to discover what they would love to buy.

"The percentage of revenue that galleries are generating online has tripled in the last six months," Steib said. "I've never seen an industry go back once it's becoming digitized. This [was] the year that the art world [became] digital." 

Interested in what he has observed? https://businessinsider.com/MikeSteib

Do you have any news you'd like to share? Send it to us: info@artfaircalendar.com

October 5 - 7
Louisville, KY
Presented By: St. James Court Art Show Inc.
700 Artists

Deadline: April 15

Application Fee: $40   Booth Fee: $575 

More than 700 fine artists and craftspeople from throughout North America converge the first full weekend of October for the Saint James Court Art Show. Ranked in the top ten fine art and craft shows in the country by the industry's Sunshine Artist Magazine, this autumn tradition draws over 100,000 visitors every year who come to purchase unique handcrafted items directly from the hands that crafted them. 

The show is held in the heart of historic Old Louisville, which boasts the largest collection of Victorian homes in the country. Old Louisville is an elegant backdrop for this display of fine arts and crafts, which will be exhibited and sold along Saint James Court, Belgravia Court, Magnolia Avenue, and the adjacent blocks of Third and Fourth Streets. 

Event organizers work diligently to cater to all artistic preferences and budgets. The result is a tasteful selection of high-quality original works that include paintings, sculpture, pottery, leather and woodcrafts, photography, textiles, glass art and other fine arts. Proceeds from the show fund various community charities, art scholarships and neighborhood maintenance and restoration. 

Admission is free, and the event is held rain or shine. No pets please.

Testimonials: Insider Louisville called it "The MacDaddy of all art shows"
 
Marketing:
Our artists are important to us. We work hard all year long to make sure Louisville knows you are going to be here the 1st weekend of October. Our annual marketing plan includes Louisville Magazine, Kentucky Monthly, Nashville Arts, Playbill Cincinnati, StyleBlueprint, ArtFairCalendar.com, Insider Louisville, Ad Network Kentucky, Art FM WXOX 97.1 FM, WAVE 3 TV, Facebook, Instagram, and subscriber based e-newsletters.

Please note:

The show is comprised of 6 sections which operate simultaneously and contiguously. St. James is the original show and hosts 250 of the 700 total number of artists. You may apply to as many sections as you wish, but can only accept an invitation to participate in ONE section in a given show year. At this time there are several ways to apply to the 2018 show depending on which section of the show you would like to participate in. 

Which Section should I apply to?
All 6 areas have good traffic flow. When a patron comes to the Art Show they don't really know when they are walking from one section into another. We don't advertise the different sections to the public. There are several differences that I like to tell artists about. You are welcome to call me and I can explain further. 

Applications:

4 sections are listed on Zapplication and only take digital images and applications through Zapp, http://zapplication.org. The other 2 sections, West End Baptist Church and 1300 Association only take paper applications which can be downloaded on our web site under "Exhibitors". 

I was wait listed for this show. In my category, wearable fiber I was number 9 on the list. I was still on the list as I headed off to do the Bellevue Art Museum Show. Since my husband was working in  San Francisco I was already planning on heading there after the show for a little R & R. As, I was waiting  at Southwest Air for my position I got the call that there was a cancellation and if wanted it the space was mine. WELL, since I was already going to San Francisco I figured,  might as well, As they say no rest for the weary. 

This show takes place in Fort Warden in San Francisco. A really beautiful location, right on the water. You can see the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz. It being August, it is pretty cool in SF, so I figured my wool would be well received. The show is big but not huge, a little over 200 artists, so it is an easy show to walk. The lay out is great for the artists, everyone gets space behind their tent for storage. Load in, it couldn't have been easier. You could set up either Wednesday or Thursday all day or both days. No rush. You were not allowed to drive into the venue, but you could park within 10 feet to unload and they had dollies there for your use. Not a lot of amenities for the artists, though they did have a Scotch Whiskey tasting for us on Saturday night. They also did not have a lot of booth sitters so doing this show on my own was pretty tiring.

Friday was a long day, 10 - 8:30, but worth it. All my artwear ladies came out. I was really feeling and receiving the love. Saturday was another really good day, but on Sunday, it was if the plug was pulled. It did turn out to be profitable show for me but I could have napped all day Sunday.  Breakdown was equally as easy and the show ended at 5 and we were packed and gone by 7. It did help that I was renting pipe and drape, I shipped my fixtures and garments and then shipped them back.

This is a beautiful show, with a lot of really incredible artists. It is such and honor to be part of this tribe. No matter what show I have done, I have met some pretty amazing, talented and generous people. It is a lot of hard work and not always as profitable as I would like, but it is the best job I have ever had and am very grateful to be able to participate.