I AM REWARDED AGAIN!!!!!!! Sorry about shouting but I am so excited that I am a winner. I have always felt rewarded with all the wonderful info here at Art Fair Insiders but to find I was rewarded again with free booth space at Sandy Springs...WOW!!! My donation was nothing compared with what I get from everyone here. Thanks Connie and everyone who posts the helpful information here!!!!
Winners (7)
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 5:30 PM ET
ArtFairCalendar.com has just finished its 1st annual "America's Best Art Fairs" survey and we are announcing the winners on this podcast.
We asked our mailing list of nearly 50,000 art fair patrons what was the best art fair in the country and had an amazing response from across the nation. Nearly 96% completed the lengthy 22 question survey and the answers were both expected and intriguing.
Not surprising: people love to attend art fairs and many travel long distances to do so and plan them as part of their vacations. The overall conclusion is: Art is Alive and Well in America and attendance at the nations shows is proof.
Listen to find out what are the Top 50 shows in the country as voted on by the people who attend them and collect art. Find out which they have chosen as the best regional fairs, best urban fair, bestt small market show and the best cities for art fairs.
We'll share the survey answers on:
- what makes a show "Best"
- why people say they attend an art fair
- how art fair goers find out about shows to attend
- why they don't attend shows they used to love
- how far they travel to art fairs
- their suggestions for show organizers
LISTEN BY CLICKING HERE: www.ArtFairRadio.com
CALL IN WITH COMMENTS & QUESTIONS: 805-243-1338
The Best Art Fairs Awards is the first national online survey of the nation’s juried fairs, designed to reward those festivals that create opportunities connecting artists and communities to celebrate the arts.
The mission of ArtFairCalendar.com is to promote the American tradition of art fairs by showcasing the events where art collectors can find hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind fine art pieces for sale by the professional artist community and encourage the interaction of client and creator.
Here are the first 25 winners - congratulations to them!
Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, Winter Park, FL - March 21-23, 2014
Old Town Art Fair, Chicago, IL - June 14-15, 2014
Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original, Ann Arbor, MI - July 16-19, 2014
Des Moines Arts Festival, Des Moines, IA - June 27-29, 2014
Coconut Grove Arts Festival, Miami, FL - February 15-17, 2014
La Quinta Arts Festival, La Quinta, CA - March 6-9, 2014
One of a Kind Show and Sale, Chicago, IL - December 5-8, 2013
Krasl Art Fair, St. Joseph, MI - July 12-14, 2014
American Craft Exposition, Evanston, IL - August 22-24, 2014
Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, CO - July 4-6, 2014
Port Clinton Art Festival, Highland Park, IL - August 23 & 24, 2014
Sausalito Arts Festival, Sausalito, CA - August 30 - Sept. 1, 2014
Mount Dora Art Festival, Mount Dora, FL - Feb. 1 & 2, 2014
Columbus Arts Festival, Columbus, OH - June 6-8, 2014
Summer Art Fair (The Guild), Ann Arbor, MI - July 16-19, 2014
57th Street Art Fair, Chicago, IL - June 7 & 8, 2014
State Street Area Art Fair, Ann Arbor, MI - July 16-19, 2014
Park Forest Art Fair, Park Forest, IL - September 20 & 21
Bayou City Art Festival (Memorial Park), Houston, TX - March 21-23, 2014
Gold Coast Art Fair, Chicago, IL - June 28 & 29, 2014
Brookside Art Annual, Kansas City, MO - May 2-4, 2014
Naples National Art Festival (Feb), Naples, FL - Feb. 22 & 23, 2014
Art Fair on the Square, Madison, WI - July 12 & 13, 2014
St. James Court Art Show, Louisville, KY - October 3-5, 2014
Riverwalk Art Fair, Naperville, IL - Sept. 13 & 14, 2014
Find more of the winners at this link: http://www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/best-art-fairs.html
The purpose of this survey is to have a solid list of "best art fairs" that patrons can refer to when they are traveling or looking for a great place to buy art. Consequently, we have deliberately not put numbers in front of each one.
The results are a resource for people to use and it is listed on our website, ArtFairCalendar.com, whose purpose is to alert interested parties to the best shows all over the country and bring them to the shows to see your work. They're all terrific shows.
We had a wonderful response to our long survey (22 questions). It was apparent by the participation and the enthusiasm of the people telling us why they thought a show was the "best" that art fairs are alive and well in America and that as long as you keep creating compelling work they will be there to see it.
Learn more details about the survey at this podcast: WINNERS! America's Best Art Fair Survey
This has been a big project for us and I specifically want to thank all of those who helped. Lisa Fritsch at the Rosen Group who shared the American Style magazine survey to get me started. To the artists who helped me build the survey: Ginny Herzog, Larry Oliverson, Michael Hamilton, Kathrine-Allen Coleman and Daryl Thetford. Also thanks to Allan Teger whose previous experience as a psychology professor helped me streamline the survey.
Thanks to Carolyn Edlund at ArtsyShark.com for sharing the story on her popular blog and to Leah Charney and Christina Villa at Zapplication.org for getting the survey info out to the shows.
I know several show directors also "got out the vote" by sharing the links and posting on Facebook. Thank you for expanding our reach. Most of all thanks to all the patron voters. Your love for art and the nation's art fairs was apparent in your responses. Thanks for all your great tips on "how to make shows even better."
We have lots of information to share with show directors, artists and the public coming up, fascinating conclusions to be drawn from the 1000's of responses we received.
Do you have a favorite art fair that you think should be on the list?
Congratulations to these members of ArtFairInsiders.com who make this online community the "Facebook" for art fair artists! Your votes from the blogs and private emails to me have been counted and the winners are:
Member of the year: Geoff Coe
Most Helpful: Larry Berman
Personality: Nels Johnson
Author: Nels Johnson
Funniest: Barry Bernstein
Newcomer: Elle Heiligenstein
runner up: Richard Sherer
Special Recognition: Geri Wegner
Best Blog Post: Lots of votes all around, just proving that there is some excellent writing showing up at AFI.
Winner: Barry Bernstein, "The No-Holds Barred Coconut Grove Art Festival Review", 2564 views
Best Discussion: tie
"The Rejection Season Starts" - Jim Parker, 2534 views
and a repeater from 2011: "What's the Worst Question You've Been Asked at an Art Fair?" - Linda & Jim Dalton, 20809 views and 49 pages of comments. I'd say any artist or show director could learn a lot on this one.
Find the "Art Star" on these members pages, plus Amazon gift cards are on their way to the winners above with thanks from all of us at AFI.
What is the Best Thing about ArtFairInsiders.com?
What members are saying about us: BestThingAboutAFI-1.pdf
My personal honorable mentions in the blog posts:
"I'll take everything", from Pat Sorbini
"Don't Survive, Thrive!", from Marti McGinnis
"ideas for closing the sale", from Deborah Potash Brodie
"How low can you go?? When a customer wants to bargain", from Carla Bank
"Faking a Sale", from Brian Billings
John Leben's entire series of blog posts as he navigated the winter Florida shows. Here's the wrap-up for 7 of them. They were a real lesson for everyone.
And one that resonated with so many of us: Archie Smith's accident with the bandsaw, "It Finally Happened"
Honorable mention in the discussions:
Besides Archie's plight which generated a lot of support for him and his family I was really pleased at Robin Aronson's discussion: "Minnesota Art Shows - Beware". Robin's discussion got artists working together to capture a woman who was passing bad checks at the shows. She was apprehended as they worked together on AFI to share information. Great job to all of you!
the discussion that got the most feathers ruffled:
"Winter Park Artists to discuss fraud" - nearly 25,000 views and many pages of comment
The many helpful posts discussing and sharing booth shots in this category: Show Us Your Booth
Just for fun - Best artist application:
Marion Arts Festival, Marion, Iowa
In Memoriam
We will surely miss these artists who we were used to meeting in the next booth for many years: Dean Lauderdale, Bob Black, Barry Cohen, Marla Fry, Don Nibert, Leslie Jensen, art promoter Sandi Jewell and Linda Anderson's husband Neil.
I know this site is helpful to many of you, for which I am grateful. Consider as you are discussing the art fair business who is reading the site. Over and over I hear from art fair directors how the information you share on the site is affecting how they put together their events and they are reading, learning and changing their shows to make them places where artists want to be. You may not notice it but, bit by bit, you are changing this marketplace by your participation.
Many people keep this site alive and full of information, in addition to the people mentioned above thanks to Pat Finney who helps behind the scenes, Melanie Rolfes, Pat Falk, Dave Hinde, Oscar Matos Linares, Paul Flack, Alison Thomas, Robert Wallis, Don Mabry, Lois Anderson, Warren Townsend, David Bjurstrom, John Leben and so many more, including everyone who participated in the Secret Santa project.
Thank you to my assistants, Jacki Bilsborrow who participates at AFI and keeps ArtFairCalendar.com up to date, Sabrina Aughenbaugh who puts together the calls for artists and Julie Cottin who runs ArtShowReviews.com. Also to Larry Berman who keeps the spammers away and so very much more.
Many thanks to all of you who have made this community flourish, not only those listed above but to all of you who taken the time to care, comment and share with one another. We are looking forward to what will happen here in this ever evolving group. Thanks for all your support to one another in this exciting art fair business. Community is what makes us strong.
May 2013 bring you all the blessings you deserve. See you at the show! Connie
Congrats to R.C. Fulwiler and Richard Sherer for their amazing virtuosity and
R. C. for winning of the best December post for "Jury Fees, What's it For?" and to Richard Sherer for his three part discussion "How do You Research Shows?"
Thousands enjoyed the Art Festival in Marion, Iowa this past weekend. Around 16,000 people enjoyed 55 artists that showcased their work. Here is a post of time-lapse photography taken on festival day. Please enjoy!!
Our congratulations go out to the award winners for a job well done!!!
1st Place "Best in Show"
Delores Fortuna
Galena, Illinois, Ceramics
2nd Place " Best in Show"
Nestor Yulfo
Chicago, Illinois, 2D Mixed Media
3rd Place "Best in Show"
Gena Ollendieck
Cresco, Iowa, 3D Mixed Media
Peer-to-Peer Idea Award
Nestor Yulfo
Chicago, Illinois
The rest of the winners:
Best of Show ($5,000): James Casey, Clermont
Judges 2-D Choice ($1,500): John Whipple, Winter Park
Judges 3-D Choice ($1,500): Rollin Karg, Kelchi, Kan.
Wendy Alderman Award ($250): Teresa Haun, Tahoe City, Calif.
Category winners, $750 each:
Painting: Polly Podolsky, Orlando
Watercolor: Scott Hartley, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Clay: Don McWhorter, Carrollton, Ga.
Mixed media: Lynn Whipple, Winter Park
Glass and metal: Scott Amrhein, Sherwood, Wis.
Jewelry: Kristin Holeman, Fort Lauderdale
Photography: Laurie Coppedge, Jacksonville
Sculpture: David Figueroa, Sanford
Fine craft: Carol Rollin, Ormond Beach
Award of Excellence ($500 each): Patricia Karnes, Winter Park; Jeffrey Eckert, Tampa; Unmarid Eitharong, Orlando; Dennis DeBon, St. Petersburg; John Kellum, Orlando; Ginny Ganong Nichols, Decatur, Ga.; Bruce Hollwerda, Hoover, Ala.; Edson Campos, Winter Park; Bill Turner, Newnan, Ga.; Charles Gatewood, Phenix City, Ala.; Fred Tate, Austin, Texas; and Michael Barnes, Big Rock, Ill.
