How do you find ratings for these shows. We have now done two shows, and they were so different from eachother. One was supposed to be juried and had fewer artists than stated, they had booths for things like cable tv and so on. The next one, put on in Arizona by Thunderbird artist was a real delight. Now we are ready to enter a show or two for the summer of 2012 and would like to be able to have a better idea of what we are dealing with.
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There are the usual sources, also, until you have built your network, Sunshine Artist magazine has lots of reviews, Art Fair Sourcebook.com, and an offshoot of AFI that is growing daily where the reviews are not anonymous, www.ArtShowReviews.com. Finding the right shows is a science!
Your question is the reason for sites like this one... where you can share your experiences at shows. But I certainly agree with Larry Berman's comment regarding experience... if you don't know the reviewer, then look around for various reviews about a particular show, and then ponder all the results... looking for the pros and cons as applied to your particular product, and what you would have to invest in order to do the show (i.e. distance to travel, booth fee, jury fee, etc.). Sometimes, you can even check the artist's listings for a particular show, and contact one or two, via e-mail (who show their website address) and ask them about their experiences at the show. Most of us have fallen into a pig-in-a-poke lying fest (or stewpid dog & pony shows!) enough times, that we're happy to answer nicely written email inquiries about shows :D
in a word, experience. No one can tell you how you will do at a show, only how they did. How much reviews can be trusted depends on how well you know and trust the reviewer.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100