Uptown Art Fair, Minneapolis, MN, Aug. 5-7
Jury fee: $40; Booth fee: $550; 350 artists
Friday, 12-8; Saturday, 10-8; Sunday, 10-5 T
his was my first year at Uptown, and it was a long way for me to go for a single show (I live in Virginia). But it was a beautiful show, well-organized and structured, and I had a successful show, well worth my time and the expense.
I'm an oil painter, with pieces ranging from $100 to $4500. Many of my paintings are large. Not knowing anything about Minneapolis or the set-up of the show, I didn't know what to choose when the organizers asked for our location preference. I asked for a street location first, and ended up getting a location on the mall.
At first, I was bummed, but as the show played out, I was really glad that I ended up there. The street part of the show is on Hennepin Avenue, a busy street in the center of Uptown. I believe booths there were set up cheek to jowl, and I don't know if they faced the sidewalk or the street, which was closed to traffic. I do know that set-up on Hennepin was Friday morning, with the show opening Friday at noon. On the mall, set-up was Thursday afternoon.
The mall is a grassy strip between two one-way streets. Hennepin Avenue is at one end of the mall; the other ends at a road that circles a lake. I was near that end. Set-up was easy, storage was pretty much unlimited.
Registration is inside a building on Hennepin, and registration times are assigned. I was there early, and they did let me register early. The organizers were very nice, and had already helped me with a series of question.
Set-up on the mall was in shifts. The first shift, which included me, was for people who had tents on the grassy area between the two streets. I had a spot that ended up as a de facto corner, as I was beside a tree. I pulled up, and found that my neighbor had parked in the spot directly across from my van, so I'd have to haul my crap farther, and probably dolly. I decided to turn the van around, and at least get the back doors closer to my spot. My neighbor, seeing me do this, volunteered to trade spots with me, if I'd help her back up. I am a believer in omens and took Stephanie's generosity to be a good one.
Because of what I'd heard about vandalism at this show, I set up my tent but didn't put any of my art in it. I got my van out in time for the second shift, which was artists setting up booths in the street (where we had parked), facing the grassy strip.
Friday morning, I arrived early, set up my art and went off to find my parking spot in the Sons of Norway lot. I'd paid $55 for this; it was about a half a mile away. I am 60, am lazy and have bad knees, and while it was an OK walk in the morning, by 8 p.m., it felt like a long, long walk. My day started well with a couple who had found my art on the show's website (http://uptownartfair.com/), found me on the mall, came in and bought a $1,000 painting. Yay!
I sold four more paintings during the show and also got a commission, so it was a profitable weekend for me.
In spite of everything I'd heard about vandalism at the show, I decided to leave my work overnight. I spoke to painter friends who had done the show before. I spoke to police officers, who assured me that there were more officers on patrol, and showed me that they'd brought in huge lights to illuminate the mall.
I took my paintings off the outside walls, ziptied all my tent zippers, and then ziptied everything to uprights or stabars, and moved furniture to make it harder for someone to slip underneath. I had no problems, and heard of no problems. One officer said that the year that there had been the most vandalism was the year that a bridge collapsed, and all police were attending that disaster. Also he told me that he had approached the show organizers and helped them restructure the security plan.
On Saturday morning, I was able to get a very good parking space within dollying distance from my tent. Parking is a real problem with this show, and I felt like I'd been given a gift. I left my van there Saturday night, and took an Uber car to and from my Air B&B. This parking place was a real blessing when it came to take-down.
Comments
Thank you, Kathleen. It was a pleasure to write about a successful show. AND it wasn't hot. Amazing.
Carrie, it's so good to hear about a successful show. Congrats! Hope your Karma follows you along the show route!
Thanks for the support, Margaret. And Christina, yup, as I get older, I get less patient with the heat. At least I am through hot flashes. A friend who did the Mystic show with me had all the heat, PLUS hot flashes, ugh. I'm going to look hard for indoor shows. Connie Mettler, how about a radio program on indoor shows? Also, Connie, how about one on artists who have changed mediums?
You know, I'm beginning to think that the heat is definitely a factor among those of us in the 60 plus range. If there's an art fair I'd like to attend but the temps are in the 80's or higher, I just don't go. I don't like hot weather and I surely don't want to walk around in it all day which begs the question, if others in my age range feel the same, how does that impact summer art fairs? I have to hand it to those of you who get out there and endure it but it's clearly not for me. I've got a couple of indoor shows this Fall and that suits me just fine. Thanks for hanging in there though and remember to stay hydrated!
Hey Carrie, Glad you did great at the show....always nice to see those big pieces go out of the tent....Thank you for the great review.
Hi, Christina, thanks for the note. Summer has been odd but good. I've enjoyed the shows, though I feel the heat has nearly killed me about five times. I've had stretches of days with zero sales, but when people have bought, they've bought my most expensive paintings. So it's been good but mysterious and has taught me some big lessons and showed me my personal weaknesses and given me great opportunities to build my character. Hope you've had a good summer!
Thanks again, Carrie...love the sunflower paintings too. It sounds like you're having a pretty good summer so far, yes? Here's hoping you're on a roll and that it continues for you!