Wells Street Art Festival or better know as Wells Street Drink Festival.
This had always been a very hard to set up and hard to deal. I never saw what happen this weekend. Regardless of the drink you can count in this show to bring money or good connections.
Lets start you need to paid for electric. That means add 150 to your booth fee. Parking can cost you another 100. You want to be closer to Schiller that any other spot. Use to be closer to North your better you will be but you also need deal with drunks all day long. In simple terms you want to avoid to be close to any bars. You need to be on line by the time they schedule to set up. Please follow the instructions because is one way. There is not to much organization by the promoter and they are there to make money for the organization not for you. You need hope for a good captain in the area for things run well. If you are selected to donate a piece as I did you are in for next year but you still paid for the booth fee. Make sure to put a explain what is minimum you will take since half of the sales is yours.
I got there at 545 am but I could get in until 615 and Food vendor was blocking your way to the booth. It was just freaking nightmare to set up. There one thing you need to know you only get 10X10 space. Booth are back to back and side to side. I will recommend to get corner or a double space.
The show started at 10 the good buyers come in morning and the party start at 2pm Saturday. I only did one sale for 70 all Saturday. Did I mention that the show start 10am and does end until 8pm but you can pull your car from parking lot provide to artist until 10pm. And yes you paid for that parking space. Around 25 to 50 artist took off Saturday because it was just out of hand.
Sunday crowd was better less drunks and more buyers. I did some sale and recover all my expenses but to me was more important the three connections that I did . One is in progress and the other two I hope that they happen. One the one I am waiting will be very good for me. I plan to follow up in this connection. The artist next to me make a killing and I was very happy since she had great work and price to buy.
I think that you need to do the show again and again but you need to use your mailing and email list. You wont get that much help from the promoters. I trying not express how really feel about this show but if you are not from town avoid this show. My 70 old mother came with me to the show and she mention to me people are here to drink and woman are dress to go the beach or pick up man for the night.
Comments
We had a major robbery of our work at this show.....we would never ever recommend this drunk fest. Just close the street with out us and let them have their orgy. We will never do in downtown Chicago again. It's a dangerous show.
Sounds like a nightmare! I would not want to do this event, especially when there is other wonderful artfairs who actually take care of your needs.
Geri, I was referring to the OT show in the comment about traffic and music -- they do care about their event. Someone(s) there follow this site.
My one short experience at Wells Street reinforces that, Barry. Total disrespect for the exhibitors, not even a pretense that this is anything but a cash cow for the organizers. I mean, even if the money is going directly to a charitable organization, or even to the upkeep of the neighborhood I wouldn't contribute.
I had the same experience as you Connie. I did Old Town for a number of years and then got rotated out. I did Wells Street once after that and hated it. I have reported on this show many times and I thought I wrote a review that first year, but, I couldn't find it. I wouldn't do this show if they gave me a free booth fee and told me in advance that I won best of show. It was the only show I ever did that if the artists didn't show up, the crowd would not have noticed. I don't see why they don't just eliminate the art and have raucous music to go along with the beer tents. Wells Street is an insult to all of us.
Connie, the committee could not care less. In addition to Wells Street they have ruined Fountain Square in Evanston. They take their money and run.
Was this show ever anything more than "if Old Town can do it, we can too?" I never got the impression that it was anything much better than a squatter show. We did Old Town for about 15 years - loved, loved it!! We would have our best two day sales there just about every year and it still holds the record for that for us. Then one year we were not reinvited, put our collective tail between our legs and hoped our mailing list would follow us to Wells Street (basically it is just around the corner). They didn't. It was a huge hassle, money okay, but the long hours and the parking and the getting up at 4 am to get a parking place, not for us.
There was a bar at Menominee and Sedgwick, Marge's, that was a huge hangout. It was just outside the OT gates and it was packed with young people all weekend. Some would come to the show, but basically they stayed on their side of the street. People who lived in Old Town would hold parties and sometimes we'd be invited and people came from all around to enjoy the atmosphere. I've not been there for awhile now and I hear "it's not like it used to be" (seems I've heard that before) but love Janet's comment above.
I hope the changes noted about the traffic layout and the music stage will be heeded by the committee and they will not lead to further degradation of the show.
I last did Wells Street over 15 years ago, and it was starting to slide back then. I remember several weird patrons coming through. One sounded drunk or mentally deficient, possibly both. She was walking down the aisle, would stop in front and say, "I Like this" or vice-versa in a very loud obnoxious voice. She reached mine, and this was back when I was doing 19th century photo processes, large scale, and many nudes. She stopped for a long moment, and loudly declaimed in a strange voice, "I do-oont like this!". The voice was sort of like a petulant 8-year old, although she was about 30. She sounded so funny I just started laughing out loud. It pissed her off, gave a "harumph" and she stormed off. A couple of the neeighboring artists came over and thanked me :-)
Later during the show, I could hear another group of women blowing crap toward the artists who had nude works. One artist about 3-4 booths from, Alan Sartore from Denver, received a ton of crap from them about what right did he have to exploit womens bodies and how dare he objectify them? They argued with him for about ten minutes until he finally said he was done talking with them. My next thought was, 'Oh, hell, they're heading this way!". Sure enough they make their way into my booth, and immediately start the same nonsense with me. I notice their T-Shirts and sweat shirts are emblazoned with logos from the National Women's Music Festival and some Pagan organizations. It clicks where they're coming from, and I want them out of there fast. I quietly told them there was no objectification and exploitation, and the the images were glorification of the Feminine. Ach du Lieber! You would have thought they found a long lost cousin! There were smiles and pats on the back, and they were out of there with no fuss :-)
It was a strange show, and this was before mass quantities of beer were sold on the street. I did the show twice and that was enough. It was entirely too much of a hassle to do. Adding insult to injury, I won a major award there the second year for best in 2D or something similar, and didn't get accepted the following year.
Did Wells St a few times back in the day. Way. Too. Difficult. Got some good stories, tho! Never saw the promoter or my block captain. Told the ONE policeman that I saw that they were throwing bottle caps off the apt balconies and hitting our tent. He just looked at me. Sad thing is the money was great. Thank God for that but it's not worth it with the setup, takedown and drunks. The yuppies that live there are straight out of college and look at it as a huge beer bash. Even during takedown, I decided to wheel my stuff out, and was dodging the younger drunks. They kept hasseling me too. One of the artists later that nite, was hit by a rock thrown by some kid. Had to shut everything down for the ambulance to get in. 2 blocks over, there is a housing authority apt. bldg. You have to circle down that street to 'try' to get into ur spot to load up. I'm sure they know we are loaded with cash! And yes, if you can get into the Old Town show, do that, by all means.
Old town change this year. They have music and the goal is to bring as much crowd to Old Town as the Wells and that includes drunk people.
And if you are one of the lucky few to get into Old Town do it! Lots of 30 -40 yr olds with $$ and they buy art! No drunks at Old Town.
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