Well, I thought I'd throw my additional two cents in on this show --concerning the Friday nite optional setup for 50 artists in conjunction with the Artwalk put on in downtown that nite.
I have read a lot of rosy, vague, proclamations about how sales were that nite. In my humble opinion, I don't think they told the whole story.
There were 50 artists who paid extra money, around 40-50 bucks, to set up for the crowd that nite. According to the local paper, more than 6000 showed up to nibble, drink wine, and hopefully buy art.
OK this is what I found out in my informal poll the next morning. I talked to about 20 of them, which is 40 per cent of the exhibitors, that nite. That is a larger random sample then say, a Quinepec Poll does when surveying national issues. Guess what? I talked to the likes of big sellers like Scanlan, Fizer and Parker. They didn't do diddle. It was not worth the effort. They made small sales, which would have been there on Saturday anyway.
My only point is this. I think it is very laudable to continue having a Friday nite preview, Limited to a few, but don't make the rest of us suffer through it too.
Plus, how are they gonna light the whole thing, without charging a lot more, and then there is the setup of all the artists.
Let the lucky 50 roll the dice. I'd rather eat good sushi with Capt. Lou and cruise on the river with boatdrinks.
That is just my humble perspective.Nels.
Comments
Exactamondo Bill. Over the years I have participated at Friday nite VIP receptions at shows like Crosby Gardens(Toledo),Orchard Lake(Michigan), Boston Mills (outside of Cleveland) to name a few. Most of them give the artist a boxed lunch/supper or pizza, maybe a glass of wine, but we are told to stay in our booths and wait for the patrons who will show up with good cheer, great complements and then they walk out without buying much. It just seems to be the nature of the beast at these kind of affairs. Yes, there are the occasional "winners" who snag a biggie sale, but it is not the norm for the rest of us.
I think Sharon McCallister does a great job of organizing and producing the Ft. Myers Show. To her credit, as Barbara Umbel pointed out, she goes to other shows to see what they are doing. Smart move on her part. So I am in no way knocking the show for having a Friday nite preview, but let the rest of us who want to opt out and go out and have some fun. My experience has been at these affairs to maybe sell about $200-$300 in sales in return for being there for four hours. Occasionally, I do better at Boston Mills" and can turn $500. I'd rather wait til the next day and get them, they are gonna show up. That's all I am saying. Nels.
Although the situation is a bit different, this reminds me of Atlanta Dogwood. Artists are encouraged to be at their tents on Friday night in the early evening while they have a VIP party in a big tent with wine, cheese, and fairly fancy stuff. The idea is that they will fan out, look at the art, and buy.
In reality they tended to stay very close to the tent. We did have some people walking by on their way to and from the party, but few seemed interested in the work.
At one point a very happy and cheerful couple came into the tent and the woman was a little unsteady as she said "We were encouraged to visit the artists and tell them how wonderful we thought your work was. Well, we think your work is WONDERFUL". Then they left, smiling brightly.
To her credit it came across more as a shared irony than condescension so we had a good laugh.