2005 Art Fair on the Square, Madison

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="05bfd5a3.jpg"> <div> <B>2005 Art Fair on the Square, Madison</B></div> <div> <B>6260 N.W. 19 Street, Sunrise, Fl. 33313 Toll Free 1-877-512-3333    Email: </B><A HREF="mailto:mike@mikealbin.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:mike@mikealbin.com"><U><B>mike@mikealbin.com</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="05cd2043.jpg"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mike Albin.Com "><U>Mike Albin.Com </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="wd.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Web design"><U>Web design</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="ma.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marketing Articles"><U>Marketing Articles</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="sr.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Show Reviews"><U>Show Reviews</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mt.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marketing Tools"><U>Marketing Tools</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="l.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U>Links</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#777777" TEXT="#080000"> <div> July 9-10,  47th Annual Art Fair on the Square, Madison, Wi.  Contact: Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 222 W. Washington Ave, Suite 350, Madison, Wi. 53703. Ph. 608-257-0158  Web: www.mmoca.org   Space size: 10x10, Fee $375.00, number of booths 484, number of applications 1300.  Attendance 200,000-staff.  </div> <div> This is one of the most impressive settings to an art show in.  There are four streets surrounding the capitol building in Downtown Madison.  Booths line booth sides of all four streets.  </div> <div> Set-up is Friday night after 7:30pm.  There are 484 artists trying to get their vehicles through the streets, unload and set up at the same time.  We were prepared for the worse!  Actually it wasn’t that bad.  A very organized staff with walkie-talkies radioed ahead to see if there was space available for parking close to your booth.  You were only allowed to enter the festival site once a parking space became available.  It kept the streets nice and clear and easy to maneuver.  With the exception of a few selfish artists that can’t seem to grasp the concept of unload first then set-up, it went very smoothly.  </div> <div> This is a large show so some booths had more storage than others, some were in shade some were really hot in the sun.  Bring lots of shims, the back two feet of your booth need to be on the sidewalk while the front eight feet are in the street.  Not bad to deal with if you are prepared.  </div> <div> The quality of art here is very high with a few minor crafty items.  The crowds were large both days and very art savvy.  We sold five small to medium pieces for a slightly below average show then on Monday morning we got the call every artists dreams of “send me the large piece!”   With the addition of the large sale this became a well above average show for us and we hope to be back next year.  I spoke with two photographers, one reported slightly below average sales and had not decided if they would return.  The other reported an average show for sales and will return.   A glass artist that has done the show for a few years said this is usually a very consistent, slightly below average show, this year was down slightly from last year and will return.  A high end wood worker reported zero sales and will not return.  A leather artist reported a slightly above average show and will be back.  Pottery did well and hopes to be back.   A painter reported above average sales and will return.</div> <div> The only problem we had was being too close to one of the stages.  Music got too loud at times and made it difficult to communicate with potential customers in our booth.  I love rock and roll music, it’s what I listen to in my home and truck, I love it loud.  Rock and Rap music do not attract an art buying crowd though.  Jazz, classical and Blues attract art buying crowds.  Playing it at a volume where artists can communicate also helps.</div> <div> Break-down was very smooth, artists had to break-down completely and then get a pass to enter the show.  Again staff was there making sure there was parking before you entered.  The staff here was very friendly and made the experience something we look forward to doing again.   This was our first trip to Madison and we really enjoyed the Midwest hospitality.  Great food, friendly people and we made a profit!  What more can you ask for?</div> </td> </tr></table></body>