Top 10 Art Shows

<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>What the Top 10 Art Shows Have in Common</B></div> <div> <B>347-LOVE-ART  (347-568-3278)   Toll Free 1-877-512-3333</B><B>     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> What do the top 10 shows have in common?</div> <bR> <div> The new list of the 200 best shows is out! Patty and I have found that just showing up with our work on any given weekend at any given show does not usually mean financial success. The expenses involved with travel, booth fees, hotels and food all add up pretty quickly. Because of this, we are focusing on doing fewer shows by applying to the ones at which we can be more successful. So this September issue really comes in handy! Thanks to <I><B>Sunshine Artist </B></I>and all the artists who send in their ballots, we have a pretty good idea of which shows are the best for selling our work.</div> <div> The top 10 Fine Art & Design shows are a nice place to start, and they all have several things in common. First and foremost, most artists at these shows usually sell three to four times (or more) what they sell at their average shows. The top 10 get well over 1,000 applications, with some receiving more than 2,000 for as few as 135 spaces. They are the toughest shows in the country to get into because artists know that being accepted usually means financial success. Sales reports from artists may be well into five figures.</div> <div> There are several practices these shows use to ensure success for the artists. While all 10 events are not exactly alike, they do have most of the following in common:</div> <div> 1) Marketing! Marketing! Marketing! Organizers of the top shows realize it's not enough to get a large number of people - it's getting the right people. So their marketing is geared toward people who buy high-end art, and lots of it! It's not as simple as placing ads in the newspaper. It takes a tricky combination of marketing skills to get the right clientele. </div> <div> The keys are properly placing ads, using direct-mail promotions from mailing lists, and finding the right radio and television stations to partner with. There are numerous shows that have huge crowds, but the people who attend don't always seem to buy a lot of art. We've all been to shows like this, ones where we talk to thousands of people but have very few purchases. Just keep in mind that the <I>200 Best</I> is not based on attendance - it's based on sales. </div> <div> Specifically, how do the top shows attract high-end buyers? They do it by gearing their ads to the 35- to 55-year-old demographic. For radio promotions, that means easy-listening, jazz or blues stations. Rock, rap or country-music listeners typically do not buy as much high-end art. Remember, I said typically, so do not write me and say that you have had success by advertising with Rock 104. Maybe you've found one of the only rock stations in the country with listeners who buy expensive art. I'm not trying to put anyone down, but I've found that rock, rap and country fans do not usually have large amounts of expendable income that they use to buy art. </div> <div> Amy Amdur of Amdur Productions has the #1 fine art show in the country (Gold Coast River North Art Fair) and two other shows in the top seven (Port Clinton Art Festival and Buffalo Grove Invitational Fine Art Festival). That's quite an accomplishment considering the thousands of art shows running every year. Amdur credits her success to several things, but particularly to her dedicated team, which she describes as a support group for artists. The hard-working group helps create an atmosphere in which artists can sell their work.</div> <div> "I did my first art show when I was 5 years old, selling my paintings, so I know what it's like to sit there for the weekend," Amdur told me. "I graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in business, so I wear both hats. We gauge our success by how well the artists at our shows are selling. We listen to suggestions from artists on how to improve the quality of our shows, and we implement those ideas to make the shows better."</div> <div> 2) The focus is art, not music. Seven of the top 10 have music but have found the right balance. And as discussed above, the types of music that attract art buyers are played. Big-name acts often attract large crowds but have a negative effect on art sales. Attendees going only for music can, in fact, push away the art-buying public. Patty and I have witnessed shows in our area switch to focus more on music, with a subsequent decline in the quality of art. Sales at two of those shows have gotten so bad that one closed up completely the other we no longer participate in. </div> <div> "Many shows take shortcuts to getting large groups of people to attend by focusing their shows on music or food," Amdur said. "We keep art and the artists as our main focus, with music and food being a sideline."</div> <div> The top 10 shows know they must place stages away from artists' booths and keep the volume at an acceptable level. Music can be detrimental if it's played at an overwhelming volume. It's almost impossible to sell artwork to anyone if you have to YELL AT THE PERSON STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU TO BE HEARD! As long as loud music is playing, very little artwork is sold.</div> <div> 3) Quality. How do the top 10 shows keep the focus of their show on the art? By having the highest-quality work. Only the cream of the crop makes it in. Barry Witt, director of the #5 event, the Bonita Springs National Art Festival, told me, "Quality of the artwork is our #1 priority. Our jury pool is made up of working artists who can be objective, have diverse art interests, solid art-history backgrounds and … show a true enthusiasm about the process of art. We do not use jurors who are currently showing in art festivals. The question we seem to be asked most by jurors is, `Are you looking for the best work or what will sell?' Our answer is always, `We are looking for the highest-quality artwork.'"</div> <div> 4) Great community involvement and support. All of the top promoters realize even excellent promotion isn't enough. They get the community involved, utilize volunteers and civic groups, and support their communities through different charities.</div> <div> "We have a strong base of art buyers that love the festivals, and we can count on them to attend," Lynette Wallace, executive director of the #6 show, Bayou City Art Festival in Houston, told me. "Our database of patrons are sent e-newsletters six times a year giving them the information on the festivals and inviting them to return. As we benefit charity partners whose combined e-mail bases are over 100,000, this assists in the loyalty as well. We are a non-profit that benefits 13 local charities. Their loyal base [consists of] volunteers as well as returning art buyers."</div> <div> Wallace has 800-1,000 volunteers who help with all aspects of the show, both on stage and behind the scenes. These people all provide word-of-mouth advertising to their friends, neighbors and relatives, and after volunteering, they all have community ties to the show and are, therefore, more likely to support it financially. </div> <div> 5) Full-color brochures with festival maps and artists' locations. Amdur has one of the nicest brochures I have ever seen. Coconut Grove (#4) also has an elaborate brochure, with color photos of artists' work. There is, however, a marketing trade-off between the show and the artists. Exhibitors should be sending out cards or e-mail to people on their mailing lists, telling them they are going to be at the show. Because of that, it's important for the artists to know where their booths will be prior to the show so they can include that information in their mailing. It's also important for the show to have a map in the brochure, so when someone comes looking for a specific artist, that artist can be found. </div> <div> 6) Awards. Each of the top 10 shows give awards and money to their artists. The promoters realize the more award money they give away, the more applications they get from high-quality artists.</div> <div> 7) Simple layouts with no low-traffic areas, and convenient setup. For a show to land in the top 10, most of the artists at the show must do well, really well. So these shows have figured out that every artist must be given an equal chance. This means there are no groups of artists on side streets or dead ends. All three show directors I interviewed for this article believe that if the artists at their shows are not doing well, they themselves are not doing their job. </div> <div> "We provide the artists with the foundation of a quality-run operation and a marketing plan to bring in art buyers," Wallace said. "We work with the artists on their needs and always offer first right of refusal for same booth location to returning artists. We offer many booth options and give the artists choices of booth configuration and placement to better enhance their selling potential. We build a beautiful festival with ambiance that both the artists and patrons will enjoy, and an environment that is conducive to the sales and celebration of art."</div> <div> Setting and setup are important, too. "We are in a very affluent area, with people who are capable of buying whatever they like - not just what they need," Witt said. "The location surrounds a magnificent promenade of fine shops and restaurants where attendees can take a break and return to the site refreshed and ready to buy. Almost 95 percent of the artists set up on Friday prior to the show, and our setup is easy."</div> <div> Witt's comments about his Friday setup procedures make a lot of sense. Artists are better rested, fresher, cleaner and more ready to go on Saturday morning if they have the chance to set up on Friday. Their minds are more alert, and sales are probably better because of that.</div> <div> 8) Web sites: All of the top 10 events have Web sites, some more elaborate than others. Coconut Grove has one of the most artist-friendly sites. There is a photo of each artist's work, contact information and a link to the artist's own Web site. So if patrons want to buy after the show but cannot find the artist's card, they can go to the Festival's Web site to find the artist's contact information. </div> <div> Patty and I receive hits on our own site from the Coconut Grove site almost every month. In fact, we had a person contact us three months after the show to buy from us. They could not remember our names, so they searched Coconut Grove's site for about an hour. They found our Web link and located the piece they wanted, and we made the sale. </div> <div> Congratulations to all of the top-rated shows. Your hard work and dedication to people such as Patty and me are very much appreciated. We do realize that without all of the work you do, we would not be able to make our living as artists and would probably have to get jobs! Yuck! </div> <bR> <div> This month's question comes from a photographer in Chicago. He asked what he should charge for his framed pieces. He thought some photographers charged too much for their framed work, while others seemed to be not charging enough. </div> <div> Please do not e-mail me with a question like this! Unless I know how much your photos cost to reproduce; how much you spend on travel and equipment for taking the photos; what your frames, mats and glass costs; how much time it takes to make each one; and how far you're traveling to do shows, I can't answer that. What you charge for your artwork should be based solely on your costs and your overhead, not what others are charging. In August 2005, I included the formulas I use in an article on pricing your artwork. Along with all of my other articles and show reviews, it can be found on my Web site: www.mikealbin.com. </div> <div> A quick thanks to a metal artist who saw us at Summerfair in Cincinnati, the #9 show on this year's list. He said he read my article on pricing and decided to raise his prices. It didn't slow down his sales a bit, and he now makes more money from the same amount of work. That kind of feedback makes my day!</div> <div> Good luck selling, and have a great time doing it!</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>