Making an art show successful

I do a lot of art shows. Most are successful, some are so-so, a few get bumped from my list. I have often pondered what makes a show successful. Better minds than mine have written volumes on the subject. However, I have a few thoughts.

There are countless factors that have an impact on a shows success or failure. Is it a good area? do the promoters advertise well? is it a good mix of artists? is there good parking? is it easy to find? Weather is always important and unknown at the time the show is set. Even really good weather can decrease attendance, especially if it is right after a spate of bad weather.

One consistent thing that I think has possibly the biggest impact on a show is the artists self-promotion. What? The artists? We are paying to be in the show! Our art is supposed to be the draw! It's the job of the promoters we pay to bring in the crowds, to choose the right mix of artists, etc., etc.

Why artists?

One-on-one and word of mouth beats any form of advertising.

If every artist collected emails, was active on Facebook, promoted the show to their respective crowd (friends, customers, church groups, social groups, civic groups, etc.) via whatever methods make sense to them then we'd have packed shows.

Note the word "every" in that first sentence. Many of us are great at spreading the word. Many of us, maybe more than many, aren't. We never think about it, see it as the job of the organizer, aren't social, don't see the importance and on and on the list of reasons goes...

Think about a show with 100 vendors. If every participant put out flyers, sent out emails, posted on our fan pages, sent out photos via Instagram, mailed post cards, etc., then we could potentially reach thousands...and thousands. Combine that with what the organizers are doing and you have a real crowd of interested buyers.

My neighbor at the last show I did sent out post cards. I was amazed at just how many people mentioned they'd received the post cards. Some bought, some didn't. I noted that some who didn't had art they'd purchased from other artists. I didn't get a chance to talk with him but I'd bet he has lists that are organized by city and simply pops something out to that list.

These days a snail-mail card can have a lot more of an impact than emails! You don't even have to mail them if it's a local show.  Hand them out. Put them on bulletin boards at your gym, etc. Make them on your computer, print them on your home printer to save money.

I've heard some say that they don't want to keep asking their friends to come buy their work, they already have enough. Tell them about the other artists. Yikes, promote someone else? I want them to buy from ME, me, me. But you've already said they're overloaded with your art. But if the artist across from you did the same thing then maybe their friends and customers would buy from you.

I love looking at other artists work. I love it when I hear that one of my customers also bought from someone else. I love it when I hear that a fellow artist recommended my art.

Many have a difficult time patting themselves on the back. It's easy to talk glowingly about another artist. We've often joked at shows that maybe we should all switch tents, sell for each other! I'm not saying to send a jewelry buyer of yours to another jeweler (although sometimes that is good), but you can sure promote a painter or fabric artist.

Our outreach and involvement in selling our art is very important. Simply being a fabulous artist isn't going to move a piece from your studio to a new owner's home or office. We have to be pro-active.

Side note: Choosing the right show for our art also falls on the artists. A show can be great for one artist and horrible for another. We learn from doing shows or doing good research prior to choosing a show. A show that turns out to be bad for us doesn't necessarily mean the show is bad or the promoters didn't do their job. Sometimes we're just not doing our homework...or maybe we did and the stars just didn't align for us.

Thoughts on Organizers / Promoters

It is true that the promoters or organizers should advertise. There are many ways of reaching out and the show organizers I know do an outstanding job of marketing their shows. It is essential that they do as much as they can. But if you really think about how you look at advertisements you'll soon realize how difficult that task might be, especially if you start adding up the cost to advertise. 

Newspapers --- how do you scan the paper, if you read it at all these days? How many ads do you see? News articles are the best, especially if they have photos. We tend to look and read those with pictures.
On-line --- do you look at those Facebook ads along the sidebar or that are in the middle of your news feed? Do you see the ads that are at the top or on the sidebars of the news site you view? If they pop up do you immediately click that little x to make them go away?
Billboards --- do you drive the route where the billboard happens to be? Do you ignore them on your commute? If you happen to see them how often do you manage to read the info? write it down? remember it when you get home? Do you even live anywhere near the route?
Mailers --- these might be one of the better methods if it's a stand-alone postcard. But who should the promoter mail the cards to? the area around the venue? their lists (probably)?
Email --- nice as it goes to those who've signed up, have an interest. But if the list is the same one that received info about the last ten shows how likely is it that they'll buy your art this time if they didn't the last time.
TV --- costly. Not to mention it's almost impossible to figure out which station to advertise on...and when. For many those 3-minute ad breaks are for making a drink, running to the bathroom or switching over to another station to see what we're missing.
Radio --- how many stations are there these days? do you push the button on the radio to another station when an ad comes on? or tune out?

I didn't list all the methods organizers use to get the word out. Given the overwhelming numbers of ways to advertise these days you can go broke trying to reach "our" market!

My main purpose in making that list of ways to advertise was to get you thinking about what kind of advertising reaches you. You might scan the newspaper from cover to cover but your neighbor on the left who is an avid art buyer trashes them along with every other piece of advertising that comes in the mail.  Your other art-loving friend only does Facebook and social media but ignores the ads. Some never watch TV. Some only listen to one or two radio stations. You get the idea. Ask ten people what reaches them and you'll get a wide range of answers including "nothing".

That's why I think it's up to us to do our part. We can't sit back in this world where we are bombarded with ads and simply leave it up to the organizer.

Two shows in the near future!

I'm looking forward to 2015. Last year was a great year for the most part...a few little bumps as always but nothing to mar the overall goodness. I think 2015 is going to shine!

This year I'm adding some new shows to my line-up, venturing a bit further out more often. I'll be sharing more about those shows as the times come closer but will let you know that I've already been accepted into two shows in Alabama that I applied to for the first time! Nice.

I have two shows coming up right around the corner. One is new for me, the Callanwolde Arts Festival (http://callanwoldeartsfestival.com/) January 23rd & 25th. There is a ticketed preview party on the 23rd, then the actual show on the 24th & 25th. Sat hours: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. & Sun hours: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

I went last year to check it out and was impressed. Great music, great art, excellent venue, easy access and parking. It's a very well-run event with top-quality artists. I'm proud to be included in the line up and am looking forward to seeing many of my art friends.

The next event is a local show that I help run through our art group (FAACE - Fine Arts and Crafts Entrepreneurs, http://www.faace.org). It's held the weekend before Valentine's Day every year in Peachtree City, GA.

Art with Heart Fine Arts and Crafts show will be Saturday, February 7th at St. Andrews in the Pines Episcopal Church, 316 Peachtree Parkway, Peachtree City, GA 30269. Hours will be 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

We have some outstanding artists who will be selling their art just in time for Valentine's Day shopping. It's indoors, too so weather isn't a consideration. Hope you'll come see me and all the other fabulous artists at one or both of these events.

Changing my display...

Well, it struck me that now that I'm doing more hanging pieces I am going to hafta figure out how to nicely display them.

In my booth it's fairly easy, however, in an indoor show I'll need free-standing "hangers" to display the pieces.  Given they're all different sizes it's going to be an interesting challenge. For me. Maybe not for some of you!

I have been wandering through websites, booth displays, and how-to articles for ideas. I have also been looking at what I have on hand. I want a tasteful display that is lightweight, flexible (as in, fold-able, easy to transport) and a good fit for my shelving and overall "look"...

I spent the morning sorting through the things I have stashed in the garage and out in the studio. I have a number of tall and short shutters that can be connected or painted. The big ones are not exactly lightweight but they are flat. They might look good painted, standing up at the back of the booth. The short ones would work on top of a table but you can't see through them so I'm wondering if they would block too much. On the plus sides, I can use both sides, they fold flat and I could paint them any color.

I have dowels --- thinking about adding some cup hooks to the back of my shelving, hanging a dowel and using it. I would need to also hang a back onto the shelves to avoid having the hanging pieces clash with the pieces sitting on the shelf. That would also only work when I have room on the back side of the shelve for people to walk. Maybe I'll save that one for an outdoor show. I rather like that people can see my art from both sides so not sure if I really want to go that route.

I also have a number of old window frames without glass. I am toying with making a free standing contraption. Not sure if I can convey the picture in my mind but I'll try. It would have a center pole with frames branching out, hinged somehow so they'd fold together. When standing they would form a Y (well, close enough, more like an X minus one leg ;-) with the pole being at the middle. I think that's an idea I might carry up to my Dad's for some ideas and help!

I like the idea of using the frames and shutters as it kind of fits with my basic design. You can see how I've used them in the booth shots I included, but they hang from the tent frame, something I won't be able to do in an indoor show.

I have three different size shutters, that's the medium tall thin one in the bottom picture. The smaller ones are hinged and can stand alone on a table. The larger shutters are about the same height as the tent walls.

I have a maybe five or six pieces of free-standing driftwood sculptures that I've used for smaller hanging pieces. They look good but you can't hang much and they can break --- plus I've found a lot of people ignore what's hanging on them and want to buy the driftwood!

I also have some stands that my Dad made for me --- you can see one in the bottom picture next to the window frame.

I'm thinking about changing the color of my shelves, too. Right now they're black. I like them black, but black absorbs light and my pottery does best with a lot of light given the way I mix colors, add glass, etc. They used to be natural wood but they looked a bit unfinished. I wish I'd stained them, but the idea of black worked for me back when I did it.

So, I guess I'll be outside playing with displays if they rain will hold off. I'm a notorious last-minute person. My next indoor show is next weekend so for a change I'm kinda-sorta ahead of the game...