The Art Festival Newsletter
September/October, 2017 
presented by:
 

QuickPoll Report:

The 5th Art Festival Newsletter Survey Result
When do you apply to shows? 
When would you like applications to be open?

Our fifth survey of 2017, part of our year-long exploration of the influences on artists' decisions to apply to festivals, once again provides a few surprises from our readers.

We asked two questions. First, when do you apply in a show's open application period? Second, how long before deadline do you think shows should open their application period?

Commonly held wisdom is that artists apply to most of the festivals they want to exhibit in as late as possible in the application period. Our survey results differ with that view.  The results were split evenly: 35% apply as soon as they receive notification that a show is accepting applications, 36% apply within a month of a show's deadline, and 30%  percent tend to apply a week or less before deadline. 
 
These results show a higher degree of organization and management by artists of their festival careers than has been thought.  

Artists' view on when shows should open for application are equally interesting.  22% would like applications to be open 9 months before the show date.  38% like the process to start 6 months before and 34% think 3 months works best.  

Once again, your responses to our QuickPolls provide wonderful insight into what artists are thinking and how important these issues are for creating a workable art festival schedule.

During 2017, The Art Festival Newsletter is conducting a year-long set of surveys, six in all, devoted to discovering, collating and analyzing what influences hold sway when artists make application decisions. We will report on each QuickPoll as they are produced, with a full report and analysis will be presented at the ZAPP conference, February 2018.  
Last Chance to APPLY: Click logo for more information!


 
Images a Festival of the Arts
New Smyrna Beach, FL
Application Closes 10/15

La Quinta PIX for CTA
La Quinta Arts Festival
La Quinta, CA
Application Closes 9/30





Southwest Arts Festival
Indio, CA
Application Closes 10/10




Artisphere
Greenville, SC
Application Closes 10/6


Click HERE to view more Calls to Artists:
Spotlight on Shows:
We are thrilled to have this opportunity to share our Q&A with Tara Brickell, Executive Director / CEO of CherryArts and the Cherry Creek Art Festival.

2017 Best of Show Suzanne Schmid
What is your favorite aspect of this festival?
My favorite aspect of the Cherry Creek Arts Festival is the Artists of course! They are truly the reason that we do what we do. It is very inspiring to think of these creative entrepreneurs making their way across the country to connect with patrons and sell their work. I'm blown away by the art that they create and I love to see their work evolve throughout the years, it is a true joy. 

2017 Cherry Creek Arts Festival Five Years Out Art Challenge Winner Peter Clouse's  "Not Ashamed"
Will you continue looking into the future of art and innovation with the Five Years Out Arrow Art Challenge ?
We are excited to head into the sixth year of the Arrow Art Challenge and we are truly grateful that Arrow Electronics has continued this initiative to inspire artists to explore the notion of innovation and express it through their discipline. Over the past five years, this program has resulted in some ground-breaking commissioned art pieces that are now placed in Arrow facilities around the world. I love how this program inspires artists with their ingenuity and we have seen an evolution of impressive artistic expression throughout the challenge.

Cherry Creek Arts Festival has a year round 501c3 non profit mission to provide access to art experiences and to support education can you tell us a little bit about this?
We are CherryArts and our mission is to produce Colorado Art Events and support arts education. Each year, we launch our education outreach efforts infusing art into schools around Colorado starting in September and run them through May. We also produce the CherryArts Festival at Stanley in September at the Stanley Marketplace. Our signature education outreach program is our Mobile Art Gallery, we have two touring collections of original work that go into schools. This program is accompanied by an interactive docent training for students where they learn about all of the work in the gallery and then tour their entire school through it while it is at their school for two weeks. All of the artwork has been collected from exhibiting artists at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival throughout the years. 

We are also very excited to have also just launched our first in a series of mobile art carts! The screen printing Mobile Art Cart debuted at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival and will roll into schools this fall. We will do artist led workshops for students to learn all about screen printing and then they get to use the three stations on the cart to create their own work.
  
This Issue's Quote:
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
Pablo Picasso
More Artists Win in Great Application Giveaway!

Art-Linx is pleased to announce that the 41st Annual Leesburg Art Festival is participating in the Great Application Giveaway.  Artists winners will be announced in the January edition of the Art Festival Newsletter.
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No Longer on the Back Burner.....

What is the last thing artists think of in the operation of their art festival exhibition businesses? Is it taxes? Possibly, but no. Rising show costs?  Not that one either.  Slow sales? Probably first, not last in the consciousness of today's festival exhibitors.
 
No, the last thing artists think of is...ready?...insurance.  How much more boring could a topic be? And what possible bearing could insurance have on an artist's show participation.
 
As it turns out, this most sleep inducing of subjects is starting to become a hot topic among show directors and artists as weather changes and risk adverse promoters have pushed this issue to the front burner.
 
Here's the situation:
 
Artists are increasingly reporting that shows, fairs and festivals now require that all artists carry-and prove that they carry--an insurance policy.  The policies must include liability coverage that protects the artists and sometimes the show from action (lawsuit) brought by a third party.  
 
The main motivation for an artist may or may not be to cover potential liability, but there are other considerations as well, such as theft, accidents, acts of God and damages to an artist's work or booth by others.
 
Below is an overview of what you should consider when buying insurance for your business.
 
Liability: Liability insurance would cover your legal responsibility if your professional activities caused injury to people or damages to the property of third parties. Here are examples to consider:
 
Let's say you are exhibiting at a festival and a customer slips and falls in your tent or a piece of your art causes injury to them, or kids are running around playing near the exhibits and one of them trips on your tie-downs hits his head on your table and needs a couple of stitches.  Although you could argue that the parents were negligent in letting their children do what they were doing, but the fact remains that your equipment played a key role in the injury.
 
Let's suppose that while setting up or tearing down you accidentally damage or break your neighbor's work.  In both cases you can be required to pay medical bills for physical injury or pay for damage to his or her property.
 
What Does Your Homeowners Insurance Cover? Be aware that your homeowner's policy most often does not cover your business even if your business is in your home. If you have a fire or flood, do not assume your homeowner's insurance will cover the tools and inventory associated with your business. In addition, you often need a specific rider to cover clients that come to your home. Your safest bet is to talk to your insurance representative and ask a series of "what if" questions.  Be sure to read the fine print on your policy to understand exactly what is and isn't covered. You also need to consider events like workshops, residencies, open studios and commissions.  Without insurance you can be held personally responsible if a person becomes injured or equipment is broken.
 
Inventory and tool insurance: Do not assume the insurance policy that covers liability at an art show will also cover any damage to your booth or loss of inventory. Most policies will only cover liability should someone get hurt in your booth. If you want insurance that will cover tools, equipment and inventory damage or loss at a festival, you need a specific policy or rider that addresses that. 
 
Business liability insurance versus business insurance: If you start looking into business insurance you will need fully understand the kind of policy being provided. "Business insurance" usually applies mostly to brick-and-mortar retail stores. Most artists don't fall under this category, so ensure that the policy specifically covers business liability for a traveling artist.

Does Your Car Insurance Cover Your Vehicle at a Show? In many cases, if you get in an accident on a way to or home from a show, your car insurance (depends on your policy) will cover damage and liability related to your car and to the other cars in the accident.  These policies usually will not cover any damages to your product due to the accident.  You need to have your vehicle licensed as a business vehicle and ensure you have a insurance to cover your products. Again, this is all about risk. 

What about liability associated with my product? This is a liability claim arising from a faulty product or installation of art that results in injury or death. There is insurance available under "commercial package policy with general liability endorsed to cover products and completed operations" that will cover these types of situations.
 
The amount of coverage you need depends on a variety of factors, including:

Your art: Are you a member of an artists' association or guild?  If you are a member of an artists' association, your membership dues may provide some kind of liability insurance protection. Even with a group policy, you may want additional coverage, or a policy that protects you as an individual.

How you work: Do you use subcontractors to install your art, or is it installed as you create it?

The material you work with: A granite sculpture can cause much more damage if toppled than a painting.

Your risk exposures: How often and how much do you and your art interact with others? Do you host workshops?  Do you have large installation pieces in public spaces?

Every artist has unique circumstances that may require coverage. A great place to start is CERF - they have a page dedicated to artist insurance coverage.  We have links to a couple public sources that will help you make informed decisions

Art Insurance Now: https://artinsurancenow.com/

My Tip From Experience:  Take a photo of your tent/booth and display before the show starts.  Insurance companies will want proof that you weighted your tent properly for an outdoor event and proof that you had the inventory you are claiming as a loss.  

Robin Markowitz
Quick Links:


Mount Dora, FL
 App. Deadline 10/1

Southlake, TX
App. Deadline: 11/1
Show Producers:

What Can Art-Linx Do For You? 

*Increase applications to your festival
*Create a positive impression of your event
*Maintain ongoing "share of mind"
*Tell artists about important developments
*Expand your pool of loyal artists
*Create a focused, cost effective marketing program to potential exhibitors
*...and much more!

 At  Art-Linx, we focus on a single goal: connecting artists with art festivals and art festivals with artists. Hundreds of festivals have found our services highly effective ...and very cost efficient.

 Call or email us today for a no obligation consultation on your artist marketing needs!

  Click HERE for more information

Artists Are Talking About..the effect of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on art festivals....without doubt, these storms took a terrible toll on those who stood in their path... and artists are certainly no exception.  No adequate method exists to survey the damage to artists' homes, work and lives. 

Art-Linx is offering any festival that extends its application period to accommodate artists a free release letting the artists know the new details. We hope to hear from you soon...meanwhile, stay dry, travel safe, best of luck in your Fall shows!

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