Art Festival Newsletter | September 2023

ART FESTIVAL DIRECTORS CONFERENCE

EVENT DETAILS

This two and a half day professional development event brings together show directors and those connected to the industry for learning, discussion, inspiration and networking opportunities. This conference is tailored to individuals who are involved with the planning of art fairs or festivals, including board chairs, council or chamber staff, and volunteers.

TOPICS OF DISCUSSION

This is a sample of what the conference will discuss this year. Details will be on the Art-Linx website when finalized.

Go Green Initative - Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Shows
Hybrid Marketing
Enforcing Show Rules
Take a Bite - Food Contracts 101
Attracting the Next Generation of Volunteers
The Power of Influencers

SCHEDULE

Wenesday April 24th - Attend the fabulous Festival of the Arts - Arts Council Oklahoma City opening night event. Tickets provided by the Conference and include food and beverage.

Thursday, April 25th - Conference day with evening opportunity to return to the Festival of the Arts.

Friday, April 26th - Conference day that ends at 3pm. Walking tour of the gorgeous public art in Oklahoma City at the end of the day (tenative).

Registration opened NOW at https://www.art-linx.com/conference

Payment for early registration is due 1/15/24

PLANNING YOUR ART SHOW YEAR

May be the most important thing you do for your art. Planning for the next season of art shows takes time and organization. This Newsletter will remind you of what you will need to consider to create the perfect tour to showcase your art in 2024.

Creating a Calendar

Between work and personal schedules, you need an organized system to keep track of all your shows, commitments, and various task lists.

While I still love a paper calendar there are great, FREE digital tools to help you stay organized and have the added benefit of being able to access your entire calendar from any device at any time.

Any.do calendar

For task management, Any do is a solid calendar option. It functions more like a personal Kanban board and to-do list, where you can organize tasks by date, and then you can easily visualize them by day.

If you have a more deadline-driven approach to tasks and events, then this calendar app is worth exploring. It is visual and makes it easy to not only upload and create new tasks but it also integrates with any additional calendars you may have. So, you can see everything in one place and it syncs across any device.

Google Calendar

If you are already using Google Workspace for your work or Gmail for personal email, then using Google Calendar is simple.

One of the best features of Google Calendar is the differentiation you can make in your calendar between appointments, meetings, tasks, or simple reminders, so you can stay on top of the variety of things you need to do each day. You can even create your own color-coding system for different types of meetings and tasks.

Some additional nice features include the "My Tasks" board, where if you place a task in your calendar, it immediately becomes a single task in that board.

Not to mention, Google Calendar has dozens of Chrome extensions you can use to be more productive and take back control of your calendar.

Apple Calendar

If you have exclusively Apple devices and also use their mail app, Apple Calendar will work for your scheduling and calendar needs.

This calendar application, which is pre-installed on all Apple devices, is intuitive and user-friendly, allowing you to easily create and share events, reminders, and tasks.

One of the favorite features of Apple Calendar is its ability to sync across all Apple devices. This means that when you add an event to the calendar on your iPhone, it automatically appears on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Another benefit of using Apple Calendar is the ability to set notifications and reminders for events. You can receive alerts in the form of pop-ups, banners, or sounds, and can customize how far in advance you want to be reminded of an event. This ensures that you never miss an important appointment or deadline.

Outlook Calendar

If you are already using Microsoft Outlook, then sticking with Outlook Calendar can make sense.

One stand-out feature is the dashboard option in which you can have your calendar/notes/goals of the week or day and have them all in one place instead of having different information on different pages from different sources.

Just like with Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar has hundreds of calendar integrations you can use to connect it to all of the other software you may be using.

Another feature that you may enjoy is the notes integration. You can sync calendar notes between your computer and any mobile device.

CREATING A SCHEDULE

Being an artist is the definition of keeping up with multiple projects, and sometimes deadlines are overlooked or forgotten. Now that you have created a digital (or paper) calendar - it is time to start populating it with your prospective show schedule.

Writing the application deadlines, notifcation dates and booth payment dates is key to saving money (late fees add up) and budgeting for the booth fees.

Be smart about your travel decisions - create a plan of shows that work geographically. Travel has become more time consuming that it use to be, so factor in delays.

Creating a scheudle is not just about the shows but when you create your art. The endgame here is figuring out how to effectively manage your time both on and off the road. Keeping an irregular or undisciplined schedule has no upside whatsoever, especially if there are significant gaps between the times you make art.

ARTIST APPLICATION - UPDATE YOUR PROFILE

It may have been a few years since you filled out your ZAPP or JAS profiles. You need to check and see if the information is up to date!!

Double check spelling, don't be cute and have all capital letters or lower case - this informaiton is downloaded as you have written it and is a major PIA to rework for websites, show programs, advertising, etc.

Shows are a partnership - in order to tag your work on social media - you need to have that information in your application.

Double check that that your website link works - extra letters or not having a slash at the end can be the difference on what the patrons can click through on the show website.

WRITE A GREAT ARTIST STATEMENT

Your Artist Statement can be the difference between being invited to showcase at the show or rejected. Most juried art shows require a statement of technique and materials and an artist statement. You will need to prepare both. You should be excited to get the artist statement question - it is a chance to shine.

An Artist Statement may be used to tell the jury your story, and to enhance the show website or social media to tell your story. It is not a string of adjectives, a list of your accomplishments, or a story about discovering art.

Writing clear, concise, and compelling sentences about your art is daunting, so start with keywords. Be specific and avoid art jargon. Use active rather than passive tense, and find verbs and adjectives that really strike to the heart of what it is you do. Click HERE to read more about creating your Artist Statement.

Write in the first person and I encourage the use of full sentences, as fragments sound flighty.

What: Make sure to state what medium you work in, its amazing how many artists do not use this fundamental fact.

Why: Be confident: Your art shouldn’t “hope” or “try” to do something to the viewer, it should just do it. Here is where you can also bring up, without going into the art historical weeds, your influences and inspirations.

How: If you have a truly unique process that’s important to understand—or one that images can’t accurately convey—briefly describe how you make your work. Please note: Collage is not a unique process and there’s no inventive way to describe it as such, even if you use the word “juxtapose.”

As an artist, this is an opportunity to create a living document reflecting your art and aspirations. For the reader, the statement provides a window into understanding who you are and what your vision is.

NOTE - if you are speaking of a particular collection in your statement make sure these are the images you are presenting to the jury.

Last Chance to APPLY: Click logo for more information!

Coconut Grove Arts Festival

Coconut Grove, FL

Februrary 17-19, 2024

Application Deadline 9/15/23

YOUR IMAGES TELL YOUR STORY

TELL YOUR STORY! The jury has limited time to score a large number of artists at the same time. Your images need to have a theme, be focused and sharp! Work that is consistent in quality with a harmonious palette. Present pieces of art that work together to tell a story.

As an artist, images of your artwork are your most important asset for being selected to participate at a show. Even if you have done a show for a very long time, the jury may change every year and a poor or old image of a great piece of art could mean the difference between being selected and being rejected. To help ensure your artwork is given its best chance in the jury check out this great article by Justin Chapel - https://www.callforentry.org/photographing-artwork/

You need to have sharp images without distraction. ZAPP no longer requires black bands around your images. If you have these the jury knows that this is old work.

Changing your images to reflect current work is essential and in keeping with the social media needs should be both gradation and white backgrounds. Black backgrounds are very difficult to use on social media and print ads. Clean, white backgrounds will enhance your opporutnity to be hightlighted on the shows' print, social and digital marketing.

BOOTH IMAGE IS THE FINAL FACTOR

Pay attention to your booth image - it is the deciding factor in being invited to a show. Have your work and booth professionally photographed, or learn how to photograph it properly. It makes a difference. Declutter the booth before photographing and showcase your current art - what you are submitting to the jury.

1. Keep the booth bright, clean, open.

2. Show a bit of the tent, but crop so the tent legs do not show.

3. NO SIGNS or people. Remove any identifying signage. Do not show yourself or your customers in the booth.

5. It is NEVER appropriate to show awards in your booth, unless it was award at that show. Never show an award or ribbon in your jury images.

6. Give your work space to be shown. Less is more.

7. Keep your work inside your booth space. The show and your neighbors will thank you.

8. A rug or flooring is nice, but it's not necessary.

BEFORE THE SHOW

Be prepared for a barrage of emails from events once you are accepted. These will have important information, dates, deadlines, and other requirements. READ THEM and then create a folder or other organizing system within your email to keep track of them all.

Show information can change radically from one year to the next.

If you are not coming to the show, decline early so that another artist can be placed.

If you are unable to pay by the deadline, and want to come to show, be proactive. Ask the Director if you can have a payment plan or give a date when you will be able to pay for your booth space. Directors want you at the show, but they also have a fiduciary responsibility and limited space.

Contact Robin Markowitz at Robin@Art-Linx.com

The Art-Linx website has the most current Call to Artist information