Some resources to go to to educate yourself and learn about how to
do shows, get into shows, be successful at shows, help shows be more
artist friendly. (And the usual disclaimer that I have no financial
involvement with any of these sources, I just know them to be good.)
Photography:
Steve Meltzer www.stevefotos.com
Writes for Crafts Report, knows his stuff.
Larry Berman: http://bermangraphics.com
Can help with ZAPP issues, digital images. His website has free
tutorials for those who want to do it themselves. He and his website
are tremendous resources for all show/zapp/digital questions
Consumer Reports of shows:
Art Fair Source Book: http://www.artfairsourcebook.com This is the
place to learn about shows. It also has a free (you must sign up)
forum that is chuck full of helpful about shows, artists
to help explain the ropes to newcomers, etc.
Read more about it:
Crafts Report: http://www.craftsreport.com It can be a bit uneven in
the writing but it is the only trade journal for show artists. Bruce
Baker and Steve Meltzer are great in their knowledge. Their 2 columns
are worth the subscription price.
Learn more about selling at a show:
Bruce Baker: http://www.bbakerinc.com Read his columns, listen to his
cd’s, take his seminars. Art needs to be sold these days. We can’t
sit in the booth and expect our work to sell itself. Bruce tells you
how to do it.
Want to sell wholesale?
American Craft site: http://www.americancraft.com The forum attached
to this site has many helpful artists on it, who can guild a newbie
thru working wholesale shows
Want to make the show system better for artists?
NAIA-National Association for Independent Artists:
http://naia-artists.org This is the “trade” organization for show
artists. They are very proactive and always need $ and more members.
They have just finished a show directors conference where they
educated the show directors on the realities of show artists lives.
They have fought to keep jury fees reasonable, to standardize the
application system to make artist lives easier, to make sure shows
have a refund policy for booth fees. And that’s just the start of
NAIA’s work.
Their forum is excellent but you must be a member to access it.
I’m sure there are other resources for show artists. But these are
the best ones in my book. There is a wealth of info here.
hth
Carla