On the road again…
If you’re an artist and/or an art buyer (they’re not necessarily mutually exclusive), you probably know it’s art fair season, when nearly every town or city hosts an outdoor art festival featuring art in rows of white tents, live music, and food trucks for a day or a weekend. I call this “booth show season.” During the warm months, these are usually juried outdoor shows. For each show, artists submit an application with photos of their work, and a panel of judges decides who will exhibit art at the event.
I’ve been participating in booth shows for just a few years and decided to ramp it up this season. I submitted my applications in late 2022 and early 2023 and accepted most of the shows I was juried into, which means my long-suffering husband and I have been on the road a lot this spring and summer. Every two to three weeks, we load the SUV, drive to a distant place, unload the SUV, set up the tent, hang the art, man the tent, sell the art, break down the tent, load the SUV, drive toward home, unload the SUV, and then do it all over again a few weeks later. In the midst of this hectic scenario, I make the art. We’ve been to west Texas, southern Missouri, central Missouri, central Illinois, and southern Nebraska so far. Chicago and Kansas City are upcoming, and I end my booth show season here in Lawrence.
I should mention the necessary organization and preparation for out-of-town shows, beyond the creating of the all-important art inventory. Each piece must be titled, priced, wired or somehow readied for display, and labeled. Because you’re packing everything but the proverbial kitchen sink into your vehicle, the art must be securely packaged. It only takes a bump in the road to ruin a poorly wrapped piece of art. It’s also imperative to have a packing checklist. Do you want to forget your tent weights when you’re headed to Nebraska? I think not. And about the aforementioned long-suffering spouse…few people do these shows on their own.
As with all endeavors, lessons are learned. Before I begin next year’s application process, here are questions I’ll ask myself. No, here are questions I will tattoo on my forehead, so I am sure to ask them before I hit “submit.”
Is this show a good fit? Just because my ego loves being admitted to a competitive show with hundreds of applicants doesn’t mean the show is for me. Before applying to a show, research its past years and the artists who have participated. If there are artists who appear several years in a row, chances are they find buyers at that show. I’ve found there really is regional art as well as regional audiences. I’m not suggesting you stay in your region, just that you know exactly where you’re going.
Does the math add up? I now determine how much art I must sell to cover my application fee, my booth fee, and my travel expenses (gas, food, and hotels are not free). Be liberal in your calculations! Will you need to board a pet? Add it in. There are many reasons beyond profit making to do an out-of-town booth show (to be discussed in a future Art Talk), but ideally you should feel confident about your ability to cover expenses.
Is bigger always better? A popular, out-of-town show in an interesting expensive city or resort area might sound like a great idea: more buyers, more disposable income! But the expenses will likely trickle down to you in higher booth fees and so on. And will your art meet the market? (See the first question above.)
“Booth shows” aren’t for everyone; these days, you can sell your art without leaving your home. But if you enjoy a bit of an adventure (i.e., road trips), enjoy talking to dozens of strangers on a summer weekend (most people are in a good mood at art shows), and love the feeling of selling a piece of your (he)art to someone obviously thrilled to have it, there are rewards beyond the monetary kind.