I hope the post yesterday on considering a season of art fairs did not change your mind in making the leap, nothing in the world of art is easy and I just want to make sure you are prepared.  If you are still interested in art fairs, the next step is to research the available art fairs and find what shows would be best for your work.

Even before looking at the list of shows you should take a look at your work and determine what demographic will match what you will be showing.  If you have a series of images of farmland then maybe a show in a mountain town is not the best option, likewise pictures of lighthouses may not work in some parts of the country.  However there are some scenes that work well all over the country, so it is important to find what will work for you.  I mostly show images from around Denver, Colorado so my area of focus is near Denver as a buyer in Chicago may not be as interested.  It is perfectly fine to have multiple series of work submitted on two different applications to a show, just be prepared to show whatever is accepted and if both are you will need to select one to show at that show.

Look at the body of work you chose and select four or five strong images, remember to ask others to get their input as well. These selected images will be what you will submit to be used in the jury process.  A recent tip I received is show only color or black and white in the case of photography, as mixing the two may not be well received by the jurors.  From the images selected place them in a natural order with great opening and closing images.  The jury process is a little different from show to show, where some will show all of your images at once and others will go through them one by one.

As part of your application you will need a picture of the booth you will use at the art fair, which is referred to as a ‘booth shot’.  This can be difficult in your first year, as you have not done shows in the past.  Some shows will allow you to use an image from a gallery, or let you describe your booth.  There are also photographers in most areas of the country who will set-up a booth and take photographs with your artwork hanging for a fee.  The booth shot is quite important, as it will put your work in context and also show you will have a professional looking booth if accepted to the show. Be sure the images you will be submitting are a representation of your work is included in your booth shot.

Once you are ready to submit your work, it is time to find what shows are out there.  You have already determined the areas where you be focusing on when you selected your artwork.  Finding the shows in the area can be found using some online resources some of which are free and other that cost a little money.  The easiest method is to create an account on Zapplication, which is free and where you will apply for most shows.  On this site you can search for shows by area and quickly get a list. Not every show uses this service, so you will want to check and see what else is out there.  If you are looking in Colorado be sure to check out the Colorado Artist Tour, which costs $10 per year.  The Art Fair Source Book is the main guide out there and covers the whole country.  You may also get ideas from any search engine. Search for shows you have visited in the past or look at the websites from people you have seen at shows as normally they will lists their schedule.  One word of caution, most likely you will want to avoid any show which includes craft in the name.

The normal thing to do is shoot for the best shows out there and avoid some of the smaller shows.  When starting out you want to make sure you look at all shows as you don’t only want to show your work but also get experience doing an art fair as well.  I found last year one of my best shows was a small show where I was one of two photographers.  The other shows I did had more traffic, but you are vying against many more talented artists as well.  My advice is to mix it up with both and find out what audience works best for your work.

Upon submitting your work there are two sets of fees for almost all shows, an application fee and a booth fee.  The application fee is paid when you submit your work and ranges from $25-$40, where the booth fee is due upon acceptance to the show and can be between $250 and $500 with some shows being even more.  If a show is using Zapplication you will pay the booth fee once you are notified of acceptance, other shows may ask for a check for the booth fee when submitting your work. This is more so the case when you have to mail your information directly to the show.

If you notice there are shows on the same weekend be sure to hedge your applications by submitting for both the shows.  It is not a problem to decline an invitation if you are accepted to multiple shows on the same dates, however if you look at deadline dates they will fall close together in most instances so you can not wait to hear from one and then apply to the other.

You do need to be ready for rejection and if that is a problem, then you may want to reconsider doing art shows as it can come quite often.  Some shows will get hundreds of entries and others much more, however there is only a limited area of space at an art fair so you may not get into the show.  Don’t take it personally!  The jurors for the show this year may not judge your work high enough. However next year there will be different jurors, which can end up with acceptance to the show.

One last piece of advice prior to submitting your application make sure you have read all the information on the application and be sure to include everything required as you have one chance.

Tomorrow it is time to get ready for the show and what you will need to include in your preparations.