What if I Applied to My Own Fair?
Of course I’ve encouraged thousands of artists to apply for the fair! It’s my business and also my passion to support artists in their success. I tell them how easy it is to fill out the application, how affordable it is compared to other fairs, how you just need a range of pieces in a various sizes and price point… easy!
The other day someone challenged me to apply to my own fair to see just how easy it is! Here’s what I found out.
It’s not as simple as I thought!
The actual application form is easy and fast, but it took me several hours of brainstorming and resource gathering to get to that point. Here are the main items I had to grapple with and my thought process behind it.
Planning
Before anything, I had to ask myself if the SF fair fit into my goals and if the timing was good for me.
Long Range Plans
Does this serve my career goal?
What do I hope to gain from the fair?
Is this part of my overall marketing strategy?
Timing
Does it fit in my schedule?
Do I have enough work at this point in time?
How does leaving for a week affect my relationships: partner, family, pets?
Can I take off time from work or other responsibilities?
What else is going on that fair weekend? Can I capitalize on that?
Collage material waiting to be used.
I created stARTup because I didn’t see an efficient way for artists like me to get my work in front of all of my old connections and make new connections as well. I’ve enjoyed an enviable level of success in the art world but after a lengthy creative hiatus, I’m working on a new series and am ready to get back out there.
I’m interested in new relationships with galleries and museums. But I want to see my work in private and corporate collections, maybe some public projects too. So, applying for this fair fits into my goals.
How about my schedule? Well I’m organizing stARTup SF, so yeah, I’ll be in the area. I can make sure my son stays with his mother that weekend and I have enough work. Also, because Art Market SF is happening at the same time, I plan to reach out to my favorite galleries. stARTup stays open later than the others, so I will invite them to come to see my room and have a glass of scotch with me.
fear
As soon as I figured out the logistics, some doubts started to pop up. I wasn’t expecting that.
Am I and my artwork ready for a fair like this?
Will the work be well-received?
Can I stand for three days talking about my work?
Will I sell enough to cover my costs?
Will I meet dealers and curators who can help my career?
Will work get damaged or stolen?
What’s my worst case scenario?
I know I have enough work to display and I believe it will be well-received, as it has been in recent exhibitions, but I do have questions about my ability to stand in a room for three days, repeating the same things over and over to fair visitors. I’ve done it, but I’m not sure I like it. I’m fine socializing at social events, but don’t really like to talk about myself that much; I have a limit to how much “putting myself out there” I can take. For the sake of my artwork and career goals however, I will certainly try.
My worst-case scenario is not failing to sell, because I look at fairs not so much as a money-making opportunity, but a serious networking event. My worst case would be to not connect with other artists and art professionals, so that is where I think I will concentrate my energies: on outreach and connecting.
Collage #116, 2017
Costs
Ok, now this is the part where the rubber meet the road for many artists, including me. Here’s what I have to consider:
Exhibitor Fees
Shipping
Transportation
Framing
Insurance
Parking
Hanging devices, other display hardware
Lighting
Collateral: postcards, business cards, catalog/brochure
Accommodations
Food
Helper
I’ll aim for one of the more modestly priced suites, that’s $3400. I have a truck so I can save $ by transporting my artwork from my studio in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco to the Marina district where the fair is on the other side of town. So $20 should more than cover the gas. The work is already framed for display. I have some unframed pieces I can bring, but I really like my work to be ‘ready to install’. I’ll bring the unframed pieces as back up. I have clip lights I can bring from my studio extra lighting in the room, but I’ll need hanging hardware and shower tension rods to hang the lights, things like that: $150.
I already have some nice Moo.com business cards (they’re the best!), but I also plan to print 500, 8.5 x 11 half fold brochures with PS Print which I’ll pick up in Oakland: $175. I won’t need accommodations, because I live in SF but I could even stay in my room at the Del Sol (a $1000 savings!), and I will spring for the discounted hotel valet parking at $15/day: $60. For food, I’m budgeting $60/day for the 4 days of the fair: $300. I might be able spend below that if I can get the Fair Director to spring for a meal and a drink while I’m there! Pizza anyone?
Helper costs? My partner is my greatest support. I know she’ll come with me to help. So, I won’t have to pay for assistance, but I’ll cover her meals: $300
So adding this up, my expenses will come to about $4,405. Seems like a lot, but I’ll look at my resources and see how it pans out.
My Resources
Can I afford this? Looking into my bank account right now, I’d say, not so much….Luckily, I don’t have to pay it all at once. Upon acceptance (fingers crossed!) I need to pay a 50% deposit, $1700.
For the balance of my exhibitor fee, I’m going to ask the fair organizer to break it into 2 payments of $850, one in March and one in April. Here are my resources and ideas for raising the money I need for this venture:
Savings
Art sales
Go Fund Me campaign
Studio sale
Collector loan
Trade
I’ve already eliminated the idea of a crowd-sourcing campaign like Go Fund Me, because, well, the optics of a fair director asking people to help fund the cost to participate in their own fair (or any other for that matter), looks bad. I’m already using some of my savings for the initial deposit, so where else can I raise some cash? I’m planning on doing a studio scotch tasting party and sale in March, so I might be able to sell some older, discounted work at that event. The other thing I’m going to do is reach out to my collectors and just straight up ask them to buy a piece to help me reach my goal. As a final option, I’ll ask one of my best collectors to loan me the rest of the money. I keep 100% of my sales from the fair, so I can split those sales with her or set aside the first sales for her and keep the rest for myself. I have options, which feels really good.
With this plan, I’m pretty confident that I can cover all or most of the costs of the fair before I even arrive at the hotel!
How to make the most of the event
OK, now that I’ve got a handle on the costs, I need start getting ready and focus (yes, even pre-fair) on how to make the most of the fair and reach my goals. This is my plan:
Set up appointments before, during, and after the fair with arts professionals I want to meet. This means calling and emailing them. It’s a numbers game and the answer will always be ‘no’ if I don’t get out there and ask.
Do my own newsletter and social media marketing campaign and play off of the efforts of stARTup’s campaign by sharing posts, tagging people in their posts that I think will love the fair.
Invite all my colleagues and professional contacts in SF to the fair. Send out a newsletter with fair hours, ticket links, and other cool things going on near the fair that weekend.
Arrange my own special event in my room during the fair (dealer scotch tasting- can you tell I like scotch?)
Connect with other artist/exhibitors at the fair. Build relationships.
Do a ticket giveaway raffle on Instagram. I get 20 free tickets, and I’ve seen other artists use theirs this way. It’s a great way to add excitement at no cost!
Have good printed collateral to give away at the fair.
Capture business cards and emails from visitors. I’ll bring a nice notebook, pen and box for this.
I’ll offer to hand-deliver substantial artwork I sell local to collectors to see more of their collections and start to build that relationship. I can drop those off on the way home or run over one of the fair mornings.
Send work out with collectors “on approval” if necessary. First have them sign a credit card authorization form. If they love my piece, I can run the sale and email a receipt.
Offer payment plans for more expensive artwork.
Follow up, follow up, follow up with everyone who expressed interest after the fair.
OK, that took awhile, but I have a great plan in place and actually feel excited to start reaching out. Wait, first I have to apply…
Applying for stARTup San francisco 2020
Here’s my actual application.
Name—check. City—check. Referred by…a friend….
My address—check. City—check.
Uploaded 7 images—check. Pretty easy and fast….
Uploaded the doc with the image captions and my proposal—check.
My artist statement and proposal
So here’s what I proposed. While being aware of the hanging limitations of the hotel (i.e., no holes in the walls), I’ve listed the types of work I’m bring to the fair, how I plan to display them, and the thought process behind it, which is to highlight the many manifestations of my collage work. In addition, I want to bring work in different sizes and price points to have enough art that everyone can afford depending on their budgets.
From the application:
The small framed collages I’ve submitted for your review run anywhere from 6” x 8” to 14” x 11” and are made with images I’ve appropriated from fine art sources: auction catalogs, art magazine, art history books, museum posters, etc. Like past projects of mine, they explore notions of value. In this case, they are not about the significant historic or economic value of the art and artists. Rather they are an aesthetic appreciation of colors, shapes, and textures that are visually active and meant to confound one’s expectations of the familiar source imagery. The large shaped collages, running in size from 72” x 40” and up, are adhered to laser-cut ¾” maple plywood cut into its unique shape.
For stARTup San Francisco 2020, I plan to display a series of the small framed collages on the walls of the hotel room using 3M Command nail-less hangers and then have a series of medium sized (30” x 40”) unframed works on paper in a portfolio on the bed. The large shaped collages will be displayed simply, by leaning them again the wall, which is one of the ways I have exhibited them in various gallery shows. In the bathroom, I am planning to install an installation of 75 amorphously shaped collages on board on the tile shower surround using poster putty for easy removal. The uniquely shaped collages will range from 2” x 3” to 8” x 10” and will create a colorful abstract pattern on the white geometric bathroom tiles.
My goal is to display the collage work in all its different permutations, sizes, and price points, which should also allow for collectors of differing means to acquire artwork in their individual budgets.
Now, the only thing left to do is pay the $25 application fee and hit “Submit.” I happen to have a free application link which just saved me a couple of sawbucks….and now you have it too!
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Do you still have questions about stARTup or applying to stARTup San Francisco 2020? I can be reached at ray@startupartfair.com or via text: 415.297.2319