"Congratulations!" .... oh crap!

First a quick hello to everyone! My first post here (just subscribed yesterda)though I have been lurking for some time.

I hate to start off with this...but...well I have a problem that some of you may be able to relate to...I hope.

My lovely wife, after much prodding and teasing finally got me to put a portfolio together some few months back. She turned around and submitted it to at least one art show. I agreed, never thinking I would get into this thing. Today, she called near shouting, I thought a child was injured, but no...we got accepted and invited to show. Its called Art in the Square and its in a large open air mall here in Tulsa where we live. Its comprised of local artists covering various art forms...photography, painting, pottery, wood crafts etc. I gather its rather difficult to get into as they only had 15 or so slots open. We got one of them.

While I am happy to be accepted...I realize that I am NOT prepared for something like this...logisticly. I have the images...I have plenty of prints, hanging on the wall in the house. =)

I am sure some of you are experienced in this sort of thing...and would be VERY interested in your tips/suggestion etc. I obviously have a bunch of prints to make but outside of this I am pretty much clueless and a lil shell shocked to be truthful.

I need a plan. As we are devising it...any tips or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. TIA!

Jason

Congrats and welcome to APUG. As to your query, I am afraid I am unable to offer any credible advice.

Welcome, congratulations.
How much time do you have before you show?
Do they want the images from the portfolio, or are you free to choose any images you want?
How many images are you going to put up?

This information will help folks give you suggestions

Other requirements you need to know are what kind of display are they looking for from you? Does the work need to be framed and hung on a wall, or are you going to have a bin for matted prints only? What kind of space will you get? Will they provide wallspace to hang work on, or do you need to provide your own partitions to hang work from? Do they have any expectations about sales, should you make any? Will they provide some logistics to support sales (credit card machine, etc), or is that entirely yours to manage?

jhopkins said:

...we got accepted and invited to show.

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WE?! Hahahaha! Cool, I guess she's got some work to do!

Welcome, Jason!

jstraw said:

WE?! Hahahaha! Cool, I guess she's got some work to do!

Welcome, Jason!

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You crack me up. Those were my exact thoughts.

tim in san jose

jstraw said:

WE?! Hahahaha! Cool, I guess she's got some work to do!

Welcome, Jason!

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k_jupiter said:

You crack me up. Those were my exact thoughts.

tim in san jose

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Yeah, guys, but remember this. The agent gets a huge percentage and basically "owns" the artist!

All kidding aside, to the OP, I thing FlyingCamera gave you some good first questions to ask.

My best advice would be to 'fess up to the organizers and tell them it's your first show and ask them for advice. This is one of those times in life where humility is the best strategy!

Good luck and be sure to remember us when you become rich and famous!

mark said:

Welcome, congratulations.
How much time do you have before you show?
Do they want the images from the portfolio, or are you free to choose any images you want?
How many images are you going to put up?

This information will help folks give you suggestions

Click to expand...

Show is October 6th.

I believe that we are able to show any image we wish...portfolio or otherwise.

As to how many images...I dont know. They ARE sending a packet with details on where we are set up etc.

TheFlyingCamera said:

Other requirements you need to know are what kind of display are they looking for from you? Does the work need to be framed and hung on a wall, or are you going to have a bin for matted prints only? What kind of space will you get? Will they provide wallspace to hang work on, or do you need to provide your own partitions to hang work from? Do they have any expectations about sales, should you make any? Will they provide some logistics to support sales (credit card machine, etc), or is that entirely yours to manage?

Click to expand...

As to the space...my understanding is that we get space ina courtyard area...all display will be our responsibility. So as whether we do partitions, bins etc...I believe thats the decisions we have to make. This is really why I am concerned. While I have tons of prints, some pretty good. I am not reallyh worried about the prints. I am kicking around how to present these.

As to sales...I believe that its entirely up to us, again we are waiting on a packet that is supposed to give us the details as to the availability of credit card machines etc. At this point I am assuming nothing and trying to plan a blank space on the ground.

jstraw said:

WE?! Hahahaha! Cool, I guess she's got some work to do!

Welcome, Jason!

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HEHE...I wish! She is not making my prints...but believe me...she is gonna get used to mounting and framing...in a hurry!

copake_ham said:

Yeah, guys, but remember this. The agent gets a huge percentage and basically "owns" the artist!

All kidding aside, to the OP, I thing FlyingCamera gave you some good first questions to ask.

My best advice would be to 'fess up to the organizers and tell them it's your first show and ask them for advice. This is one of those times in life where humility is the best strategy!

Good luck and be sure to remember us when you become rich and famous!

Click to expand...

BWAA HA HA HA rich and famous...I seriously doubt it.

Great advice about fessing up. Have already done so...and got a cranky lady that basically said...your packet answers these questions...hence I am just planning on space on the ground and going from there.

Thank you all!

Sorry just kinda blasting through these replies. Thank you all for your prompt attention, and most importantly...your time. You all caught me in a fluster. =)

Congrats... good luck... and welcome to APUG!!!!!!

gene

It certainly is an honor to be accepted into a juried art show. Some people that make a living by selling their work at art shows are not accepted to particular shows. I don’t sell work at art shows, but many of my framing customers do so I can talk a little about this. You will need to think about what you hope to accomplish with this show. Many people have a very difficult time making any money at all at their first few shows, let alone recouping their costs for display equipment. Do you plan to do more art shows? Do you have vehicles or trailers to carry everything?

Photography sales at most art shows are mostly matted photographs (mounted to foamcore, matted, and inserted into a clear protective bag). Many photographers will exhibit and sell framed work but they are generally used to attract potential customers into your booth.

You will want to look into the best resource I know of on the web for artshow photographers:
http://www.artshowphoto.com/
and its associated forum:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/artshow_photo/


Cheers,
Mark

fdi said:

It certainly is an honor to be accepted into a juried art show. Some people that make a living by selling their work at art shows are not accepted to particular shows. I don’t sell work at art shows, but many of my framing customers do so I can talk a little about this. You will need to think about what you hope to accomplish with this show. Many people have a very difficult time making any money at all at their first few shows, let alone recouping their costs for display equipment. Do you plan to do more art shows? Do you have vehicles or trailers to carry everything?

Photography sales at most art shows are mostly matted photographs (mounted to foamcore, matted, and inserted into a clear protective bag). Many photographers will exhibit and sell framed work but they are generally used to attract potential customers into your booth.

You will want to look into the best resource I know of on the web for artshow photographers:
http://www.artshowphoto.com/
and its associated forum:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/artshow_photo/


Cheers,
Mark

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Thanks for the links!! Very helpful stuff that!

This being the very first show we have done, I really don't have any expectations. I certainly don't expect to make ANY money on this show. As of now, I honestly not sure if I will ever do another art show. I am happy with my existing job, I wasnt really looking to a career move.

That said, finding a way to supplement our 'toy' budget would be fantastic. While I dont have a trailer, I have access to a couple. I do drive a full size truck (with locking weather proof bed cover) and can haul stuff easy enough. I would love to sit here and say that I intend to do art shows, but truthfully, I am not convinced I am. This is VERY much an experiment. I let her submit us into the show and I honestly didnt expect to get accepted.

jhopkins said:

BWAA HA HA HA rich and famous...I seriously doubt it.

Great advice about fessing up. Have already done so...and got a cranky lady that basically said...your packet answers these questions...hence I am just planning on space on the ground and going from there.

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If you can find out a name or two of other participants, one of them might be more helpful than CrankyLady.

jhopkins said:

Thanks for the links!! Very helpful stuff that!

That said, finding a way to supplement our 'toy' budget would be fantastic. While I dont have a trailer, I have access to a couple. I do drive a full size truck (with locking weather proof bed cover) and can haul stuff easy enough. I would love to sit here and say that I intend to do art shows, but truthfully, I am not convinced I am. This is VERY much an experiment. I let her submit us into the show and I honestly didnt expect to get accepted.

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Given that, if I were you I would try to keep your costs down as much as possible. I would also try to keep your expenses more generic. For instance, if you frame some of your work, frame it in such a way that it you would if you get a gallery showing (and ask your wife to work on that next). Only frame one copy of each print you intend to display and don’t frame too many. When buying mats and frames I suggest you keep it simple and stick with gallery style. Gallery style will keep your costs down, allow you to easily swap different images into your frames, and will work well if you get a gallery exhibit. I have info about gallery style here. Try to keep your print sizes, mat colors, and frame colors the same so that you can maximize qty discounts. Unless you already have mounting equipment I suggest you just t-hinge your work. I have info about t-hinging and other mounting techniques here.

fdi said:

Given that, if I were you I would try to keep your costs down as much as possible. I would also try to keep your expenses more generic. For instance, if you frame some of your work, frame it in such a way that it you would if you get a gallery showing (and ask your wife to work on that next). Only frame one copy of each print you intend to display and don’t frame too many. When buying mats and frames I suggest you keep it simple and stick with gallery style. Gallery style will keep your costs down, allow you to easily swap different images into your frames, and will work well if you get a gallery exhibit. I have info about gallery style here. Try to keep your print sizes, mat colors, and frame colors the same so that you can maximize qty discounts. Unless you already have mounting equipment I suggest you just t-hinge your work. I have info about t-hinging and other mounting techniques here.

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FDI - THANK YOU! This is EXACTLY the information I need. Thank you so very much for your time and expertise.

You may be interested in something like these:

http://www.dickblick.com/zz173/27/

jstraw said:

You may be interested in something like these:

http://www.dickblick.com/zz173/27/

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I am distributor for Lineco and carry lots of their products, but not those because they cost over 5 times as much as clearbags from Impact Images which is what most artshow photographers use. They are acid and lignin free, composed of an archivally safe plastic, crystal clear, and they have the reusable adhesive strip in on the bag instead of the flap so your print doesn’t get stuck to it. The majority of our sizes are large enough to handle a print matted and mounted on 3/16 foamcore.

fdi said:

I am distributor for Lineco and carry lots of their products, but not those because they cost over 5 times as much as clearbags from Impact Images which is what most artshow photographers use. They are acid and lignin free, composed of an archivally safe plastic, crystal clear, and they have the reusable adhesive strip in on the bag instead of the flap so your print doesn’t get stuck to it. The majority of our sizes are large enough to handle a print matted and mounted on 3/16 foamcore.

Click to expand...

Wow, thanks for the information!