The Dreaded Outdoor Art Show
There are a few things in life that I consider to be high stakes gambles. When I worked in television, it was that off-cited thing to avoid...usage of kids and animals in a production. If it succeeded you were going to have gold. But if it failed, and they refused to cooperate, you could have a nightmare on your hands. Much of the same all-or-nothing dynamic applies to the outdoor art show.
But let's start at the foundation of a successful show: the infrastructure. Your lovely little temporary gallery-on-the-grass requires a bit of a set-up.
My standard show infrastructure all set to roll out.
DECA Art Show booth layout.
The organizers are there even earlier than that, getting the welcome booth set up and marking the lots out on the grass.
It's a good practice to check in at the organizers' booth/tent before starting set up, to get your maps, vendor badge and to make sure you've got the right lot. Often there's complimentary coffee on offer too! It's also a chance to scope out where the food vendors and port-a-potties are located.
The grass is usually still dew covered when I arrive, my runners are often soaked by the time I've walked back and forth with my supplies and art. It's quite the convoy of vehicles that arrive at dawn to the park, and it's a considerable logistical feat for the organizers to keep it all moving in and out efficiently.
Some artists are smart enough to have dollies or carts to move their supplies back and forth. Since I'm not of that category, I normally enlist a family member to help me out. Once everything is piled up on my allotted square it's time to park the van for the day then start set up.
Some artists are smart enough to have dollies or carts to move their supplies back and forth. Since I'm not of that category, I normally enlist a family member to help me out. Once everything is piled up on my allotted square it's time to park the van for the day then start set up.
My daughter lending a hand to set up the Deca show.
First is the tent. If you've attended one of these shows recently, you've probably noticed that the white 10' by 10' tent is pretty much universal.
There's a good reason for that: they are easily sourced, fairly inexpensive, and more or less open up like a giant umbrella.
Plus they are water resistant (I won't quite say water-proof, but close) and pretty much will hold back most if not all of what weather you may expect in a typical summer weekend. They have adjustable height settings and zippered walls that can be removed entirely if need be. Most shows have some sort of regulation about anchoring the tent down, for public safety. Sometimes you can stake them (apparently the strongest option), but failing that weights can be used to help hold them in place. I have bricks that I bungee-cord around the bottom of the tent supports. Other enterprising artists have created hanging weights by filling sections of PVC tubing with concrete and having a loop come out the top.
Once the tent is up all it takes is to hang some chains from one of the horizontal supports. Zip ties are the best thing for that. Then, using "S" hooks, the paintings can be hung from the chains.
I must admit I'm a little obsessive about having my S hooks with me at an art show. I check more than once to make sure they're in the bin of supplies. To me, it would be about as grave an error as forgetting to bring your passport to the airport. Without the S hooks, this show ain't happening.
Chains are a fairly easy and portable hanging system for art, but there are disadvantages. Getting the paintings to stay hanging level is a challenge. And if the wind gets up, as it is wont to do, the art will sway back and forth.
Grids provide a far sturdier, but less portable, hanging surface. Any outdoor art show worth its salt will likely have an association with a staging company that will not only rent grids for the event, but the tents themselves and weights to hold them down. Some will even construct the tent for you.
My booth at the 2023 Rosedale show, set up in advance for me by a staging company. Note large weights holding the tent corners down on the grass.
There's a lot of appeal to simply showing up to the park and your tent is there ready to receive art. Alas, the profit margins from art shows don't always justify such an indulgence.
Many artists consider it worthwhile to invest in their own grids. There's all sorts of ways to go. I ended up buying some white laundry racks, which are perfect for displaying smaller peices or reproductions. As well, they rest on the ground, and like all grid systems, have the added bonus of lending structural strength to the tent.
It's also good to purchase a folding table to hold other smaller items and support materials like business cards, your bio, or a portfolio. A table cloth is good to have to cover the table, and you can stow other support materials underneath as well.
I also have my "infrastructure bin", which is loaded with all the other essentials...a roll of duct tape, zip ties, scissors, a pen or two, business card refills, spare labels, red 'sold' stickers, a multi-head screw driver, a change of shirt for after set-up, sunscreen, snacks/lunch, plastic bags and packaging for buyers, paper and/or regular towel in case of rain.
A comfortable folding chair is a must. Some artists employ a taller folding 'director's chair' so they can remain seated and still be at eye level with guests. I also have my name sign that comes to all shows, inside or out. A good sign is particularly important at an outdoor show, because of the distances involved people will see your tent long before they're actually there.
I have price tags or signs on all items for sale in my booth. This is with my general philosophy of making the booths as self-serve as possible.
There are people who just want to browse and aren't always keen on having the artist get all over them the moment they show up in the booth. I like to greet, but then stay to the side and allow people the chance to look. Think of it as a gallery with the option to buy.
You soon learn the shopping habits of the general public. If somebody spends an inordinate amount of time in the booth, then I make an approach, usually present a card if they'd like to see more work online or ask if they have any questions about any of the works.
It's important to have cash on hand to make change. And more and more, some method of allowing people to use credit or debit cards, like having the square reader app on your phone, or even just having a smart phone in the first place to receive an etransfer, which I've done in a pinch.
I've even at times held a painting for someone at a show, put a red sold dot on it, then delivered it to their home if they're in the area. This is a nice personal touch and your can get paid at that point.
And one of my favorite rituals is after a sale is made, and the buyer walks off with the work, I display the "pelt" (the price tag with a red dot) on my tent wall. Success can beget more success in the art sales world, and building a rep as a selling, in-demand artist is part of the game.
I personally loathe game-playing like this, but let's be real. If you want to be in the business of selling your art you need to do whatever it takes. These outdoor shows are above all else a branding exercise. That's why you're out in the elements at a quasi-campsite with your work in the first place.
Let's presume for a minute that Mother Nature blesses you with a picture-perfect summer weekend, what can you expect those two days to be like?
It'll be pretty much like any other art show, except with a crucial difference. There's probably a higher degree of casual walk-by attendees than at a typical art show...people who had no intention of going to an exhibition but end up stumbling upon one literally in their back yard, as they took the dog out for a walk or the kids to the splash pad. This is both the blessing and curse of this type of show. You'll reach an audience of newbies who may not have seen your work before. But many of the passersby are there to spend 5 bucks at the ice cream truck, not thousands on a piece of art.
What I've noticed at outdoor shows is many of the artists seem to arm themselves with a healthy number of small, reasonably priced paintings. The thinking here is that a casual attendee, someone who wasn't setting out that morning to buy art, will be more likely to pick up an impulse buy for less money than some enormous triptych for four figures.
It's good to have a mix of inventory covering all the price ranges.
That said, I've sold both large and small works at these shows, sometimes only the smalls, sometimes only the large, and the only formula seems to be there is no formula. If all goes well, you'll sell a few, hand out tons of cards, meet new potential clients, get a nice tan, and get home Sunday night absolutely spent.
Speaking of Sunday night, if that's when the show ends then in all likelihood we're talking about a two day show. The question becomes what to do with the tent and the art on the Saturday overnight. Most outdoor two-day shows will employ a private security company to patrol the park overnight to keep the tents safe. The other consideration is the weather forecast. It's important to secure the tent if there's a risk of incoming rain or wind. In addition to closing the tent up tight, if there's a hint of stormy weather I'll take the art off the walls, stack it in the centre of the tent on my table (the safest spot from water) and cover it all with plastic.
It's always a slightly tense moment on Sunday morning to unzip the tent and check on the contents' well-being. I've done this drill many times and never had a problem. Only once was the park not secure enough that I had to take the art home with me on the Saturday night, and trust me, after a long day that includes initial set-up, it's about the last thing you'll feel like doing.
And lastly, it's time for a discussion of the one element that can make or break an outdoor show. Think of everything I've talked about to this point...all of the prep and effort, the costs, the time...and then have the success of all that hinge on something entirely beyond your control, the weather.
Nightmare scenario.
As I alluded to at the top of this blog, it's a high-stakes gamble. You might luck out and have ideal weather all weekend long. By ideal weather I mean clear and warm but not too hot, so that moving about is comfortable for vendors and the attending public alike.
Bad luck takes the form of rain. Rain has the dual negative effect of threatening your inventory while at the same time scaring off your purchasers. So in short, you end up spending time protecting your work from the elements in a setting with little to no chance of selling anything.
There is the occasional brave soul who comes out to look at art in a gentle rain shower, but the raison d'être of staging a show in a park (the walk by traffic) is gone. And if the rain is around during set-up or strike, it becomes even more problematic.
Bad as rain is for these shows, it's almost preferential to a windy day. Strong winds can wreak havoc with an outdoor art show.
In fact, the few times I've actually been somewhat fearful at a show has been during strong winds. Tent walls puff out and then slam back again, paintings swing about on the chains, and the whole tent itself feels like it's about to get airborne. I've had shows where I've held onto the tent's cross-beam to keep it in place, and others where I've had to chase down my escapee business cards as they blow through the fields. Worse than that, I've seen wind actually destroy other vendor's work, including an entire display of pottery that was toppled over.
"Auntie Em! It's a twister!!"
The best way to deal with the weather is to adopt the mantra "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst." If there's wet weather ahead, I make sure to pack along a roll of paper towels and a spare bathroom towel for drying off any water that works it's way onto the art, because as water resistant as the tents are, sooner or later in a steady downpour they start to drip inside. There's also the phenomena of the water pooling on the roof of the tent, especially the corners. It's good to have a broomstick or similar prod on hand to periodically push up on the tent roof and keep the water from building up. Some vendors stuff pool noodles into the interior corners of the roofline so they stay pushed out and the water doesn't gather to begin with.
As for dealing with wind, the only option is to make sure the tent is as solidly anchored as possible and your merch safely stowed. Sometimes unzipping the tent walls half way up lets the wind work through the tent and not slam the walls so hard, but it really depends on what's happening in the moment.
In Conclusion
With some of my favourite fellow artists at the Ottawa New Art Festival 2013.
So there you have it...my primer for participating in the 'dreaded outdoor art show'. Don't get me wrong...I'm not suggesting it's a miserable experience. Far from it, in fact. I've had many lovely outdoor shows with beautiful weather and large crowds the whole time. But they are complicated and a lot of work to set up, certainly far more challenging and draining than the indoor ones (for that reason, they tend to have much lower exhibitor fees). But with proper planning, the right infrastructure, and a cheerful "bring it on" attitude, you can certainly have it be a very rewarding experience.
Comments
Post a Comment