Art Festival: Applications
It is application season. Each year from January to March juried art festival applications open up. You have about three months to choose what festivals your work will thrive in, apply, and budget out for the fees.
Yes, festivals, art shows, gallery events, large showcases such as SOFA, MIAMI ART SHOW, and others all cost money. As an artist, it is your job to decide where your work will be the most successful and be ready to invest in yourself. This can be a hard thing to do for a starving artist juggling three jobs while making artwork.
These events are attended by many people who could potentially fall in love with your work right there or for future gigs.
How do you know where to apply?
1.When you are just starting out I would not recommend doing the most expensive show. I would start with a $200- $400 range event. This price range is easy to save up for, allows you to get a reasonable sense of what to price your artwork at, and gives you room to make a profit.
2 . Start with festivals that are near your location. Maybe your neighborhood or town next to you has a yearly art festival. Make that your first festival you research and apply to. Why apply locally? People love to support local artists, this is a great way to have local insight into what you are making plus you cut the cost of travel and hotel fees.
3. Apply to towns that you know support the arts. Some towns might have money or wealth but that does not mean that they support the arts. Do your research, reach out to past artists, look up the town events and try to gauge the support of the arts.
Emerging Artist Discounts
4. Apply to shows that have emerging artist discounts. When you are first starting off apply as an emerging artist. This will help your profit margin be higher, it also will put your artwork in a different category for best in show cash price.
Not ready to apply, then attend festivals this summer. Talk to artists about admission fees, ask them if they recommend the show, ask for advice. I have learned so much from other artists at events. Most of them have been doing the festival market for years. Learn from them!
time to apply
Once we have your festivals picked out it’s time to apply. Sites such as Zapp Applications or Juried Art Services tend to have the most festival applications. Set up your portfolio and start applying.
Application
Most applications want shots of your artwork. It is always important to have high-quality images for your application. Festival shows want to know you are serious, professional, and consistent. Apply a body of artwork, or a series. This shows you have enough work to exhibit and it is cohesive.
Many shows will ask for a booth shot. They want to be sure you have a white tent, professional hanging equipment, a cohesive display, and plenty of work. If it is your first year applying and you do not have a booth shot yet, then set up your booth in your backyard. It will be good practice to see how to display your work and how long it takes to set up.
If it is your first year applying and you do not have a booth shot yet, then set up your booth in your backyard.
Applications also ask for an artist statement. Have two to three sentences prepared to talk about your artwork. This is always good to have, I have a large series of artist statements in a google docs folder.
Applying for festivals is a lot of work, getting your artwork ready for sale, traveling to the site, setting up the booth, and talking to hundreds of people for two days about your artwork is a lot. Be sure to be prepared for long days. However, having your artwork seen by many is why we create. You learn more about your artwork, your clients, and always become inspired to create more. Best of luck applying now.