Every year it seems like there are more and more art shows that you can apply for from little church shows to large fine art shows. How do you decide which ones to participate in?

This hub is designed to guide you through the difficult choices and confusing options for choosing art shows. Choices will depend on whether you are a new artist, experienced artist, and what type of artwork you create. But most of the guidelines will apply to everyone. If you have questions after you read through the entire article, please feel free to ask them in the comment section of this hub.

Before you choose from the numerous art show applications that you receive each year, you need to define yourself as an artist. There are several questions that you need to ask yourself to help you determine which shows are the best for you.

• What type of artwork are you going to sell at your shows?
• What is the retail price range of the items that you are selling? (the price the customer pays)
• What type of demographic does your work appeal to?
• What is the bottom line profit that you need to make from your work to be satisfied?

It is extremely important to research each art show thoroughly before you apply.  Even when you do, you are not guaranteed a great show, but if you don't, you are much more likely to be disappointed. 

Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way.  Some shows are just ways for organizations to earn money from the artists.  The worst show I was ever in, I had to pay to be in the show, travel about an hour away from my studio, and then there were next to no customers.  The only booths that sold were food booths.  And most of their customers were the artists.

You do not want this kind of thing to happen to you.  It costs you money, and wastes your time.  It also saps your confidence in yourself.  Therefore, the need to research.

Do not believe the show promoters about anything except for the physical dimensions of the show, and booth size and price.  It is your job as the participant to research the show's potential.  Here is a guide of what to look for:

• How much will it cost you to participate?  Include your travel, your time, and any other expenses including covering your store while you are gone if you have one.
• What could you do instead of the show?
• What is the demographic that will attend the show?  Does it match the demographic that you have determined that is most likely to buy what you are selling?
• How many years has the show been running? The longer the better.
• Who are the show organizers?
• How have artists done in the past and what type of artists have been successful there?
• How much has the promoter advertised the show?
  
• Does it seem like this show would be a good choice for you?

If the facts do not match what the promoter tells you, then do not go to the show.  The promoter's job is to sell the show.  Your job is to make money from your sales.  These are not necessarily compatible.

Another crucial factor is that you need to make sure that you allow yourself enough time between shows to make enough product to sell.

You have a couple ways to do this.  Some artists use the winter to create mass quantities of their artwork, then sell it all summer.  Others do a couple of shows, then spend time creating more stock, and then repeat that pattern.

You have to do what is comfortable for you, but when you do, you want to make sure that you have enough work to sell at each show to make your goal sales amount.  It is better to sign up for less shows, then to run out of product or run yourself into the ground to keep up.  If you get sick, the show circuit is grueling.

In the end, choosing a new show is an educated guess.  Just because every other artist in the world does well at a show, it is not a guarantee that you will. Other factors may occur that will cause problems like extremely bad weather. 

Keep detailed records of what went well, what didn't, your expenses, and if your research gave you the correct answers.  This is how you gain experience with which shows are good for you.

If you are considering a show that is not too far away from you or you are in the area of a show that you are thinking about participating in, visit the show as a guest or customer.  Walk the show, talk to the artists, and get a feel for the people walking through.

• Do you see sales happening?
• Is there a lot of traffic walking through?
• Does the layout seem well organized?
• Have the artists done this show before or does it seem like this is the first time for many of them?
• Does it seem like the categories of artists are balanced or is the show overwhelmingly filled with one category?
• Does it seem like a show compatible with your work?

You can get a lot of valuable information by just walking through a show and talking to people.

• How many years have you done this show?
• Why do you like it?
• What is your average sale?
• Where are you staying? Why?
• How many shows do you do a year?
• Do you have a favorite booth spot?
• What is your best selling item?
• If you could improve something about this show, what would it be?
• What do you think of the show promoters?

• How many artists are there in my category?
• How many years have you promoted this show?
• How have you advertised it?
• What do you know about the demographic of the show area?
• How many people attended the show last year?
• How many years do vendors remain in this show on average?