I've always just assumed the cost of applying to shows to be a cost of business. Daniel Grant's article in the Huffington Post points out some of the inequities of the art show world--if you are interested. Here's the link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-grant/the-case-against-art-show_b_708624.html or click on the title of this blog post to go there!
Thanks for bringing this article to attention. I had never even thought of the fees. I don't like them but I never thought that maybe we could just boycott the shows that have fees. One place I know of (which is not in existence now) charged an art-show fee then charged a space fee for each artist and on top of that they charged the general public when they came in to see the show.
ReplyDeleteAs president of MVAC I did read this with great interest. Ad like you I admit to just accepting entry fees as the cost of doing business.
ReplyDeleteBTW I have paid a fee to submit written works to be read for submission to contests like Writer's Digest and various poetry publicans. Here too I accepted it as a fee to employ a "reader." Oh, and the self-addressed stamped envelope is a standard of that industry for shipping back your work.
But I digress. Certainly entry fees (probably misnamed - should be jury fees) are separate and apart from booth fees. But exhibitions don't have booth fees. Should they have exhibition fees for the accepted? Certainly patrons will not pay exorbitant fees to view an exhibition. And few non-profit groups can afford to shoulder all the advertising costs and awards. So if we eliminate entry fees are we essentially killing all the small exhibits? And decreasing the art the public is exposed to?
I do know of at least one organization that budgets a certain amount for what they expect in jury fees--Fort Worth Main Street. When more people apply and they make that line item, they reduce the booth fees for the accepted artists. Kudos to them for returning it to the artists who make their show!
ReplyDeleteInteresting article, I felt this way for years, thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the article. Our brand new Arts Council is mounting our first show this fall. We haven't collected enough membership fees to pay the insurance we need to carry on the venue, so we've decided we must charge a nominal $10 entry fee. However, we will consider this for all future shows. Appreciate the link.
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