In choosing which direction to go next with my art, I started thinking about what I have enjoyed the most and what really inhaled profusely.
I have been participating in art events and shows for years.( I won't bore you with that number) But, I have displayed my artwork at art festivals, school art shows, cultural centers, diners, college campus art galleries, parades, privately owned stores, coffee shops, etc...
I have taken breaks of time spanning months to years...Yes, YEARS....
I have had some really GREAT experiences...
I have had some pretty CRAPTASTIC ones as well...
On that note, as I am reviewing my own experiences with certain venues and deciding if I want to work with them again: I have made a few lists...which started out very tongue-in-cheek....of ways Producers, Curators, and Venue owners can get themselves black listed in the Art Karma world...I have also made a list of my best experiences which will follow later. Enjoy....
How to lose Artists in your venue or event:
1.Treat your artists like they are your minions. I know it is hard to believe....but artists are not there to serve you...They are there to show their work, and make money. Their goal is to support themselves with their work...not to serve you...If you have done your job properly, you will have artists who will naturally flow with your show. It won't be an issue. But, talking down to your artists, not good for your image or your Art Karma.
2. Expect artists to read your mind. I know that artists are really intuitive, for the most part. We are sensitive, feeling people, who pick up on the feelings of others fairly easily...on that note...if there is something you need, expect, or want from us...be straightforward and simply, calmly, and respectfully tell us...case closed... Expecting us to read your mind and do what we "think" you want isn't cool....get a clue.
Actually...you don't need to get a clue. I was just straightforward with you, the way we need you to be.
3. Hold your artists to rigid standards, but not yourself. If you do have certain expectations, rules, guidelines you need followed for your convenience...don't you dare do anything less than what you expect...As soon as an artist sees you coloring outside of the lines you are demanding they stay in...which btw...sucks...you have lost the respect of your artist...(this kinda goes for anything in life...parenting, teaching, spiritual leaders, government officials...people in general...)
4. Be really uptight. If you are walking around like you are about to bust a cork....um...yeah...don't expect much from your artists...we don't respond favorably to drill sergeants or dictators...look at history...
5. Be really not uptight. However, if you are so loose in the way you do things that anything goes...this could be an issue as well...we simply need you to give us guidelines, work with us...and be a leader who can make decisions if needed, without being a jerk.
6. Tell your artists you sunk all your money into their event and try to get them to contribute monetarily after the fact. Artists sink just as much, if not more into simply being present at your venue..and most of the time we don't even break even...so suck it up...you chose to do this event just like we did...be compassionate, stop whining, do what you gotta do...that's what we are doing simply by being there...some of us had to chose between food and gas to be at your event...
7. Forget that your artists are real people, with real lives outside of your event.` We have lives outside of your venue. In fact we have worked our regular lives around your venue...sometimes having to create backups for our backups...just to make sure our kids are picked up from school, or that dinner is served...expecting us to drop everything to make multiple trips to your venue is a hardship and unrealistic in this day and age...the age of technology and rulers...send measurements, pictures, and logistics via email...at the very least... most good venues and shows do this...
I have been participating in art events and shows for years.( I won't bore you with that number) But, I have displayed my artwork at art festivals, school art shows, cultural centers, diners, college campus art galleries, parades, privately owned stores, coffee shops, etc...
I have taken breaks of time spanning months to years...Yes, YEARS....
I have had some really GREAT experiences...
I have had some pretty CRAPTASTIC ones as well...
On that note, as I am reviewing my own experiences with certain venues and deciding if I want to work with them again: I have made a few lists...which started out very tongue-in-cheek....of ways Producers, Curators, and Venue owners can get themselves black listed in the Art Karma world...I have also made a list of my best experiences which will follow later. Enjoy....
How to lose Artists in your venue or event:
1.Treat your artists like they are your minions. I know it is hard to believe....but artists are not there to serve you...They are there to show their work, and make money. Their goal is to support themselves with their work...not to serve you...If you have done your job properly, you will have artists who will naturally flow with your show. It won't be an issue. But, talking down to your artists, not good for your image or your Art Karma.
2. Expect artists to read your mind. I know that artists are really intuitive, for the most part. We are sensitive, feeling people, who pick up on the feelings of others fairly easily...on that note...if there is something you need, expect, or want from us...be straightforward and simply, calmly, and respectfully tell us...case closed... Expecting us to read your mind and do what we "think" you want isn't cool....get a clue.
Actually...you don't need to get a clue. I was just straightforward with you, the way we need you to be.
3. Hold your artists to rigid standards, but not yourself. If you do have certain expectations, rules, guidelines you need followed for your convenience...don't you dare do anything less than what you expect...As soon as an artist sees you coloring outside of the lines you are demanding they stay in...which btw...sucks...you have lost the respect of your artist...(this kinda goes for anything in life...parenting, teaching, spiritual leaders, government officials...people in general...)
4. Be really uptight. If you are walking around like you are about to bust a cork....um...yeah...don't expect much from your artists...we don't respond favorably to drill sergeants or dictators...look at history...
5. Be really not uptight. However, if you are so loose in the way you do things that anything goes...this could be an issue as well...we simply need you to give us guidelines, work with us...and be a leader who can make decisions if needed, without being a jerk.
6. Tell your artists you sunk all your money into their event and try to get them to contribute monetarily after the fact. Artists sink just as much, if not more into simply being present at your venue..and most of the time we don't even break even...so suck it up...you chose to do this event just like we did...be compassionate, stop whining, do what you gotta do...that's what we are doing simply by being there...some of us had to chose between food and gas to be at your event...
7. Forget that your artists are real people, with real lives outside of your event.` We have lives outside of your venue. In fact we have worked our regular lives around your venue...sometimes having to create backups for our backups...just to make sure our kids are picked up from school, or that dinner is served...expecting us to drop everything to make multiple trips to your venue is a hardship and unrealistic in this day and age...the age of technology and rulers...send measurements, pictures, and logistics via email...at the very least... most good venues and shows do this...
