I have never participated in an art fair/festival, even though I’ve wanted to for ages! I’ve had tables at small craft fairs and events before, but nothing like an actual art fair that is geared towards fine artists alone. One of the craft fairs I participated in had 3 different LuLuLemon booths in the same room, lol. I think only one or two people purchased anything from me. Any other sales were from my family and friends.
With this in mind, I just submitted my application to an Fine Arts Festival happening in September 2023, and I couldn’t be more excited or nervous for it! I’ve been planning it out assuming I’ll be accepted, which is a little presumptuous of me, I know, but I’ve allowed myself to think this way because it will help me plan better. I haven’t even been accepted yet, but I have a perfectly clear image in my head of exactly what my booth will look like and what I’ll sell! I am going to focus on the traditional artwork I create, not so much of the digital (and if there is any digital, it will very comfortably fit into the rest of the art at the booth), to have a really solid sense of cohesion to my booth. I want people to walk past it and get an immediate sense of who I am as a an artist, and not be surprised by anything I’m selling or wonder if it was all created by the same artist, or if there is work by multiple artists being sold.
So, for my application, I was asked to submit 4 examples of my work. I’ve already shown the organization a couple pieces I’ve done, and have had art displayed in exhibitions they have sponsored, so I did not include those works so I could show them a better range. I submitted these 4 pieces:
I think this shows a pretty good range, it has paintings, a block print, and an illustration. I hope it’s good enough, at least!
Part of the application was to submit a photo of myself working on my craft, which made me realize I have no pictures of me making art. All I could do was take screenshots of videos I’ve posted online and use those, lol. I’m a very solitary artist, I don’t get in the zone when other people are around, so I never get pictures of me working. I also don’t know the purpose of them asking for this. Is it to prove that I am the one that created the art? Or is it for promotional purposes? I really can’t tell, but here’s what I submitted:
You can see the TikTok watermark, lol. I’m not too pressed about it.
I’ll wait to share my booth ideas until I’ve been accepted, just to save myself any potential embarrassment. I truly do believe I’ll be accepted, I know I’m good enough, and I know the organization hosting the event is impressed with me as an artist, so I’m sure I’ll be accepted. If I’m not, I’ll be upset and disappointed, but more so I’ll be surprised. I know I’m ready for this. I hope my application showed that and showed how prepared I am for this. I’ll find out in about 2 weeks what the verdict is, wish me luck ~