An Artwork Truthful generally is a nice alternative to showcase your artwork apply and meet potential collectors face-to-face. Artwork Festivals that welcome self-representing artists can help you present your work precisely the way you’d wish to, and have each full management and accountability for the presentation of your work inside the confines of your stand. This Artwork Truthful guidelines will assist you put together for such an occasion and benefit from an thrilling exhibition alternative.
Above picture: StART Art Fair 2022
Selecting Which Artwork Festivals to Apply to
Right now, there’s a big array of artwork gala’s that you could select to use to, a lot of which welcome self representing stands, versus gallery stands. The benefit of that is that you don’t want to pay fee on gross sales, however you’ll need to pay for a stand. You’ll additionally must work to your gross sales; arranging transportation of artwork work, labels, pricing, selling your stand and presence on the truthful, and so forth. In essence, you care for all the pieces, but when your efforts are profitable, you stand to have the chance to instantly talk along with your viewers, meet your collectors, and take 100% of the gross sales.

Affordable Art Fair – Hampstead 2019
As a result of there are lots of artwork gala’s for artists that happen yearly and typically extra often world wide in the present day, it’s value doing all of your analysis. To begin with try the paintings that they’ve proven at their gala’s prior to now, and ask your self whether or not the work you make is an efficient match for the id of the truthful. Are you able to see your work or prints sitting properly among the many work they’ve introduced on their web site or Instagram?

Print Fest
Picture credit score: © Kate Kirkwood
Some artwork gala’s are extra eclectic than others – you may come throughout gala’s that deal in just one artform, e.g. authentic prints or drawings, whereas different gala’s such because the Different Artwork Truthful have an array of all types of visible artwork varieties. See how lengthy the artwork truthful has been operating for (one which has totally established itself is extra prone to be higher organised, whereas a youthful truthful might need extra inexpensive stand costs). It’s additionally value looking on the advertising for an artwork truthful – even when your work is an efficient match, that you must test if the value degree matches along with your pricing to your personal paintings – and if not, are you ready to regulate your costs so that you simply don’t look like underpricing or pricing your self out of the occasion? If you already know earlier exhibitors, ask them about their expertise of the occasion prior to now.

Bath Art Fair
Picture credit score: Anna Barclay
One other consideration is the logistics. Will you be capable of transport your self and your paintings to the venue? If it’s too far-off to commute to and from all through the occasion and that you must keep in a single day, you’ll need to issue any lodging prices into your price range to see if collaborating within the truthful is financially viable.
Making ready a Profitable Artwork Truthful Software
Lots of the finest artwork gala’s will vet their purposes in an effort to choose quite a lot of artists whose work will complement each other. Make an trustworthy software – presenting work that may be a shut illustration of what you plan to take to the truthful. Should you solely present work that you simply assume matches higher with the id of the truthful however doesn’t precisely characterize what you make in the intervening time, it received’t assist you and it received’t assist the truthful organisers. When writing an artist assertion, be easy in describing what drives your work, and be concise. Organisers are inclined to favour textual content that’s written within the third individual because it makes it straightforward for them to chop and paste into their advertising, however be sure you learn any pointers rigorously to offer them what they need. Enthuse concerning the ideas, supplies and processes that drive your apply (i.e. ‘Simmons revels within the big range of results achieved with acrylic mediums and makes use of these to explain the drama of the British shoreline’) and it’ll assist you to create a press release that’s energetic and interesting. Give attention to what units your paintings aside the place you’ll be able to, and don’t make something up!

Bath Art Fair
Picture credit score: Anna Barclay
Deciding What to Present at an Artwork Truthful
Keep in mind that except you’re a well-known artist, the artwork truthful expertise typically presents your work to an unfamiliar viewers, and most of the potential gross sales you make can be impulse buys. Subsequently if you wish to maximise the potential for gross sales my recommendation can be to take some smaller, decrease priced works which can be straightforward to take residence and likewise simpler for purchasers to resolve on. Nonetheless alternatively, chances are you’ll not need your viewers to assume that you simply solely make small works, and if a big a part of your apply is portray big canvases, then be sure you take at the very least one among these as it is going to seize folks’s consideration and provides your stand a extra properly rounded presentation of what you do.
Vital Further Extras
When you’ve determined what you need to present, you’ll need to think about find out how to current the work. Is the truthful a desk high occasion, or will there be partitions that you could grasp your work on? This may affect how a lot work you’ll want to take, and whether or not you need to present the work framed or unframed. A browser is an effective way to current a bigger variety of unframed works.

Print Fest
Picture credit score: © Kate Kirkwood
Unframed work must be saved secure. You are able to do this by slotting it into plastic sleeves that may be saved in a portfolio, or you’ll be able to again them with mountboard or foamboard and wrap with cellophane wrap, or slot them into polypropylene sleeves. You’ll need a craft knife or scalpel, a chopping mat and a metallic ruler if wrapping in cellophane wrap from the roll, in addition to some some scotch tape (that is finest because it doesn’t age the way in which common sellotape can).
For framed works, ready-made frames may help preserve prices down, though this solely works in case your items are normal sizes. Within the Jackson’s framing part you will see prepared made frames that match normal canvas and panel sizes. For any items which can be irregular in measurement, Jackson’s supply the Jackson’s Bespoke Body Builder, the place you’ll be able to add a picture of your work and preview the way it appears to be like in any of the mouldings out there.

Jackson’s Handmade Board 696 High quality Grain Clear Primed Linen and Prepared-Made Body Set
Keep in mind to think about how the work will grasp. Mirror plates make work further safe on the wall, but when it’s the form of truthful the place works are taken away as they’re offered, you’ll must preserve a screwdriver useful for getting the work down once more! In any other case there are different hanging choices, resembling image twine and string or a sawtooth hanger, which is connected to the again of an image after which hangs on a nail which is hammered right into a wall. A ruler with a spirit degree may help with getting footage hanging straight, though usually judging by eye is finest as typically venue partitions (particularly in older buildings) generally is a little wonky and trigger optical illusions!
For desk high gala’s, discovering a technique to create top in your desk may assist you to show extra work. Desk and show easels may help present work vertically, which makes it simpler to catch a passer-by’s consideration. Previous containers, shelving models, and level of sale shows for outlets can be utilized to assist benefit from your desk high show.
Promotional Supplies
Enterprise playing cards will be an effective way to maintain your work in folks’s minds after the truthful – be sure to point out your web site, social media and get in touch with particulars on the cardboard. Greeting playing cards can double up as enterprise playing cards with contact information said on the reverse, and what’s higher is you’ll be able to promote them! There are lots of QR Code turbines on-line, and it may be a enjoyable technique to get your viewers to go to your web site or social media platforms right away – merely create your QR code to hyperlink to your web site and print it out to place in your show.
Wrapping and Transportation
Biyomap Artwork Luggage and foam protectors will prevent lots of time wrapping paintings for transportation compared to the much less eco-friendly various of bubble wrap. The artwork baggage can be found in a spread of sizes, and it takes seconds to slip framed and unframed works out and in of them. Nonetheless, in the event you’re going to let collectors take the artwork bag away with them, keep in mind to issue this price into your paintings worth, or deliver some bubble wrap in case of gross sales so you’ll be able to maintain on to the artwork bag. Foam edges and corners supply further safety if wanted. Should you order frames for supply from Jackson’s, maintain on to the packaging it is available in as it may be actually helpful for transporting work to artwork gala’s.

Print Fest
Picture credit score: © Kate Kirkwood
Artwork Truthful Guidelines
1. Analysis what artwork gala’s are taking place when, ask contacts for his or her experiences of artwork gala’s, test that the artwork truthful web sites present pictures that align with what you make and worth factors align along with your pricing. Contemplate too the transport prices and logistics of attending to the truthful.
2. Make an inventory of deadlines and artwork truthful dates for the occasions that curiosity you.
3. Make an trustworthy software – displaying pictures that actually characterize what you’ll want to present. Write a press release within the third individual (except in any other case instructed) that focuses on the themes and processes that you simply use in your apply.
4. Plan what you want to present, taking a spread of labor and making you’ve gotten items which can be a spread of sizes and costs. Ask your self in case your stand will replicate your apply normally, and can or not it’s as eye-catching as potential.
5. Take into consideration how you’ll plan your show with loads of time, so that you’ve time to order any show supplies you want, in addition to framing.
6. Order enterprise playing cards and greeting playing cards (or you can make your individual).
7. Create a QR code and print it out (you may wish to mount it on mountboard in order that it’s sturdy and reusable).
8. Order Artwork Luggage and foam protectors to suit the works you need to take to the truthful.
9. Make labels for artworks if wanted – parcel tags can simply be connected to image twine on framed works, or in any other case you’ll be able to print out labels and spray mount them to foam board or mountboard. Labels are normally connected to a nook on the entrance of unframed work, or on the reverse, utilizing a sticker.
Obtain and print the Artwork Truthful Guidelines

Bath Art Fair
Picture credit score: Anna Barclay
Additional Studying
The Relationship Between the Artist and Their Supplies
Jackson’s Portray Prize 2022 Exhibition on the Inexpensive Artwork Truthful Hampstead
Jennifer Conner: Jackson’s Portray Prize 2022 Professional Choose
How one can Create the Greatest Digital Pictures of Your Paintings
Store Artwork Truthful Supplies on jacksonsart.com