GO Downtown Art Festival: Part I, Getting Ready

A few years ago I started getting serious about making artistic images out of my photographs. This meant that I scanned my photos, slides and negatives -- thousands of them -- into my computer and began applying special effects and other digital techniques to them. It was a lot of fun and a few of the images really turned into art.

Then came my move to New Mexico. People in the art world know this: New Mexico is an art capital. It's where famous artists have lived for years to make their world renowned art. It's where famous artists from around the world come to sell their art.

There are dozens of art festivals and hundreds of art galleries in a state with less than 2 million people. Santa Fe claims that it is the #2 or #3 art market in the United States (depending upon who's counting).

More than that, New Mexico is where art is an integral part of the daily fabric of life. Until I moved to Albuquerque, if I had told anyone that I was pursuing my art, the reactions would have been overwhelmingly negative. "Really?" they might have said. "Art? Starving artist and that whole thing, right?"

Let's face it, in most parts of this country telling someone that you're an artist is the same thing as saying "I'm a lazy slob with no dreams and no ambitions. I'm hoping to live off of my parents until they get sick of me and throw me out. After that, I'm going to flip burgers or sell electronics in a dead-end job and stay stoned all the time." The very moniker 'artist' is a euphemism for 'loser' to most Americans.

Not so in New Mexico. Artists in this state are respected and loved. People here can tell the difference between a real artist and an alleged artist. They know because of the spiritual connection everyone in this state has to art itself.

If New Mexicans cannot see or feel that art in you, they know you're just another lost soul still seeking. When you tell someone here that you are hoping to become an artist, they enthusiastically quiz you about it. "What kind of art? Oh, that's so cool. Have you ever heard of so-and-so? They do something similar to that. A friend of mine / family member / neighbor is an artist. They do the New Mexico Arts and Crafts Show every year."

You can't escape it. You can't deny it. Art is part of life itself in New Mexico.

Last year, Michael and I decided we wanted to do an art festival. What we didn't realize was the all the money and work that went into actually staging a booth. I'm not complaining, mind you. Instead, I thought I should share some of the ups, downs, ins and outs of the experience for anyone who is thinking about doing an art show anywhere in the United States.

To summarize the experience: having a booth in an art festival is like creating an entire small business venture that intentionally opens and closes within a few days. You're striving for some measure of success, but you know that everything will be over quickly. You seek a balance between the personal reward of showing your art and the financial reality of covering your expenses.

For me, the primary reason that I entered my first art festival was to show my art. It was not to make money. If ever you find yourself primarily interested only in the financial aspects of your art, you're in trouble. No doubt about it, art is big business involving big money, but art festivals are about exposure. You're not going to become a multimillionaire at an art festival.

You might, on the other hand, make contact with a broker, dealer or gallery owner who will help you stage shows in galleries or find people who want to collect your art. That's where the money is. Don't rush it. Do the festivals. Have fun.

Caged by Brad Malone, 2007

This year's show is September 28, 29, and 30 on Gold Street in Downtown Albuquerque. My booth will be between 4th and 5th Streets.

First things, first. Make art. Have fun feeding your soul. Make more art. Experience personal growth. Find your spiritual center. DO NOT think about what other people are going to say or think or feel. If you're new, simply do your thing. Whether someone likes you or your art should not drive your production of art. You are a creator first and foremost. The business side of things comes later.

Second, research the shows in your area. Most major metropolitan areas have several art festivals a year. For example, here in Albuquerque, the major shows are the Weems, the Rio Grand Arts and Crafts Festival, and the New Mexico Art and Crafts Festival. But you don't have to do the big shows. In the Albuquerque metro area of just over 800,000 people, there are literally dozens of other smaller shows staged by organizations as diverse as elementary schools and neighborhood associations.

Third, almost all festivals are "juried" to protect those staging the event. This means that you'll have to submit three or more images of your work for a jury of artists to review to make sure that you're for real. The big shows require that you submit a picture or a drawing of your booth design as well. This is where the dollar signs start appearing before your eyes.

Fourth is design. Yep. If you're required to submit a picture of your booth, the festival organizers are telling you that they don't want amateurs. They want professionals who will take the time and spend the money to set up a miniature art gallery. You can spend a few bucks with plywood or pegboard or you can go 'first class' with a professionally built booth costing thousands of dollars. Ask yourself: Am I planning on going on the Art Festival circuit? If not, get something less expensive.

In my first year I chose pegboard. I hung it from the frame of the booth and hung my art from the pegboard. It cost under a hundred bucks. This year, however, I've moved up a notch or two to something known as gridwall. Amazing stuff. Steel grid that can hang, be mounted to walls or be set up on stands made specifically for the product. It's a more polished look and the prices aren't that much more than sheets of high quality plywood.

Next year, who knows? Fabric lining behind gridwall? Special lighting? Red carpet?

Fifth, is the pure business stuff. In most locations, you have to get a business license, meaning you have to get a tax ID. These two things are rarely issued at the same place. One might be a State agency and the other a City agency. Get those taken care of and you're on you're way to conducting actual business at that festival. Unfortunately, you'll have to pay fees for the business license. Don't worry, keep your receipt -- licensing fees are tax deductible.

My next entry will dig a little deeper into my own personal experience staging a booth in this year's GO Downtown Art Festival. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.