Applying to Art Shows, Festivals, and Fairs Using ZAPP™

Frequently Asked Questions for Artists

• Accessing your profile
• Submitting an application
• Checking the status of an application
• Managing your applications
• Managing your images
• Checkout

Accessing your profile

• If you have lost or cannot remember your username and/or password, go to the ZAPP™ home page and click on the Forgot Password? link. An e-mail will be sent to your registered e-mail account with your login information.
• If you recently changed your e-mail address, but have not updated your new e-mail address in ZAPP™, your username and password information will be sent to your old address.
• Please note that this login information is case sensitive so you must enter the information exactly as it appears in the e-mail you receive.

• Copy your login information from the registration or forgotten password e-mail from ZAPP™ and paste it into the username and password fields.
• Be sure that the caps lock button on your keyboard is not active when you attempt to login, unless you set up your username and password in all caps.
• Ensure that you are typing your username exactly as it appears on the original e-mail, with no spaces or punctuation.

• To update your contact information, please go to http://www.ZAPPlication.org, and log in to your ZAPP™ account. Click on My Profile in the left navigation, and edit the information in the profile. Click Update at the bottom of the page to save your changes and make your information current.

Submitting an application

• Yes. In the profile page select the Team button and fill out the names of your collaborators or team members at the bottom of the page.

• Yes. Your application will retain previously entered information as long as you saved your work. You should save your work frequently by clicking Save Application to avoid lost information.

• You can only submit your application digitally through the ZAPP™ system. Please contact the administrator of the event to which you are applying to find out if they accept paper applications directly.

• To apply to one show in multiple categories, you will need separate accounts. For example you could have one account for painting and another for sculpture. To create a new account, go to www.ZAPPlication.org and click the Register as a New User link. Images and profiles cannot be transferred from one account to another. Therefore, you will need to complete profile data and re-upload your images into the new account in order to apply to the new category. Be sure that the event to which you are applying accepts second submissions.

• Windows-based computer users: To copy text, highlight your text, hold down the Control key and press the letter "C." Place the cursor where you would like the text to be pasted and hold down the Control key and press the letter "V."
• Apple computer users: To copy text, highlight the text, hold down the Apple (or Command on newer Apple computers) key and press the letter "C." Place the cursor where you would like to paste your text, hold down the "Apple" key and press the letter "V."
  
  PLEASE NOTE: You can also copy and paste by selecting either option from the drop-menu marked Edit located near the top, left-hand side of your screen. Please do not use formatted text. Bold, italicized, underlined, bulleted, and indented text will not translate well into the system. Also, ZAPP™ cannot currently accept HTML code. If you are pasting an entire document, you can remove the formatting before you copy and paste by saving your document as a .txt file and opening in an application such as Notepad (on Windows-based machines) or TextEdit (on Apple computers) and then copying and pasting the unformatted text.

• To conduct a character count in Microsoft Word, highlight the text you would like to count, click on the Tools drop-down menu, and select Word Count. The Character (With Spaces) value is your character count. Internet browsers may interpret character counts differently.

• A few different scenarios can cause a loss of data:
  1. You didn't save your work before moving onto another section or logging out.
  2. Your browser could have cached an older version of the page, which means that your computer saved a snapshot of the page and it has not yet been updated. To update the page manually, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and click the Refresh or Reload button in your browser. Systematically emptying your cache will help keep your data secure and Web sites current.
  3. You were disconnected from the system before saving.
  4. Your cookies are disabled, which will disrupt access to application information.

• The Participating Shows button lists all the shows that manage their applications through ZAPP™. You can only apply to a show in this list if they are currently accepting applications and the Apply to this show link is available.
• The Apply to Shows tab at the top of the page is a list of all the shows that are currently available to apply to and as such, is much shorter than the Participating Shows list. Click the Apply to this show link to submit an application to this show.

Checking the Status of an Application

• Status - The application is started but not yet finished.
• Ready for Submission - The application is completely filled out and ready to submit. The show has not received your application and cannot view your application until you submit.
• Awaiting Payment by Check - The application has been received and the event administrator is waiting for your check payment. Please mail your check directly to the show to which you applied.
• Received - The application was successfully submitted and received by the show.
• Incomplete - The application was re-opened before the application deadline by the show to allow the applicant to modify the application. The applicant can re-submit without incurring additional jury fees.
• Exception - The application was re-opened after the application deadline by the show to allow the applicant to modify the application. The applicant must contact the show to re-submit.
• Withdrawn - The applicant has withdrawn her application.
• Jury in Progress - The jury has begun is currently scoring applicants.
• Invited - The applicant has been invited to participate.
• Not Invited - The applicant has not been invited to participate. This status will allow the application to be archived.
• Accepted - The applicant has accepted the event's invitation to participate.
• Declined - The applicant has declined the event's invitation to participate.
• Confirmed - The applicant has purchased any remaining items in checkout and is confirmed to participate in the event.

• If your application status has changed for unknown reasons and the show has not notified you, please contact your show administration. The show could have accidentally moved you into another status or have moved the application for certain reasons.

Managing Your Applications

• You can find all of your completed and started applications under the My ZAPPlications button. All applications are listed by name with current status, options to review, and purchase history.

• Sometimes artists have multiple accounts. Be sure that you are logged into the correct account. If you still cannot find your application please contact ZAPP™ for technical assistance.

• Once you are logged into your ZAPP™ account, you can see your status for each application by going to the My ZAPPlications page. Once a show is ready to sell booths, you will see your status as invited. You must either accept or decline the event's invitation to proceed. Once you have accepted the invitation, proceed to checkout to purchase a booth for that show to confirm your wish to participate. Once purchased, your status will be confirmed and the process is complete.

• You must contact the show to withdraw your application. Refunds are given at the discretion of the show administrator. Contact information for shows can be found from the application page by clicking on the Contact Show link.

• While you cannot delete applications, you can archive them. Your application will be available to archive only after the jury results are released and the show has allowed artists to archive. To archive applications go to your My ZAPPlications page where you will see a listing of your applications. Click on the Archive link next to each application eligible to archive. The system will ask you if you are sure you want to archive, click yes. Please note that any archived applications are not retrievable, but can be viewed at any time by clicking the View archives link at the bottom of the page.
  
  If you are not yet able to archive your application, most likely the show has not yet activated the archive option and you must contact that show for more information.
  
  Be sure to complete all purchases before archiving an application because once the application is archived, all available products will be removed from the checkout page and you will no longer have the ability to purchase them.

• You will receive an e-mail confirming that the show has received your application. Keep in mind that once you submit your application, you will no longer be able to edit it.
  
  If you received two of the same confirmations you have not been charged twice. You will receive multiple confirmation e-mails if you happened to hit the back button during checkout. To verify your transactions please go to your My ZAPPlications page and compare the number you have received on the e-mail receipt with what you see there. Please also check your own records to confirm the transaction--it will appear on your statement as a transaction from ZAPPlication.org™ but will not specify which show with which the charge is associated. If you require a refund, please contact the show administrator--they are the only users who can authorize a refund.

• If you need to access your application to change an answer or modify an image, you can contact the administrator of the show and request that your application status be changed from received to incomplete. This will allow you to go back into your application to modify application information and images. Once you have completed any modifications, be sure to resubmit the application. You will not be required to pay the jury/application fee again.


• If an image is still committed after your application status has been changed to incomplete, then the image is attached to another application. You must first determine which application(s) the image(s) is attached to. Start at your My ZAPPlications page and click Review to see which images were submitted with and thus committed to which applications. From here you have two choices:
  1. Have each application to which the image is attached changed to incomplete. You must contact individual show administrators to make this change for you.
  2. Duplicate the image from your Manage Images tab and make necessary adjustments to the textual information. Then from the My ZAPPlications page click the Complete link for the show to make the swap; deselect the unwanted attached image from the application and select the new edited one instead and resubmit your application with the new image.


• To include a new image to replace one submitted with the application, upload the new image first. Then from your My ZAPPlications page, click the Complete link for the application for which you are incomplete. This will open the application so you can deselect the old image you wish to replace and select the new image you wish to send. Click Resubmit when you are satisfied with your corrections.


• If you need to change your specific media category, you should contact the show and request a category change of the event administrator.


• Each event has its own policy about opening applications after submission. Please be sure that everything in your application is correct before submitting. There is no guarantee that a show will re-open your application.

Managing your images

• To remove images you no longer want in your image bank, go to your Manage Images page and click on the Remove link below the applicable image. If the image is committed, that image is currently attached to an active application. Any application listed on your My ZAPPlications page is considered active until it is archived. You cannot delete an image that is committed, even if the show is in the past. Once you archive the application the images attached to it will be uncommitted allowing you to delete them.

1. Log into your account.
2. Go the Manage Images page.
3. Click on the Add Image button.
4. Browse for your file.
5. Fill out the required image information questions in green bold (title of work, dimensions, and price).
6. Click the Add Image button.

• Image upload speeds normally depend on the type of Internet connection you have. If you have a slower connection, such as a dial-up connection, images can take several minutes or longer to upload.
• Check that your images are formatted correctly.
• Be sure that you answer all of the required questions on the image form. All required questions are in green bold.
• If you continue to have image-upload problems, please contact ZAPP™ for technical assistance.

Checkout

• Coupon codes are issued by the show administrators to discount specific products in checkout. A common use for coupons is to waive the application fee for award winning artists. Contact your show administration to find out if you are eligible for a coupon.

• The checkout section will continue to display all of the products for any and all shows you are eligible to purchase products from until the purchase deadline has passed or the products are sold out. ZAPP™ makes no distinction between items you have previously purchased and those still available other then providing text that ready "Already Purchased" next to each purchase that you have previously made. Similarly to how online shopping works on other websites, an artist can return to ZAPP™ and purchase additional items if needed. You can view products you have purchased by going to My ZAPPlications and viewing the "Payments Made" column. If you click on a transaction, you will be e-mailed a copy of your receipt.

• If you have received two of the same confirmations you have not been charged twice. Please return to your your My ZAPPlications page to check your purchase history and compare this purchase information with your own records.

• Contacting the show administrator is the only way to request a refund for purchases made on ZAPP™. While payments are charged through ZAPP™, the funds collected are the property of the shows and only show managers can authorize a refund.