Our first and last year on Zapp

We applied to the Krasl Art Fair in St. Joseph MI. We got our denial letter today. There are 121 spots available and out of those spots 105 artists from last year were re-invited, which leaves very few openings for new artists. The email said there were 667 applicants, so the jurying fees total were just over 20,000 dollars that we artists spent for less than 20 available spots. Seems very the Zapp shows are not new artist friendly to us.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2009 12:14PM by toolman1566.

What you're saying about the show has nothing to do with ZAPP. ZAPP doesn't dictate show jury policy The show description tells how many spaces are available and how many artists are invited back. Quoted from the show information page where you clicked to start the application:
There are 216 booths available in Lake Bluff Park.
There were 659 applications in 2008.
There will be approximately 120 openings for 2009.
There are 105 artists invited back from 2008. We re-jury on the Saturday of the Krasl Art Fair and will invite 50 percent of artists to return the following year.

It appears you were jurying for one of the 120 spaces that were available.

Larry Berman
Digital Jury Services
412-767-8644



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2009 01:59PM by LarryBerman.

Krasl has always been a very competitive show and hard to get into.

But why cannot, we the artists, have the information about how many have applied to a show in REAL time? Is it too technically hard or is there some other reason. Zapp could be so much better if we could get show information that helps us the artists make a rational decision as to applying to a show that already has 1700 applications. What do ya think?? Would you throw 40 or 45 bucks at a hard to get in show when your chance is to be one of 120 out of 1700. the odds are just so great and the money is getting harder and harder to come by.

It is always a numbers game for the greedy. When promoters invite artist back to a show they get payment for the following year of the show in advance. This is breach of confidence,deceit and trickery. That policy puts new artist to the show at a huge disadvantage especially if you stopped kissing ass 30 years ago. This is grounds for a law suit. Also, it opens the door for ass kissing and politics. This is a bad practice and promoters should not be allowed to get away with it. They are only thinking about their profits.

Here is my problem with the bitter attitude towards such large numbers applying to shows. What should the promoter of a show do? Should they simply take the first 200 applicants in and then stop accepting applications? Then they are simply rewarding the "quick to apply" artists, and not the best qualified artists. For those of you complaining that too many applications are being accepted, how would you feel if you were applicant #201, and your application was received a mere 5 minutes after #200, but you can't be accepted because only the first 200 get in! Here's a little hint to the complainers, there is a large number of up and coming artists who love ZAPP and the opportunities ZAPP gives us to apply for shows. We are coming for your space at the art show! Either step up to the competition or learn to deal with it. And for the "old school artists" who are obviously threatened by the competition, maybe they can start their own "old school art show". They could accept artists on their own criteria, perhaps years experience in the art world. The last thing art shows need is new, vibrant art made by new, vibrant artists!! And they could accept AMEX , or Diner's Club or even cash!

Toolman:

The rules are really very simple - you pay your fee and you take your chances. Of course there are politics involved, and of course certain jurors have biases and personal preferences, but the solution is equally simple: if you don't like the rules, don't apply! Every show/art fair is free to establish its own rules. Although I am new to the art fair scene, I have been entering juried shows for more than 35 years and things haven't changed much since I started. I personally like Zapp - its a hell of a lot simpler and easier to apply to shows now than it was "in the old days." A word of advice: don't be overly sensitive about not getting into shows - there are a myriad of reasons why you might not have been selected that have nothing to do with the quality of your work.

Bill

The only artist that should be invited back for the next year are the first place award winners which for any given show would amount to seven categories (ie seven winners.) All other spots should be fairly judged (which we know there not) .In a show that has an average of 250 spots that would mean on average 200 new artist or 28 to 30 openings per category (not 200 of the same artist year after year) I have heard from attendies that the shows are getting boring because there are very few new artist. What do you call it when someone takes your money under the pretext of fairness but keeps coming up with the same results year after year( a fix) , and where are these thousands of dollars in jury fees going since every jury member i have talked to has not been paid in fact does it for free. Maybe its time for the U.S.Attoney's office to look into all of these 501-C3 foundation.
Regards
William

In which specific area of business, anywhere or of any sort, does one come to expect unbiased treatment? To the extent one comes to expect such treatment, in what area of business would these expectations not be rudely disappointed?

Now if an art show exhibited prejudice against artists of different races or genders, there might be grounds for litigation.

On the other hand, if they simply liked the work of the guys exhibiting last year and invite them back, it is entirely their business.

However, if they in fact know in advance that 200 of the 250 slots are already booked, it would be good ethics to make mention of this in the call for exhibitors.

I do agree that some shows do suffer from a sort of institutional inertia, and stagnate. I attended a great many shows over a great many years before I decided to attempt this business. I have watched shows decline because the list of artists and materials shown seemed fixed in concrete to the point where one could barely tell one year from the next. This seems to change when the public gets bored, sales decline, and artists go elsewhere. A few shows around here have "reinvented" themselves.

All of a sudden, they get serious about promotion and improve the layout, awards, and artist ammenities. Attendance improves and so do sales. Bottom line it is still their business. My business is to select where I submit applications. While Zapp has gotten big, and I can understand why, there are still plenty of very nice shows locally that still do the paper and slide approach.

I agree "you pay your money and you take your chances". And "old school", of course the promoter is only out for profit, that is why they are in business, the same as you and me. I'm not doing this just so people can look at my jewelry, I want people to spend their money on it, lots and lots of people with lots and lots of money. Let's not be silly here, the promoter does a show to make money, plain and simple. Not to enhance your art work or rep. If you don't like your chances, do shows that don't charge a jury fee. There are a few shows that I won't apply to again, I give they three chances, if I don't get in then, next time another show. I usually do a show for 4 or 5 years max and then go somewhere else to keep my work fresh and new people buying.

ZAPP is the perfect application process. All other old way of applying is a pain in a... You to spend a lot and a lot of money on stupid slides or to print photos. Plus you pay the application fee, which is basically a money maker for show promoters, especially when they have a lot of shows, like the number one(many of you probably know who I'm talking about). The "application fees" the promoters charge is where they make the biggest chunk of their profit.
Regardless, in order to have a better chance to be accepted, the quality of the image for zapp is THE most important key. If you are not good enough with preparing images for zapp, you have no other choice but to let photographers who are good in this, to do this job for you.
Zapp has a list of photographers recommended. If you let to do this job to a photographer who never done this before, you destined to fail. PERIOD!
A photographer MUST be the one who does this job on a constant basis, who understands every point of zapplication requirement and process.
I repeat, even the best of the best photographer with the biggest name can not do this job, IF he/she never done this before.

ZALL, you are absolutely correct in stating that an artist needs to find a good photographer. I learned the hard way and have been parted from my dollars by photographers who, because they were wedding photographers, automatically assumed, of course, they could shoot fine art. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the useless CD-ROMS of blown-out, pixellated files stashed in the back of my desk attest to. You need to find a photographer who specializes in "Fine Art Photography". A few keywords to arm yourself with as you interview them: do they use a polarized copy set-up? They will know what this means, and that you know (or at least are trying to) what you expect from them. It means the artwork (I can only speak for 2-d art, as a painter) that banks of polarized lights are set up at 45 degree angles to the art to reduce glare and shadow, and there will have some sort of light absorbing background to diminish extra light being reflected. Let me say, what I know of this is minimal, and is a field of expertise unto itself. I do not fully understand how they do their work, as many people don't understand how we create ours, but the past two photographers I've recently worked with (1 on LI, NY and 1 in Tampa, FL) are consummate professionals who were willing to explain the nitty gritty of their craft to me. They had nothing to hide, and allowed me to watch their photographing of my work, (I got lucky and they had time) Don't be afraid to ask questions. They are there to perform a service for you. A reputable, knowledgeable one will be more than willing to answer your questions. It shouldn't be all that expensive either, for a digital capture. My current guys, Eagle in Tampa, offer three different size files, depending on the size and complexity of your original, and they range from $25 for a small file(up to 25 MB ) to $85 for large files, 100MB and up. From the CD ROMs they supply you with, you will be able to reduce these files in your imaging program for your appropriate use on ZAPP or your website or for emailing purposes. Good luck!