Art Show types
What kind of art show do you want? What is it for?
By definition, you intend for people to see art. At a convention, the viewers are the mainly the members of the convention and largely (but not entirely) outside your control, but you can determine what art they see.
Whose art should be in the show? At one extreme is the strictly internal show. The object is for attendees to see each other’s work. This is more than not accepting mail-in or requiring artists to buy memberships; these shows really don’t want to see any art from outsiders. These shows are generally about sharing a particular enthusiasm and showing off, and often contain "fan art" (the polite way to say "in violation of copyright" - art that shows movie or TV characters, etc). Sales are seldom a major concern and neither the size nor content of the show is limited much by what will sell. This type of show can exist without many sales, but can become small and of dubious artistic merit. Shows of this type may be more common than you think - they don’t generally advertise.
Commercial shows are the opposite – they concentrate on selling art. They seek art that will sell, usually with a variety of price points and artists. They may want a variety of subjects or focus mainly on one, depending on the expectations of the audience. The audience here is largely viewed as potential buyers, and these shows generally try to maximize the pool of both buyers and artists. This often means letting artists mail in and may even mean allowing the public in for free (controvesial). The artists in these shows are usually hoping to make money, so poor sales will drive them away. Artists’ Alleys are most likely to be found at this type of show (this is essentially an extension of the dealers' room dedicated to artists and artwork, generally located with the art show rather than the rest of the dealers. Space here is generally cheaper than space in the dealers' room. It seldom gets as much traffic, but the traffic it does get is looking for art). This is the only type of show where directly making money for the convention is likely to be a consideration – or even possible.
Some shows are prestige shows. They concentrate on the quality of art of the art displayed (or sometimes its exclusivity - but "you can only get it here" works better with good art). The intent is to impress the audience. They are more likely to be juried. They often fall between commercial and internal shows; they don’t expect all the artists to be members of their group but may not accept mail-in or allow the public in for free. This type of show is often considered a draw for the convention as a whole. Most artists at these shows also want to make money, but may expect to do it indirectly through exposure if art directors and others likely to commission art will be present.
Internal shows don’t easily combine with other types. Commercial can combine well with prestige, though. For instance, art shows at the World Fantasy Convention are mostly prestige, while shows at the World Science Fiction Convention combine commercial and prestige.
You also need to decide what types of art you want. Some shows accept anything whether it’s connected to the convention’s theme or not, while others are tightly focused on a narrow range of styles and topics. Art shows at anime conventions tend to be fairly focused in both, while shows at many general SF conventions accept a broad range of each. Either approach can work for an art show. The convention may want either less or more diversity in the subject matter or style, or may have particular subjects, styles, artists, etc. it wants included or excluded (especially adult content).
Both the audience and the convention staff may want particular types of artwork. If you’re lucky, they want the same types. If not, hope the convention staff is bright enough not to overrule the audience. They can temporarily set whatever policy they want, but the audience always wins in the long run; it’s only a question of how long it will take before the show collapses. · For commercial shows, the audience wins immediately – if the audience is unhappy, sales plummet and the artists leave. No artists = no show. · For internal shows, the artists are the audience, and if they’re not interested, they won’t participate. No artists = no show. This is also immediate. · For prestige shows, the audience that counts are art directors, other artists, and others who might potentially commission work from the artists. If the work displayed isn’t what they want, exposure no longer generates returns for artists. So a strictly prestige show needs to please the art directors et al, and it usually takes a bit longer for this audience’s displeasure to become apparent. But once it does, the artists abandon the show. No artists = no show.
