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Revamp the Crap Fair!

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Started 1 year ago by Billy Bob
Latest reply from jamigoldstein

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Billy Bob

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Lets face it. The Columbus Crap Festival, excuse me, the Arts and Crafts festival, is a tired, tired formula! I was walking the streets of the fair yesterday with a veteran shopper of the event. She'd seen it all before she said. Here is someone who has made it a point to support this event and was quite frankly, bored! Nothing to buy! Glancing around, few others held purchases as well.

With 50 dollar non-returnable entrance fees just to see if you get accepted, and something like 500 dollar booth fees, these "artists" are catering to the lowest common denominator, or they go home with nothing. The stuff being shown is very, very commercial and boring.

Why not be a trend setter instead of a boring follower of this 30 year old tired arts and crafts booth fair crap! How about on one, just one street, we forgo those stupid 10 foot by 10 foot tents, skip all the fees, and show the culture of this city with ferocious pride! Bring it out! We got it! Lets show it! Lets show the international artists that live in Columbus! (please don't call them local artists). Take heart to your city! Put the heart and soul of our city on display! Put some excitement back in that "Arts" fair!

Posted 1 year ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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Or go to Agora, Urban Scrawl, FAD events and the numerous others here in the city...

Posted 1 year ago #
michaelcoyote
!seabus
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I tend to give the Fart Fair a miss. It does tend to be the same old vendors selling overpriced crap for bluehairs. Bleah. I agree with the OP. They should allow new artists in without $500 booth fees, but I don't see that changing. It would be good if the artists who frequent the Agora, FAD and other events had another outlet for showing and selling their art in this city, but at least we have some alternative venues for them here.

Posted 1 year ago #
CDS sherman
East Franklinton
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i think the art fest has a purpose and it does it very well.... cols arts fest has been very successful for many many years in cols. my biggest complaint is not the caliber of art but the lack of local artist that are allowed to participate. my mother has been a ceramic artist in columbus since 1971 and has been a very active member in the arts community in the past. she has applied to the cols arts fest for 20 years or so and has been accepted twice. during the 70s and 80s she taught classes at Thompson rec and the cultural arts center. during the 80s and 90s and 2000s she does dozens of shows a year all over the country. i have traveled growing up with her as well and the cols arts fest seemed to have the least amount of local artists no matter where we went. you know i thought after ray's passing that would have changed, i guess not.

i feel you on the "tired" aspect as i have seen some of these artist do the same thing for 30 years now. last year i ran into a bunch of artists that i have not seen in years and im sad to say that their work looks exactly the same. one would think they would have saturated the market by now.

columbus has events going on almost every weekend. not to shamelessly promote but come check out go west next sat in the 900 block of west broad. should be a good time.

Posted 1 year ago #
Billy Bob

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There's the problem! There is a huge generation gap in Columbus culture. Scrawl, Agora, FAD, etc., all cater to the under 35 crowd. The Crap fair caters to the over 35 crowd. Division is weakness. There needs to be a concerted effort to show Columbus' best at the festival.

Posted 1 year ago #
CDS sherman
East Franklinton
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michaelcoyote wrote >>
I tend to give the Fart Fair a miss. It does tend to be the same old vendors selling overpriced crap for bluehairs. Bleah. I agree with the OP. They should allow new artists in without $500 booth fees, but I don't see that changing. It would be good if the artists who frequent the Agora, FAD and other events had another outlet for showing and selling their art in this city, but at least we have some alternative venues for them here.

the suburban blue hair, an abundant species. thrives on landscape photography, colorful leather fanny packs and the blvd grill.

Posted 1 year ago #
Billy Bob

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Anyone attending the festival will see that it's not a bunch of blue hairs. There really are a lot of people there from 35 to 60 who really do want to buy some art but there just isn't any art to buy! Just crap!

Posted 1 year ago #
Talcott
Clintonville
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Billy Bob wrote >>
There's the problem! There is a huge generation gap in Columbus culture. Scrawl, Agora, FAD, etc., all cater to the under 35 crowd. The Crap fair caters to the over 35 crowd. Division is weakness. There needs to be a concerted effort to show Columbus' best at the festival.

Division is weakness? Really?
Division is diversity. Diversity in tastes, styles, venues, and so on.
Would you rather all art in Columbus adhere to the same standards and tastes?
I'm not that fond of a lot of the art at the Arts Festival, but I'd rather have lots of arts festivals, some with art I like, some with art I don't, than having everything unified. Anything that gets more people interested in art is a good thing. It might not be the best art, it might not be the best showcase of local art (which, I agree, is the larger issue with the CAF), but everyone starts somewhere. There are people who only attend the Arts Festival, but there are plenty of people each year who have their own interest in art sparked by something they see there, and explore that spark by creating or visiting other arts events.

Posted 1 year ago #
Billy Bob

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Divide and conquer comes to mind. The arts festival is Columbus' biggest art event. It's geared for buying art. What happened to that whole thing "buy local" that is on other threads on this site? Why is crap being forced down peoples throats? The 35 to 60 year old art buying public clearly wants better art. This is evidenced in the poor sales of the event. Give them some art to buy! Give Columbus artists at least one street!

Posted 1 year ago #
michaelcoyote
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Billy Bob wrote >>
Anyone attending the festival will see that it's not a bunch of blue hairs. There really are a lot of people there from 35 to 60 who really do want to buy some art but there just isn't any art to buy! Just crap!

I'm just saying that's who the vendors are catering to. Your "lowest common denominator"

Posted 1 year ago #
CDS sherman
East Franklinton
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i dont think anything is being forced down anyone's throat? i dont understand that. people bitch about this shit, why not get involved in the GCAC or write a letter or something, or protest. the one thing that the cols arts fest does very well is it brings tens of thousands if not more to downtown for 3 days. i just wish they showcased more cols artists. the caliber of art could be better but who am i to judge. do you have any statistics on sales this year? have you asked any of the vendors how they were doing? you could always formulate a report and become a consultant for next year.

Posted 1 year ago #
Bear
The woods
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I didn't know it was happening, really.

Sounds like it's definitely not for me. But hey, everything doesn't have to be.

Posted 1 year ago #
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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Bear wrote >>
I didn't know it was happening, really.
Sounds like it's definitely not for me. But hey, everything doesn't have to be.

+1 - yeah, that's where I'm at with it.

Posted 1 year ago #
misskitty
Columbus
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I go to the Art's fest every year I don't usually purchase anything because it's usually out of my price range or not my style.
But After last year I was disappointed with some stuff about it I did write a letter with suggestions that I thought would be nice.
I just mentioned that their could be more local artist since local are few and far between there. I also suggested that maybe they look into something that gives local artist a discounted fee for the tents or have a community tent for artist with fewer items to sell. I never did hear back from them. It's ok

The demographics are pretty diverse in terms of who visits. But as I learned this year being in the Digital arts fest. People like vanilla a lot and that says a lot when it comes to events like this and others. The art usually appeals to the masses. Just my thoughts on this. I think the local art scene kicks more ass then the Arts fest any day.

Posted 1 year ago #
michaelcoyote
!seabus
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CDS sherman wrote >>
columbus has events going on almost every weekend. not to shamelessly promote but come check out go west next sat in the 900 block of west broad. should be a good time.

Yep, this works for me.

Posted 1 year ago #
AmyD
Columbus, Ohio
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i'm not a fan of the ArtsFest, but eh. there are lots of outlets for local artists and if someone likes the art that is at the Arts Fest, that doesn't mean they are dumb. They just like that kind of art. having more local art would be a plus since on CU alone, we have Joey Monsoon, Coreroc, Sharon Dorsey and Amy Neiwirth! (Sorry if i forgot anyone)

Also, being 40, it doesn't mean i'm dead or mentally disabled. just so you know.

Posted 1 year ago #
LauraA
LaLaland
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Agora is definitely an all ages event. my parents, older friends and coworkers have all raved about their agora experiences. The music selections may cater towards the under 35 crowd, and i suppose the diy aesthetic of some of the vendors. But the art at Junctionview is for all ages and an art collector would be smart to go to it regardless. There are pieces in studios that have yet to be shown and great deals to snag. it is also an opportunity to see work by emerging artists, lots of artists have used agora to test the waters, the first of many shows they have participated in.

as for the art fest, i didn't make it this year or the last 4. i agree with sherman, it does serve a purpose. i just think it's named wrong. if it was the "columbus" arts festival i would think the focus would be on columbus artists. it should be renamed, perhaps.

Posted 1 year ago #
Billy Bob

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A friend of mine thought the Agora was a concert hall near campus. Never understood the marketing behind the use of that word for an art show. It really seems to cause an immediate rift between the generations with those under 35 never hearing of the Agora concert halls in Columbus and Cleveland. Pretty much all art appeals to everyone. Getting everyone to see your art is something completely different. All these other festivals and shows are fantastic, but when it comes to art buyers, hands down, the Columbus Crap festival wins. Why don't Columbus artists want to fight for a slice of this pie?

Posted 1 year ago #
AmyArt21
Short North
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Billy Bob wrote >>
A friend of mine thought the Agora was a concert hall near campus. Never understood the marketing behind the use of that word for an art show. It really seems to cause an immediate rift between the generations with those under 35 never hearing of the Agora concert halls in Columbus and Cleveland. Pretty much all art appeals to everyone. Getting everyone to see your art is something completely different. All these other festivals and shows are fantastic, but when it comes to art buyers, hands down, the Columbus Crap festival wins. Why don't Columbus artists want to fight for a slice of this pie?

agÃ‚Â·oÃ‚Â·ra 1 (Ã„Âg'Ã‰â„¢r-Ã‰â„¢)
n. pl. agÃ‚Â·oÃ‚Â·rae (Ã‰â„¢-rÃ„â€œ') or agÃ‚Â·oÃ‚Â·ras
A place of congregation, especially an ancient Greek marketplace.
[Greek agorÃ„Â; see ger- in Indo-European roots.]

Not sure what you're talking about with the rift involving Agora - we had people from every single demographic attend the event. Before it was a concert hall or an art event, it was an ancient Greek marketplace/meeting center. It wasn't named after a music venue.

And I would have to argue that not all art appeals to everyone. People have specific tastes, what they like and what they don't like. I would venture to say, by your posts, that you are not a fan of the work at the Columbus Arts Festival. And that's ok - that's your opinion.

But what a few other folks on the board have tried to point out is that there are many other venues for people in Columbus to exhibit and sell their work besides just the Columbus Arts Festival. It's not the be-all & end-all of the Art World. Not every artist measures their success in being involved with a large-scale arts festival.

I don't think artists are fighting for a slice of the pie because they might not care so much about this one particular festival. It might not be the right venue for their work. Just off the top of my head, local artists can be involved with: Agora, Eco-Chic Craftacular, North Market Artisan Sundays, Go West, Comfest, Urban Scrawl, Pearl Market, Independents' Day, Craftin' Outlaws, Tiny Canary Indie Design Market, North Market Craft Extravaganza, C-Note Art Show, and the list goes on. There's pretty much an event every month.

That being said, I think GCAC could make some changes in the realm of the inclusion of more local artists. But they have to be willing to listen and work with those who have the ideas.

Posted 1 year ago #
Billy Bob

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Art and crafts.

Posted 1 year ago #