Should every artist do local art shows and fairs?

Every artist who is young and has the ability to do it should pursue local shows and fairs. It’s a critical shortcut to building your business - you get in front of actual eyeballs, have real conversations, start gathering leads, and begin building a collector base. In-person selling is and always will be the best way to sell art because people cannot truly appreciate artwork online the way they can face-to-face. While you need a website working for you 24/7, you’re geographically limited as a person. The in-person connection is irreplaceable. Just understand that as you age, there will come a time when you won’t want to be on your feet for eight hours setting up and breaking down booths, so get these reps and sets in now while you can.

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Asked by artists considering doing art fairs · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2024-11-14