SUMMER ARTIST MARKET 2009 ARTIST MARKET MEETING

Introductions
Website
Name and email address included
Linked to website
Made list of websites for people not currently linked
Jen, Terry, Shanley
Is it possible to get a more current photo?

Mission Statement
Read mission statement
Why don’t artists have input?
Comment on mission statement?
“This juried market” should be added
Gives it credibility to say it has been administrated by BCA
Like the way the bottom mission statement sounds
“Marketable space” sounds ugly
Re-read second mission statement
“An effort” (changed)
“Visual culture” preferred to “visual vitality”

Membership
Artists will be receiving a membership card for BCA

Mission Statement
Adds visual? culture
Enhances culture?
Visual and intellectual culture?
Adds vibrancy? Diversity?
Visual arts?
Vibrant visual arts culture
And adds a vibrant and diverse visual arts culture?
Enhances a vibrant….?
The vibrant?
In Burlington?
And enhances the vibrant and diverse visual arts culture in…

Membership
Dining card, membership card, welcome
Quadricentennial
20% discount to events, etc.
Let Amanda know if you don’t receive membership packet
Too many emails asking for money/donations
We (BCA) depends very heavily on membership
We receive 15% of funding from the city of Burlington, the other 85% comes from grants, etc.
Solicitations could be timed better
Any membership questions?
Boutilliers is on board

Excel Spreadsheet
Discussion as responses
Largely unhappy with Market Season
Should start and end with the farmers market
Fine art may not sell as well in the cold—may not be lucrative to sell fine art in the cold
People all have the option to not start if it’s too cold
May be possible to do well at the beginning of season
Winter farmers market is packed
One time in October it was freezing with ice and the sales weren’t really affected
Early birds still buy on poor weather days

Main Source of Income?
Make distinction between “hobby” and “part time business venture”
Some people are all things during the course of the year
How many artists are supporting themselves completely from market?
Many artists depend on one income
Can shift direction of market to suit needs

Capable of Providing…
Hard to answer
Seasonal affects answers
“Main” income
Market can be a significant contributor for 20ish days one year (seasonal income)
Don’t make money when it’s not the market season

Rejury Every Year?
Largely no
Why should we rejury?
Market is extremely competitive, and needs to stay competitive and stay new, and needs to constantly reinvent itself
Some people copy and sell the same exact thing every single year—give something new!
Two year jury process?
In two years, it’s fair for BCA to ask for something fresh
But BCA keeps same people year after year
People need to be evolving
But if it sells, why should it change?
If things keep selling, why should the artist diversify?
How can we diversify in a 10 x 10 space? Not enough room
Difficulty of working in a small space
Get grandfathered in?
Rejurying costs $$$
Artists should be on the jury (conflict of interest?)
It’s always a conflict of interest?
Is the jury double blind?
If you’re juried in for three years, can you get grandfathered in?
How to prevent stagnation?
Prevent too many reproductions
Which is why BCA rejuries
Jury process is very time consuming
Need an advisory board to regulate (e.g. if someone is consistently late)
Juried applications—BCAs is easiest of all she’s done
The city is familiar with local artists and their work
Everyone puts in what they want to on the application
Submission materials—have it all digitally fused?
Include samples if you want to make it low-impact
30/60 people applied
Jury process is very stressful for the artist
What is the jury basing their opinions on?
Jury judges work on criteria, and it’s not personal
City should make room for all the artists
A lot of politics (real estate and money)
It’s only fair to know who is on the jury and what their credentials are
Nobody prefers an anonymous jury
It would be interesting to have a juror not on BCA
It’s assumed that one jury will be sympathetic to people known in the BCA community
Some jurors are not comfortable releasing their identity
Different jurors for each medium to “keep it honest” ?
Altered submission of new direction the artist is interested in exploring
Why should artist show new things when there isn’t enough space?
Jury should come arount to market
Real estate—issue in market—TOO SMALL!
Different sized spaces for different artists
Price is dependent upon booth size
Do a 6 x 6 and a 10 x 10
4 x 4 possible?—opens up more for people who want bigger
Price range?
Three years ago, artists thought parks and rec would be approached—what happened then? Record of that meeting
Can we have a conversation about having more space?
In March, heard about farmers market leasing a larger area of park
BCA owns patio and alleyway
Artists market had sprawled on space, which was not paid for
BCA leased some of one space that was planned for the farmers market
Alleyway will be used to higher potential
Possibility of sixth space?

Cost of Leasing Space
Verbal agreement vs. actual price
In terms of costs accrued in running one market, BCA is fighting hard to lease space that they’ve already used
Artists willing to pay more money for more space
More space should cost more (10 x 10—more expensive)
It’s really expensive to lease more space in the park

Art Committee Form
Is BCA a non profit?
Yes, 100%
For some artists the market is about showcasing work, not just making money (but the city is just concerned about money)
Park is a multi-use park
There is a lot of the park that is not being used
Farmers market has advisory board, artists market should have an advisory board

Meetings
Start of season, end of season, mid-season (January)
Better—in May there is nothing that can be changed by meetings

Advisory Board
Internally formed or should market manager be there?
Market manager should chair the board
Meeting just to discuss Advisory Board
Name positions and delegate
Need a liaison between artists market and BCA
Need a go-to person in group to communicate with manager

Do You Have a Permanent Space/Would You Like One?
Pay for season?
Needs to be consistency
Customers want to know where people are
Best to have a permanent spot
Many people get pushed around
There should be a list of who is showing up
Map should be the same
There should be a map with numbered spots that do not change
Is there a list of subs? (B-list?)
Farmers market has three types of vendors, so should artists market
Showing up and waiting or having your space given away
Posting on the internet
How many people are going to be at market, what the space will be like
Even just an estimate
10 or 12 regulars should have their own, personal spot
Anywhere between 7:30 and 8:30 to set up by 9:00
Some people just don’t show up on time
Sometimes people set up and get moved afterwards
Little flags or spray painted marks sectioning off different people’s spots
Everyone can handle their own 6 x 6 spots
Who makes the rules about how the market is laid out?
If there were not so many people in the middle of the donut it would not be a terrible thing
People don’t show up but are on the list
Should have a chance, ??en should be out
What’s up with the list and how it gets to Jeremy?
Everyone should have their own copy of the list
Weekly people?
Having two sessions—helpful?
Deposit down for second season so they have a chance to earn the $$
Should know by March
Is BCA making the same commitment as artists?
BCA has various commitments
But they shouldn’t double book the artists market
Multi-use patio
It shouldn’t be on Saturday’s because it’s the artists market
Festival of Fools
Who do we gripe to about Festival of Fools canceling artists market?
Does Festival of Fools have to happen Saturday morning?
Negative verbal feedback from customers about Festival of Fools
BCA should provide spaces for artists that have been displaced by Festival
Festival should be displaced, not artists
Who is the “higher power” making the decisions about moving the artists?
Commitment from artists should equal commitment of BCA

Space
Don’t double book space
Festival of Fools should be in October
What is the follow up about being kicked out by Festival of Fools
Meeting with market advisory and BCA about space
Patio is a valuable resource for artists
Who are the forces? that make decisions?
Artists feel disrespected by BCA—should know up front about events that may displace them
Communication should be improved
Sarah Katz etc seem like the great and powerful Oz
One should come to meetings and come to the artists market at least once
Feel like second class citizens

Tents
To prevent artists from being cancelled by rain
10 x 10 spots would make the market smaller
Need more real estate to prevent the number of vendors from being reduced
Rules given by the city regarding fire code—limits the space that’s available
We can’t spill the way that we used to
Why can’t we buy more space?
Per square foot artists pay more than farmers market

More Space
It sounds like artists should know the plan/map
It sucks that it evolves (spots should be concrete and permanent)
What makes Jeremy an expert?
“Official start day” is May 23
It’s hard to plan set up when you don’t know where you are setting up
Map for every single week of the farmers market
Gaps should be filled
Emailed the day before the market
Market advisory committee could be responsible for map
Macintosh software
Password protected private blog
Map could have numbers, different list each week with different numbers for each person
Market added tomorrow (commencement weekend)
It’s free, people who made other commitments (sorry)
Have patience in this week and next week to figure out spots that work well
This conversation should have happened a month ago
Why is this meeting the day before?
Week from now, meeting with Jeremy to discuss spots
Should be a meeting outside of market time so everybody has an input
Should just discuss on Saturday so we don’t take up time
Need a meeting before second session?

Space Issue
Need to meet again to follow up

Space Meeting
Artists need an explanation of how and why things work the way they do

Space
Bigger spots, various sizes, permanent spots
Space task force
So everybody doesn’t have to come to meeting
On site market manager needs to care more and take more responsibility
He should be doing more
Assign spaces ahead of time
Finalized list every Thursday
Should be emailed to Jeremy so he can have it set up
There are always changes and cancellations
Spots should be assigned
Don’t reconfigure—sometimes many people don’t show up (work can be affected by weather)
No one knows who is going to show up
One chance and you’re out
There’s no perfect answer
Huge difference between small group and large group
Artists want to know beforehand who will be there
Second string to fill spots
But second string work is not up to par
Stowe farmers market (e.g.)
Day vendors who come to see if there is a cancellation to prevent there from being empty spots
Meeting within the next month to hash out extra issues

Advisory Board
Meetings should be scheduled around people with more prominent roles schedules