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My Art Fair Booth: 2025 Edition
by Anne Kostecki
Wow, I was looking back at my old blog post about my art fair booth... and things have CHANGED. For the better, I think. Although I will go into some unforeseen obstacles at the end of this post.
As a recap, this is where I left off on my last post. This was taken at an art fair in 2023. I actually cringe when I look at this setup. It's completely crammed, disorganized, with mismatched frames and sizes, a table, a garment rack, and just overall not impressive. I'm surprised I was accepted to so many art fairs that year!
I also did an indoor holiday show that year, and did not have the 10x10 space that I normally do. I also sold more products (stationery, ornaments, etc.) so I didn't feel the need to bring all of my panels. This booth is so sad! I would've done it differently if I had the change to do it again. It looks very cobbled-together, and it basically is, because I always try not to buy anything for my tent if I don't absolutely have to.
At the recommendation of a colleague, I joined a Facebook group that evaluates art submissions and booth shots for fairs. At this point, I had set up my booth twice to stage photos. I want to emphasize how much work this is: it takes at least a half of a day to set up my white canopy tent with sidewalls, 9 individual 7" ProPanels, hang and align all of my artwork, and then take it all down and package it back up.
Since the weather is unpredictable, I decided to set up my booth indoors. Well, DO NOT DO THIS. After joining the group, I realized that almost every seasoned artist can tell immediately if the tent is not actually an outdoor setup with tent. And a lot of these artists end up being jurors. If they can tell the booth is AI-generated or indoors, that counts against you. So that day's worth of booth shots got thrown out.
So, that meant that in 2024 I needed to find a overcast weather day to do an outdoor shoot. Why overcast? Because the light diffusion eliminates all of those harsh shadows that do not photograph well. The overcast lighting looks beautiful and more uniform.
So I set up my tent, which believe it or not, is the easy part. The hard part is actually figuring out how to arrange the art.
After speaking with some experts and colleagues, I knew that the important thing to do is place the largest, most eye-catching piece right in the middle back. Most artists recommend a typical 9 panel set up, without breaks/partitions for the booth shot. The simpler, the better, almost every single juror has said.
One thing I knew was a problem but did not have much motivation to change was the fact that I had different colored/sized frames. At this point, I did not have the time to buy lots of new frames, so I just made it work. I spaced my artwork as evenly as I could, and I had them all top-aligned on each panel. Below is the winning shot.
The photo above was actually submitted to the Saint Louis Mock Jury, and they unbelievably had no notes! I was happily surprised. But, I ended up using this booth shot for several fairs (some that I had previously been accepted to), and I ended up getting rejected. I don't think it was the booth shot's fault, if anything, the art I submitted must not have been my strongest. I still trying to figure out how to improve my application.
Below is my first 8x10 indoor booth shot. I purchased some print shelves and a matching desk, and I absolutely love them. Even though this booth shot is a bit crowded, I think the overall shot is an improvement. Just to be clear, this is my "in-process" shot, not my final shot (notice the mess of my art packaging in the front).
So what happened to the tables/card racks/etc. from my older shots? Well, most fine artists, especially painters, do not have tables in their booth shots. And the folding tables + matching gray event tablecloth I had looked pretty sloppy. The tablecloths had to be ironed, and honestly, they never looked good in the booth shot.
So, after reviewing my above outdoor and indoor booth shots, I knew I wanted a more professional outdoor shot with matching frames. I also knew that many shows only allow one medium (watercolor, not acrylic for example), some shows do not allow prints (so no print bins), some do allow prints and want to see your print bins, and all shows do not want logos/identifying markers. I decided not to include the desk in my shot, as it would just block a corner of artwork.
So, on an unusually warm February Saturday, I set up my booth for what I hope is the finally staging time. I added the shelves. I spent a lot of time mapping out where the art needed to go. I knew my shot list:
- Mixed artwork shot (all media)
- Art plus print bins
- Art without print bins
- Watercolor-only shot
So I spent a couple of hours rearranging my art and taking my shots. My hands were numb from inserting the drapery hooks over and over again. I had all of my work in black frames, with a white mat. I was very happy with the shots, even though the big seam in the road would be an annoying detail I'd have to remove in Photoshop.
So there you have it! My improved booth shots. I am very happy and think they are far superior to the earlier shots from 2023. Now what about the unforeseen obstacles?
Well, to be honest, I have not being having good luck this year getting accepted to art fairs. I've gotten waitlisted or declined to more than I have been accepted into, and apparently that's not entirely a unique experience. I've talked to a lot of my colleagues about the much more intense competition we've faced this year, especially for painters.
For example, one show I did not get into had 52 painters for 11 spots. In almost every other category, it was something like 8-15 applicants for 11 spots. My jury score was above the average in almost every category, and I still was not waitlisted. Another show I applied for had 1,088 applicants for 145 spots. A lot of shows say they've had "more applicants than ever," but I only believe that once they share the actual year-over-year data.
It's not easy selling your work at art fairs, and in my experience, every year has gotten more competitive. I hope that this post helps you in your art fair journey!
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