Art fairs are, buy their nature, overwhelming for a lot of people.
It’s a lot to look at and consider all at once. I’ve seen it a hundred times: people go out there with a sprint mentality for a marathon.
That’s a recipe for a bad time and I’d like to help you avoid that. I want you to have a wonderful time at the art fair and come home with something that you’re going to love for years to come.
In the spirit of helping out then, I present to you my top three tips for surviving an art fair.
1. Bring water and snacks
I cannot stress to you how important it is to fuel your art fair experience. This is an endurance sport. It’s hot out, you’re going to walk a couple miles and your brain is going to be doing a lot of processing. This is all legitimately taxing on your body and you need to give yourself some grace and account for that.
You need to be on the lookout for the artists and the works that resonate with you. Your stomach growling at the smell of the food trucks is only going to distract you. (The food is generally overpriced anyway)
2. You’re not going to see everything, so be flexible
Seriously. Don’t even try to see everything. It’s not worth it.
I know you want to feel like you gave everyone a fair shot, but we both know that’s not how it goes.
Generally speaking, you’re going to enter one side of the fair with good intentions and exit out the other side overwhelmed and just happy that it’s over.
In between are a ton of artists that you’re just breezing past while trying not to make eye contact. They could have that special piece you’ve been looking for, but you’ll never know because you’re so overwhelmed and looking for the exit because you decided that you’d see everything.
The truth is that you can just see a few artists and leave. Nobody’s making you go through the whole art fair, let alone “doing a lap” and seeing everything before you make any kind of purchase. The artist who you don’t visit doesn’t know that you didn’t give them a fair look.
Ask yourself why you feel the need to traverse the whole fair and who is going to know?
I suggest thinking about it a bit more like blackjack: you wouldn’t hit on a 19, would you? That would be silly. You would sit or maybe even double down.
So if you see something that’s just about what you’re looking for, take it! You might not find better.
3. Make a plan
Before you go to an art fair, visit their website and check out which artists are attending. This can give you a good idea of whether or not that fair is even worth going to. Some may not even have the style you’re looking for.
Once you browse around a little, make a list of the artists that catch your eye and you might like to visit. Booth numbers are often provided along with the artist name, so note that as well. If you can match the booth numbers up to a map provided by the fair, you’ve made yourself a little route!
Otherwise, bring that list of artists with you and make those your main stops. Hit all or most of them and you can leave knowing that you achieved your goals and made the best attempt you could to find the things you’re looking for.
Hopefully this is helpful for you going into the art fair season. It’s a great way to meet artists, but it’s also very overwhelming. Take it at your own pace and only explore as much as you have the capacity for. Bring your snacks, water bottle and plans and you’ll have a great day out and come home inspired!