Everything an Artist Needs to Know about Insurance

Art fairs can be a dangerous business fraught with problems of high winds, theft, traveling with artwork, liability issues, damages to equipment and accidents of all kinds.

Valerie Bjarnson, Director of Online Programs for Veracity Insurance Solutions whose innovative insurance programs have made reasonably priced insurance available to artists, joins Connie Mettler to discuss why an artist needs liability insurance.

We'll discuss

liability issues bodily injury and property damage weather related losses theft and the best way insurance can keep protect you and your livelihood

whether you only do a few shows a year or are a full time art fair traveler participating in more shows than you can remember.

Get definitive answers for all your insurance questions and learn more: www.ACTinspro.com.

In a business full of taking chances the first big challenge an artist has is to make the jury cut at the shows. After all, if you can't get into the show you aren't in business. I'll be speaking with

Mo Riley, Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair: Mo came to the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair (the original one) about 3 years ago from the Detroit Festival of the arts. She inherited a complex jury system that has over a dozen jurors from various media who attend on consecutive days, breaking the jurying down into small pieces.Lyn Sedlak-Ford, Board Member Art in the Pearl, Portland, OR: one of a group of 14 artists who started this show 17 years ago. There are 3 left of the original group. We'll talk about how an artist's organization chooses a jury and what they expect from their jurors.Jerry Allen Gilmore, juror for many of the nation's best art fairs: with an MFA in painting and drawing he has had a career both as an artist, exhibiting internationally, and as an arts administrator in Colorado. Currently he is concentrating on curatorial projects, artist portfolio reviews, jurying for regional and national art institutions and on his own artwork.

We'll talk about:

how to choose a jury, qualifications, diversity, experience demands on the jury how they showcase the applications jury instruction different kinds of jurying jury experiences and recommendations what your jury fee is buying you

Who gets into almost all of the top shows and can win Best of Show? Meet Jody dePew McLeane (pastel drawings) and Ted Gall (sculptor), involved in the art fair business for over 30 years and consistently exhibiting at the "dream shows."

The essence of this show will be:

how to build a long term career selling at art fairs sustaining a body of work that continues to grow and yield creative fulfillment adapting to changing economic conditions art fair vs gallery sales lessons learned tips for someone starting out today

Jody is a member of the Pastel Society of America in New York and was elected as a master panelist by the Society. Her works have been featured in four books including "The Best of Pastel II" and her work is in many public collections.

Ted has served consultant to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Illinois Arts Council.  He has taught art classes in Illinois and in California.  His corporate collections include The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, Walt Disney, Bell & Howell, Standard Oil and others.

Barney Davey, brings his expertise as an art marketing consultant to help artists bridge the gap between making art and making a living. As a sales and marketing executive for Decor magazine and Decor Expo tradeshows, Barney has consulted with hundreds of the industry’s leading art publishers and self-published artists regarding their art marketing and advertising strategies.

We'll be talking about:

Why silence is golden in selling How to make more per sale by offering big Selling and pricing art without fear Using warm markets to build your collector base Understanding your customer types and working with them accordingly

Join us to learn smart moves for marketing and positioning your art for solid sales.

Guest Scott Fox, author of Click Milliionaires, gets down to the most strategic, smart and inexpensive ways you can:

get a website up and running for little money why you need it quick and easy ways to implement it as a marketing tool how to use it to promote yourself ways to make it make money for you using Facebook as a marketing tool

Get great tips on how to make your website work for you without a lot of technical background and time involved.

Any weekend, anywhere in the U.S., there are hundreds of art fairs filled with artists and the people who love attending the shows. Who is that person who is examining your work and maybe taking it home? Today's episode is a discussion with three people who passionately attend the shows, enjoy the camaraderie with the artists and are continually adding to their collections.

Ed and Judie Seidman not only attend art fairs close to home but also never miss a gallery on their travels and are looking for new art and artists. In addition, they have their own personal art fair newsletter that they send to their friends advising them of upcoming shows Geri Wegner travels between two homes, both in the heart of the nation's best art fairs, Chicago and Florida, where she plans her weekends around visiting the shows, meeting her friends and adding to her collections.

We'll talk about how they got started, where they've been and most importantly what makes them purchase a piece of art and pick up tips to attract buyers to your booth.

Connie Mettler will be speaking with

Kathrine Allen-Coleman, a painter from Georgia who participated in Coconut Grove, Reston, Old Town, Columbus, Des Moines, Ann Arbor Street Art Fair and moreAndrew Shea, a glass blower from Minnesota who was in Belleville, Old Town, Des Moines, Madison, Uptown, Port Clinton, Saint Louis and moreBruce Reinfeld, a photographer from Philadelpia who was Columbus, Des Moines, Cherry Creek, Plaza and more

All of these artists had "dream" schedules in 2011. Join us as we talk about their experiences, how they manage to have such a great track record getting the top shows and their 2012 plans.

Connie Mettler talks with Cindy Lerick, director of the Saint Louis Art Fair and Stephen King, director of the Des Moines Arts Festival.

Their background Mission of their events What is a non-profit and where does the money go? How do they decide on a booth fee? Jury information How they pick jurors What the jurors are asked to do How about that booth shot? much more...

Host Connie Mettler talks with artists Barbara Poole (fiber), Caroline Kwas (painting) and Michelle Wermuth (photography), new to the art fair business in the last few years, to discuss their

biggest disappointments biggest surprises best advice for other newbies and their 2012 plans.

Host Connie Mettler talks with four artists who are new to the art fair business, having started in 2009 or 2010 and are members of ArtFairInsiders.com. They include Michelle Wermuth, a photographer from Florence, KY; Caroline Kwas, a painter from Spring Hill, FL; Carol Miller, who does fiber and leather from Hillsdale, NJ and Barbara Poole, wearable fiber from Boston.

We'll talk about:

why art fairs? how long they've been doing creative work how is it going? plans for the future. suggestions for others who are new