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DEB BAILEY: MARION ARTS FESTIVAL DIRECTOR,

Marion, Iowa

Wednesday Conversation

FROM SARAH'S DESK: Deb Bailey, the director of the Marion Arts Festival in Marion, Iowa, is a gem... and I mean that. I have had the opportunity to exhibit in this award-winning festival a few times, and every encounter I've had with Deb Bailey, whether through emails preparing for the show or in person while at the show, is magical. She has a knack for making each artist feel like a celebrity and the most important person on site. The Marion Arts Festival is a one-day, fifty-artist show. Literally the shortest, smallest show in the country. It is consistently one of the top art festivals in the country, and that is due, much in part, to Deb's energy and leadership. Artists- if you have the opportunity to exhibit in this fine little show, you're in for a treat! It is one of my favorite art festivals.

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TAG: What is you background and how did you come to working with art festivals?

D. BAILEY: I have a Master’s Degree in social work, and had worked in domestic violence/rape crisis and as a family therapist. One day, a friend asked if I had ever thought of getting a happy job. 2016 marks the festival’s 24th anniversary, and my 13th year with the event.

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TAG: What things did you need to learn "on the job" about running an art festival?

D. BAILEY: I wasn’t starting from rock-bottom scratch, as I’d participated as an artist in a range of Iowa shows. Also, the festival itself had been long-established. Still, that first year, I secretly hoped for rain, so no one could tell if I’d done a bad job. (It didn’t.) Year two, we focused on raising money, putting it all into promotions, and saw our audience double. Year four, we signed on for ZAPPlication, and artist interest tripled. Year seven, I made questions about price range/most common price point part of our application. That year, we were ranked among the Top 50 in Art Fair SourceBook, and started seeing applications from other countries. Year nine, we were in AFSB’s Top 20. Art Fair Insiders’ has named the festival among their Top 50 “America’s Best Art Fairs” and Top 6 “America’s Smaller Fairs” three years running.

Upshot: the “on the job lessons” were that we needed to create the festival our community actually wanted, with promotions and communications with artists being key.

TAG: What have been your biggest learning moments as an art festival director?

D. BAILEY: These can be summed up. If artists ain’t happy, nobody’s happy. Happy artists beget a happy audience beget happy artists beget a happy audience. Beget happy sponsors! We like a happy day. Did I mention happy artists? This is why we have Boy Scouts pushing the sunscreen and apples, and why each year I make sure somebody other than myself brews the artists’ vat of coffee.

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TAG: What are some keys to putting on a successful art festival?

D. BAILEY: #1 – Try to get a bead on what offerings your audience will support (type/quality/price).

#2 – Pay somebody. All-volunteer arts organizations have made the world go round … but part of any festival’s mission is to cultivate an understanding and appreciation that art’s not free, nor should it be. Hiring a director underscores that commitment. It’s not an indulgence! You are a super-awesome advisory committee! Motivated! Money-gatherers! And just created an art job! Own it!

#3 – Raise a boatload of money for advertising. There’s no point in throwing an art party without having sent out the invitations. SERIOUSLY. If promotions aren’t half your budget, you’re shorting the artists, your community, and everyone who’s worked so hard on the event.

#4 – In our experience, making the festival about the art makes it … about the art. No bands, no beer. Our audience knows why they’re there.

TAG: It seems that most of the really successful art festivals are located in or near a larger metropolitan area, do you think this is necessary, why or why not?

D. BAILEY: Well, I think there are all kinds of reasons to make festivals: to celebrate communities; showcase local creatives; offer wide-ranging family experiences. But if the purpose of a show is to support full-time, working artists, I do think you have to have a population large enough from which to draw a purposeful audience.

TAG: What do you wish artists knew about art festivals?

D. BAILEY: #1 – By festival day, every penny of your jury/booth fees have been spent on advertising, with each dollar working hard to bring customers to your doorstep. That’s what your booth fee does: helps to create a sizable, vibrant, diverse crowd and a rockin’ one-day marketplace, one during which the right art is put in front of the right people with the right wallets. We’re not making money off you; we’re spending money on you. For you. In our case, income from jury and booth fees total less than $20,000. We spend $40,000+ across print, web, radio, and television advertising; static and digital billboards; posters and t-shirts; Facebook advertising and other social media promotions. This all precedes your arrival, which is why you may not realize.

#2 – We don’t control the weather, strollers, or dogs. I know you know these things, but also understand they can be hard to remember when a wet Irish wolfhound strides into your booth, dragging a toddler on wheels. (Sorry.) (So sorry.)

#3 – If we could raise a lot of money and just give it to you, we would. As it stands, our sponsors require that we throw a party. The good news is, it’s fun, thousands and thousands of pals show up, and most bring cash.

TAG: How do you see art festivals evolving, changing?

D. BAILEY: Over my tenure, festivals have become an industry. Focused and professional, with sophisticated ways for artists and events to connect and communicate.

Also! The future is now. Artists and art professionals must attract (then keep) millennials as buyers. How do we compete with screens? How to convey the value of original work, when an entire world of art is available, day and night, viewable over multiple platforms, and in any setting? I’m not dissing infinite access – it’s a marvel, and marvelous. But damn. THE SCREENS. Our strategy has been to point out that one in every four people has that same phone, while only you have this painting. And there’s room for art in everyday life (functional ceramics, wearables, et al.) It’s an open-ended search for ideas. I’m optimistic festivals will help each other out, by sharing success stories.

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TAG: What are some challenges art festivals face that people might not think about?

D. BAILEY: Festivals are businesses. We conceive and market a product, generate income, create jobs (administrative staff, artists-for-a-day), and purchase services and products from other local businesses. Then do it again the next day, while accountable to our investors (sponsors), customers (community), suppliers (artists), and – whether nonprofit or for-profit – multiple levels of bureaucracy.

There’s more. My husband calls our event “the outdoor wedding for 12,000, with fifty brides, nine caterers, and a kids’ table for 400”. So … that. And this is literally the smallest, shortest festival in the country; now open your hearts to imagine the people running five-day, 300-artist shows. There are reasons “event planner” ranks #6 on the list of most stressful jobs. Further, executing an entire (but unseen) work-year in eight blow-out hours is … a labor of love. I’m begging you to believe me. Most days, I believe me.

TAG: What is the strangest thing you have encountered in running art festivals?

D. BAILEY: My first year, we had an artist who, at the end of the day, declined to tear down. He’d been expecting a certain customer - a big-spender, historically – whom he’d been speed-dialing all day, but had failed to show up. There was a time past which I just had to let him know that the clock had run out on our liability insurance, and he was now at the mercy of the local police. The next day, Sunday, he was still in the middle of the park, all alone, tent and all, ready for business. Which I admired … but also kept driving. If I knew then what I know now, I would’ve dropped off lunch. But for sure I still would have split if the fuzz showed up, as I’m of no use if jailed. (Sadly, this is proven.)

And there was the time I literally had to put out a fire, but probably that happens to everyone.

TAG: Are there mediums that you wish would be better represented at art festivals, and what can be done to encourage those artists to apply?

D. BAILEY: One of our application categories is “New Media (Surprise Us!)” I’m looking forward to 3D-printed work – jewelry, sculpture, anything. There’s a lot of great 3D-printed jewelry on Etsy, but artists don’t seem to be taking it out on the road.

If an artist is working in a medium that doesn’t seem to fit named categories, I can’t imagine there’s a show director in the country who wouldn’t welcome a call or email asking for guidance. We want you to succeed – it’s our reason to exist.

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TAG: In your opinion what can artists do to make more sales at art festivals?

D. BAILEY: Oh, man. Oh, boy. So, the following observations are born from my experience as a buyer. Meaning, they represent me alone. I’m not speaking for our attendees, let alone other show directors. These are all about me, as your customer. If these points don’t fit for you, please shake your head and blow me off. I’m just one woman (albeit, with a credit card).

#1 – It can be intimidating when an artist sits directly outside the front of their booth (there’s something a little “do not pass go” about it).

#2 – I respond to an array of smaller/price-accessible works displayed right upfront; they function as a friendly invitation.

#3 – I don’t want to be sold to. Put your trust in believing that if I want it, I’ll buy it. When an artist asks, “Which do you like best?” I say “All of them!” And then run. I don’t think this makes me bad; instead, it might make me typical.

#4 – I like your prices to be visible. And! Now! I will put on my director’s hat, to say that I swear to God this is real. Way more people will assume, “If I have to ask, I can’t afford it,” than those who will ask and (potentially) buy. Also – at the risk of being branded a harsh mistress – I’m calling it out as bad customer service. In any other retail setting, who would stand for this? No price? Dude, really? And I’m cooling my heels while you futz with other customers? Insult to injury. Me, I’m thinking, “Forget it. There are 249 other booths.” I may intend to swing back around … but lose track of your location, maybe even my desire. And I’m a perpetual buyer, your biggest fan, an addict, and from a household with more than 100 paintings on just the first floor. You’re already tasked with getting me into your booth to examine your offerings, and, further, to serve up a piece that lights my fire. Having to ask for a price adds to your workload, and can bring my interest to a screeching halt. Why throw a wrench into it, especially since you almost have me? Make buying as easy as possible.

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TAG: What does it cost to put on an art festival like yours, and how do you raise money to do that?

D. BAILEY: Our event is nonprofit. Each year, we fundraise from the ground-up, shooting for $100,000, and receiving another $10,000-ish in in-kind support. About 60% is income – e.g. fees to artists and other vendors, shirt and poster sales, and proceeds from our half marathon and 5K. We raise the other 40% through grant-writing and corporate/business sponsorships.

TAG: What are you most proud of about your festival?

D. BAILEY: We’re most proud of the community. Depending on the weather, somewhere between $180,000 - $250,000 changes hands in the park. Then, a year later, it happens again. Who are these magnificent people? Is this heaven? It’s Eastern Iowa.

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TAG: What are you most looking forward to about this year's Marion Arts Festival?

D. BAILEY: Kids, always. There are multiple reasons to cry on festival day: tearing up along with an artist who’s surprised by an award; the singing of the national anthem before the runs begin; freakin’ blisters. But overhearing a kid ask an artist how they made that? And watching the parents watch the kid engage with the artist? I’m a gonner. We all are. It’s the festival cycle-of-life, because BAM. BAM, PEOPLE. Proof-positive – and in front of parents, even – that it’s possible to grow up to be a working artist. Where else do you see that? Fine art and flip-flops: create an intersection, and watch the magic.

You can find more information about the Marion Arts Festival here.

Wait! There's more!

Enjoy the insightful musings of Deb Bailey here in her "Director's Blog"