The Art Show must go on…

A slight change of plans for the summer version of the Markham Arts Council Art Show. Due to unfortunate circumstances, we have to change the venue for this year’s Art Show. Our previous venue sponsor has other plans for their location in Markham and the Art Show committee was subjected to finding other suitable digs for our show. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anything in Markham, but were offered exceptional space by local Unionville businessman William Ho.

Therefore, all artists will be showing and selling art from May 31 to June 7, 2010. The last weekend coinciding with the famous Unionville Festival. Unionville as a tourist attraction garners many visitors during the days of summer and many more, in fact thousands more, during the Unionville Festival, so hopefully we’ll see a lot of visitors during our Art Show.

So get your canvases ready. Our Artist Opening Reception is on Wednesday, June 2 from 6 to 10pm. Should be another fun time meeting eachother and our special guests.

See you there!

Art for all seasons

Are you ready for the new Markham Village Art Show June edition? Get out your canvases and prepare to show the world what you can do. I know a lot of artists have been busy over the winter.

So keep a watch over this space as we bring you more info.

Another week to go

Soon you’ll see this image everywhere:

We have ads in the Markham Economist & Sun and the Arts in Motion. This poster has been distributed throughout Markham as well as the Art Show invitations.

Remember artists that the day of the hanging is Thursday, November 26th. Make sure you have all your paperwork with you. Bring extra hanging supplies as we might run out. The people on the grids should be okay though.

If you have any questions, contact Robyn at the Markham Arts Council office: 905.947.9054.

Don’t forget the artists’ reception on Friday, November 27. Bring a bottle of wine and enjoy the refreshments, meet your fellow artists and enjoy an evening of fellowship.

Art Show video

Make sure your friends know…

November Art Show

The Markham Art Show is coming back again, November 28 to December 6, 2009 at 74 Main Street in Markham. Should be another good one. Watch out for the invitation postcards and posters. We’ll keep you updated as the arrangements get settled.

Keep checking this space.

Opening Night

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the opening reception tonight from 6pm to 10pm.

I saw most of the artists and photographers yesterday at the “hanging”. Some amazing art and photography representing quite an array of work from York Region.

Hopefully it’ll be a success for all the artists. There should be quite a bit of traffic coming through during the festival.

Good luck everybody and enjoy the show!

Time to welcome the hoards

Have you thought about how you’re going to attract patrons to our Art Show? For those who are connected online, try to embrace the technology and use the tools available to help market yourself.

I for one, am big on self-promotion and as this show is coming up in a week or so, now is the time to step it up a notch. I’ve added new posts to my blog not only announcing the Art Show, but new pieces I’ve worked on — never seen before in public. I also post an event announcement on my Facebook page, and better yet, have placed several tweets on Twitter. I was apprehensive about Twitter, but have found that one can be very creative with a limit of 140 characters. So I’ve been plugging the art show and pointing my ‘followers’ to my site and/or blog. Most of my ‘followers’ are art galleries and art supply manufacturers. They in turn, have huge ‘followings’. So by using Twitter, I generate viral marketing snippets.

Other promotional outlets include any online galleries that you belong to and local directories where you are allowed to post events.

Another more traditional avenue to promotions is to use the news media, send out invitations by snail mail, or plaster posters wherever one can without getting caught by the trash police (grocery stores, community buildings, workplace cafeterias, etc.,.

The key is to get moving NOW! The more traffic we can generate to come through the door of our art show, the more chances of sales and better yet, awareness that we are out there and that there is an incredible array of creative talent in the Markham area. With this realization come new art buyers and interested galleries, interior designers, prop buyers and stagers.

Don’t forget to have your sales literature at the show, whether its a flyer, brochure or business card

So good luck everyone. See you at the opening reception!

Frank Beecham
Website: www.beechamcanada.com
Blog: www.markhamartist.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/FRANKBEECHAM

Coming to the Mackies?

Hello all: just a reminder that the Mackie Awards will be on May 31 at the Varley Art Gallery.

The Markham Arts Council would like to formally honour individuals, companies and organizations by presenting them with the prestigious Mackie Award

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Mackie Awards:

• John Storey has been involved with Markham Little Theatre, our award-winning theatre company, for 42 years and has served in several capacities including President and chaired their fundraising campaign for their rehearsal space Backstage.
• Elizabeth Plashkes has volunteered with a number of different organizations including the Markham Village Festival, Markham Village Conservancy (Markham Train station renovations), Doors Open Markham (founding Chair) and the Varley Art Auction Chair.
• Enbridge Gas Distribution donates each year to the Milliken Children’s Festival, the Markham Village Music Festival and several fundraising events in Markham. Their generosity is certainly appreciated.

Please join us by honouring our very deserving winners. The Mackie Awards ceremony will be held May 31st from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at the Varley Art Gallery.

Tickets are only $30 each and include wine, appetizers, entertainment and a Silent Auction. Visa and MasterCard accepted. Click here for a Ticket Order form.

For information or tickets, contact us at info@markhamartscouncil.com or call 905-947-9054.

Register today for the June Show

Not sure if you’ve all done this yet, especially the previous exhibitors from the November event — but if you want to get into the June show, you MUST register today. Spaces are filling up fast.

Click here to download the necessary forms.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Frank Beecham
Visual Artist

Show or Sale?

Hi there, I just wanted to let you know of my recent success “after” the show. Three of my latest works were purchased by a generous Unionville couple a short while after the 2008 winter Markham Village Art Show and Sale. However, I am not here to brag, but to offer some simple advice. My name is Frank Beecham and I am a Markham visual artist.

You need to address two choices before we go further: Is your goal to show your art or sell it?

As you know, there is a lot more to selling our art than hanging it in a gallery. As artists we need to promote ourselves and the art show in order to generate traffic, but we also know that it is a struggle. We each have to embrace a variety of marketing styles in order to make the public aware of our existence. For me, branding is the first step. From my business cards, to handouts, to my website and blog: the visual impact of my brand must show continuity in design and creativity. My graphic design must reflect my image as credible and the more it is used the more it will be recognized. I garnered favourable comments and discussion from several opening reception attendees on the use of my graphics. This means I was successful in creating the stir.

I promoted the art show via my blog and by email blitzes to family and friends. Persistence is a virtue. I also placed online ads in community web portals, like Kijiji and Craigslist and the York Region Tourism site. I even attempted to contact the local media like Snap Markham and the Markham Economist & Sun. The key is to keep plugging yourself. It only takes one interested party to start a viral (word-of-mouth) campaign on your behalf. Don’t be afraid to remind your prospects that the show is coming up. Invite them to the opening reception where they can mingle with other artists and supporters. This helps to show your credibility as well as your peers’.

If I hadn’t the diligence to promote my art, I might never have made my sales — I only paint abstracts making my task of promotion a difficult one — the marketplace is limited to buyers who can visualize the meaning of my paintings and be able to place them in colour-specific settings.

The marketing of art during these tough economic times, must use as many sales techniques as are available. If you don’t have a business card – get one. Embrace technology and use it for your advantage. Start a blog. There are a few FREE services that offer blogs like the one you are reading now. You can always invest in a pro to create branding material and a website. Whatever you do, remember these tidbits for the next art show and exhibit. Market yourself in as many ways as you can. One sale can pay for all your hard work.

Finally, remember to enjoy your art regardless of sales — your art reflects who you are and the how you approach the culture of art — be proud to share it with others.

Feel free to visit my website at www.beechamcanada.com