America's Best Art Fairs Awards Announced by ArtFairCalendar.com
Art is Alive and Well in America
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COLDWATER, MI, Dec, 3, 2016 -- The top 50 juried fine art fairs in the country were announced today by the leading art fair website, ArtFairCalendar.com. The third annual online survey asked art fair patrons across the nation: What is America’s Best Art Fair?
“Art is alive and well in America,” says ArtFairCalendar.com publisher Connie Mettler. The winning events spanned the continent from Connecticut to California.
Based on an online survey, the awards opened voting beyond the traditional "art fair insiders" like artists and show staff to focus on voting by art fair patrons, fine art collectors and the public that attends art shows and festivals nationwide.
In the 2016 survey Chicago’s Old Town Art Fair overwhelmingly won First Place. Respondents said, “"Located in the midst of a beautiful (old architecture) city neighborhood, good food, good music and lots to see beyond the art, enjoy the energy of a major city and the art at same time."
The most popular art fairs this year included six Chicago events in the top 20, with the One of a Kind Show, an indoor event held at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart in December, rated #3. Street art fairs in urban and urbane neighborhoods round out the top five, including the Winter Park Sidewalk Sidewalk Art Festival in Winter Park, FL, the popular Ann Arbor Art Fairs (4 in all) and the La Quinta Arts Festival hosted in the greater Palm Springs area.
Love America’s cities? The survey takers definitely do. You’ll find them on the campus of the University of Michigan visiting the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original; enjoying the art and the ambiance in the shopping area of Clayton, MO (the Saint Louis Art Fair) and in Denver’s popular Cherry Creek district at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. Louisville’s registered historic district hosts the St. James Court Art Show and many shoppers every October.
Rounding out the top ten was a surprise winner, the Old Florida Celebration of the Arts in tiny Cedar Key, FL, where the buyers find one of a kind art, small town ambiance, fresh seafood and a laid back atmosphere.
“We are proud of all our art fair award winners as they represent the “people's choice”, chosen from all of the communities that support art fairs and artists,” says Mettler. “Enthusiasm for the survey brought even more votes and shows into the spotlight this year. We look forward to recognizing the top shows in the coming years and helping to attract more business for the cities that host these beloved cultural events."
More than 230 events were nominated in 42 states. The economic impact of art fairs is felt throughout the travel industry, in large and small towns through the country.
The awards survey included more than 20 questions and many categories for recognition.
Please visit ArtFairCalendar.com at or for all 50 of the top winners including valuable insights from the more than 1,000 responses to the survey plus details on how your local art fair can participate in and benefit from the awards.
Visit the links above for other award categories and their winners, including:
·Best East Coast Art Fairs
·Best Midwest Art Fairs
·Best Western Art Fairs
·Best Southern Art Fairs
·Favorite Urban Art Fairs
·Favorite Smaller Art Fairs
About the America's Best Art Fairs Awards
The Best Art Fairs Awards is the only national online survey of the nation’s juried fairs, designed to reward those festivals that create opportunities connecting artists and communities to celebrate the arts.
The survey process began in October 2016, offered to over 55,000 subscribers of the ArtFairCalendar.com email lists and spread by social media. It focused on questions relating to art fairs specifically seeking the favorite shows of patrons and art collectors regionally and nationally. Over 1,000 unique responses were tabulated to calculate the winners.
About ArtFairCalendar.com
ArtFairCalendar.com exists to promote the work of the artists and craftspeople who earn their living exhibiting at fine art events around the U.S.
As the #1 Google ranked website for art fairs, ArtFairCalendar.com offers a national online calendar of juried fine art fairs, festivals and events bringing patrons to the shows and promoting cultural tourism. Founded in 2004, ArtFairCalendar.com is published by Connie Mettler, a long-term art fair industry veteran and consultant to fine art events nationwide.
Visit for national show listings and free regional email newsletters that can help you keep up with the art fairs in your community, for popular online forums for artists, for artist reviews of art shows nationwide, and to find exhibition opportunities for artists at art fairs across the US and Canada.
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Contact:
Connie Mettler
517-278-7515