2014 Sunshine Coast Art Crawl

Letter to all Participants afterCelebration/Debrief

Thank you to all those who participated in the 2014 Art Crawl. It was another great success with our studio visits up to 21,000 and recorded sales up to $162,000. Thank you to all who made it out to our wind-up celebration on October 26th and to our hosts Beverly and Hiroshi Shimazaki.
We wanted to share the general discussion and thoughts from the 50+ artists who attended and those who sent in emails to get any additional feedback from those unable to attend.
The feeling was very positive overall and the energy electric, some had increased sales/visits from past years, some were down in sales/visits. We realised we need to keep our focus on our visiting ‘Crawlers’ so they have a good experience and want to keep coming back each year.
The biggest discussion was around the 10:00am – 5:00pm opening on Friday.
There were many pros and cons.
The main points were:

  • it was confusing to some – mainly to those NOT reading the provided information
  • some venues were not open – mainly because they did NOT read the provided information and assumed it was the same as past years. Crawlers going to those venues were disappointed, and complained at the next venue
  • Crawlers also went to venues that said they were NOT open – they did NOT read carefully either (there were only 3 venues listed as not open)
  • Some venues had very few Crawlers on Friday
  • Some venues had their best day on Friday

Conclusion: try the Open Friday 10-5pm one more year and improve clarity to both venue participants and crawlers
Notes:

  • the first year of a change is always difficult before people really ‘get it’
  • distinguish the Friday evening 7-9pm opening in a different way (NO ICON F)
  • as a venue, take time on Friday to ease in to the weekend, (you likely can find things to do)
  • suggestion: EVERYONE is open – no exceptions (this year there were only 3 exceptions listed)
  • question? How do we regulate venues who do not read the instruction … consequences for those who close early or don’t open?
  • there were 2 venues that cancelled due to illness but created GOOD SIGNAGE to indicate they were not open.

Please send any other thoughts on the FRIDAY 10-5pm Opening.
Other thoughts about the Crawl included:

  • Crawlers liked having a group of artists in one location
  • Crawlers liked visiting the actual studio/homes of the artists
  • Participants need to be responsible for their own additional signage (many already do) and responsible for any damage to the provided Art Crawl signs
  • Have someone to give you a break during the weekend – perhaps CCA could help arrange volunteers to assist
  • Make sure you have a ‘Welcome, Come in’ on your entrance door
  • Refreshments and washrooms were appreciated by the Crawlers
  • Use your own networks to spread the word
  • Vary your work from year to year to keep visitors coming back
  • Visa, Mastercard, online Square will increase immediate sales
  • We should collect numbers from spin-off businesses (coffee shops, restaurants, B&Bs)
  • Redesign the brochure so there is more room for details per listing (for demos, gardens, etc)
  • Limit number of venues in the Crawl
  • Too many things happening in one weekend
  • Separate section for retail outlets – ‘Art on the Side’

Overall the Crawl was a huge success – we’ve had many emails, facebook posts and comments from Crawlers who love everything about it. They thought the brochure, maps, signage, promotion, artists and the whole experience was fabulous and they can’t wait for next year.
Committee Note:
Social media and posting of images to facebook etc are time consuming while we are actually on the road and we all can’t get to every venue … we give it a good shot … so follow up videos and images will continue to be uploaded.
Our Youtube videos are shot, edited and produced by Katherine Penfold and we love her quality and style of representing the artists. Katherine is paid under contract by the Coast Cultural Alliance Art Crawl budget. Our budget and her time is limited as each video can take up to 3-4 hours to produce. The videos can be used on individuals websites or social media.
Thanks again for your participation and we are always looking for more volunteers to help on the Art Crawl committee to continue to be a signature event on the Sunshine Coast.
Bronia, Nadine, Janice, Katherine, Siobhan, Rick, Carol, Linda
and the rest of the directors at Coast Cultural Alliance (CCA)