Art Show Information
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General Information
On behalf of participating artists, the Anthrocon Art Show exhibits and sells original artworks of a science fiction, fantasy and/or fannish nature, especially relating to anthropomorphics. Artists offer works in various media, both flat (sketches, pen-and-ink drawings, paintings, etc.) and 3-dimensional (sculpture, masks, costumes, etc.) for display and sale. If you are an artist, an information packet with the display rules and a space reservation form will be mailed out to all artists by early March. To receive one, please send your full (legal) name and postal address to art-2012 AT anthrocon.org. Reservation deadline is March 31. There is a lot of information included, so please allow yourself a few days to go over it and prepare your reservation. Start thinking now about how many pieces you wish to show, and how much room you'll need to display them. If you are interested in purchasing artwork at the Art Show, more information will be posted on the Anthrocon web site as the date of the convention approaches. There are two distinct areas of the Art Show: 1. The "General Gallery" features original artwork depicting subjects suitable for all ages to view. This area will be open for silent (written) bidding during the day and early evening Friday and Saturday, and Sunday morning. If a piece receives enough written bids by noon Sunday, it will be sent to voice auction Sunday afternoon. 2. The "Mature Gallery" is for original artwork depicting mature subject matter. This area will be open during the same hours as the rest of the Art Show Friday and Saturday, and monitored to keep minors out. Pieces in this area which receive enough written bids by Saturday evening will be sent to a separate voice auction later that evening. Since we provide artists the opportunity to get a Dealers Room table or a free table at Artist Alley, Anthrocon does not offer a Print Shop in the Art Show for the sale of multiple-copy items. Many artists make arrangements to sell their work through a distributor such as The Rabbit Valley Comic Shop, who can make sales all year long instead of just at the con. Artists may still exhibit and sell single copies of prints to the highest bidder in the Art Show, as with original artwork. All entries of original art must be your own work. All entries of prints must be based on your own work. You may enter collaborative works for which you contributed a significant effort, as long as you have permission from all other involved artists, and credit them accordingly. If a work is based on commercially-available patterns, designs, stencils, etc., this must be stated in the "medium" description on the bid sheet. Artwork for sale should depict your own original characters, unless: (a.) you have written permission from the character's owner, or (b.) the work is obviously a parody. You should not sell art depicting trademarked characters unless you have a license to do so, as this opens you up to an infringement suit. Works found to contain unauthorized depictions of others' intellectual property may be removed from display or marked "Not For Sale" by the Art Show Director upon request from rightsholders or their representatives. All flat art should be matted and backed, framed, or otherwise mounted, ready to hang upon arrival. Framed works should have a wire for hanging, securely attached to the artwork. Glass mountings are not allowed. The idea is to protect the artwork and minimize the amount of fuss needed to display it. Contact the Art Show Director at art-2012 AT anthrocon.org if you have questions or an unusual situation. If you have small works (flat or three-dimensional), we recommend you provide a case to hold the items, the better to safeguard them from damage or theft. Prints are defined as limited-edition photoprints, serigraphs, lithographs, photocopies, laserprints, or other multiple-copy items. (Hand-colored lithographs are considered original art.) Only single copies of limited edition prints (under 500 copies) will be allowed in the Art Show. As mentioned above, we do not offer a Print Shop for the sale of multiple copies of prints. Any item created using a computer or other method which can be used to produce multiple copies (e.g., screen printing) must be indicated as a print in the "medium" description on the bid sheet unless accompanied by a notarized statement from the artist affirming that it is a unique work and that no further copies will be made. The display unit for flat art is the pegboard panel, 2 ft. wide by 4 ft. high (approx. 60 cm wide by 120 cm high). The display unit for 3-D art is the half-table, which is 3 ft. long by 30 inches deep (approx. 90 cm long by 75 cm deep). You must specifically reserve space for each area in which you wish to display work: General Gallery and Mature Gallery. Please note that our panel units are smaller than those of many other cons. This is to avoid dealing with fractional reservations. Feel free to request two or three or more panels to get the amount of space you need. When reserving your space, please keep in mind that you must allow space for mats, hanging hooks, adequate clearance, and for bid sheets around your pieces. Your artwork may not extend beyond the edge of any panel or table, and it may not interfere with any works displayed by any other artist. One panel will typically hold six 9" x 12" or A4-size (21 cm x 29.7 cm) matted pieces. Bid sheets are 4.25" wide x 5.5" high (10.8 cm x 14 cm, approx. A6-size). Allow 3" (8 cm) above the top of each piece for clips and hooks. The top 2" (5 cm) of each panel is unusable because of the panel supports; a sign for each artist is attached there. Floor space for large free-standing artwork (e.g. sculpture or costumes, or works on easels you bring) must be arranged with the Art Show Director by the reservation deadline; please contact him and include all details about the piece(s) and supports (if any). If you cannot attend Anthrocon, you may be represented by an agent at the convention. An agent is simply someone you authorize to act on your behalf in dealing with the Art Show at the convention. He or she will bring, hang and pick up your artwork, do your paperwork, etc. -- i.e., perform the normal duties and accept the responsibilities you would if you were present. Typically, an agent is an artist's friend or acquaintance who is attending the convention anyway. One person can act as an agent for several artists. There is no set limit to the number of artists an agent can represent, but remember, it takes time to hang the art and do the paperwork: it could take several hours for several artists. We no longer offer mail-in service. We feel it best to devote our efforts to the artists and agents who invest the time and expense to attend the convention. Anthrocon is a registered not-for-profit organization, but we must collect a commission on sales to cover the expenses of running the Art Show. (Neither Anthrocon nor its staff profit from this.) We have set 15% as a maximum commission rate, but when the sales payments are issued every year, the actual rate to be charged may be revised downward, once all expenses are in and we can determine if we can afford to ease up on the rate for that year. Those who paid for space in the Dealers Room receive a discount of 2.5 percentage points (i.e., a maximum rate of 12.5%). On a case-by-case basis, we may also pass along any expenses incurred in accommodating special requests. This may include such things as fees for electrical use, shipping expenses if you leave unsold artwork behind, etc. We are evaluating whether to charge a hanging fee in an attempt to deter people from requesting a lot of space and then canceling shortly before the con, or giving back much of it at the con. Last year 65 spaces ended up unused (including 7 tables, which we have to pay for) which other artists might have used. The hanging fee would be non-refundable, but deducted from the commission. Any convention facility large enough to house Anthrocon has a unionized work force. We are quite fortunate that the unions who are employed by the David L. Lawrence Convention Center are reasonable and have been willing to work with us on many issues. It is important that artists understand the issues that pertain to the Art Show: During setup and teardown, artists may bring in only what they can carry on their own, or in a small 2-wheeled luggage case such as one sees in airports. If you have more than that, or if you require a cart, you must bring your wares to the loading dock area (if you have a car), or to the security desk in the West Lobby (if you are on foot) to be carted in by Convention Center staff. There is no additional cost to artists for this service (see below). We understand that this may be something new to some of our artists. Please bear in mind that this is standard practice for large venues such as this one. Only those artists with large, heavy artwork are likely to be impacted by this, and even those will incur no added cost. Anthrocon will employ Union labor to assist artists with moving materials to and from the loading dock area during setup and teardown (again, at no additional cost to those artists). The Union team will be available (tentatively) from 6-9 PM on Thursday, June 23, and from 8 AM - Noon on Friday, June 24 to bring items in. Likewise, they will be available from 4-8 PM on Sunday, June 26 to help bring items to the loading dock. Large displays that require more than one person to assemble, or which require power tools, will have to be assembled with the help of Union labor. Please contact Anthrocon in advance for rates for this specialized service. It is important that Anthrocon maintain a strong and friendly working relationship with the local staff. If you have any disagreements or issues with any Union or Non-Union Convention Center employee, please do not argue with them. Bring your disagreement to the Art Show Director or to the Chairman.
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