General Art Show Questions

Art show information packets, with the rules and a reservation form, are mailed out about 3 months before the convention. To receive one, send your name and postal address to art-2008 (at) anthrocon.org . A PDF version of the packet will also be available from the Art Show section of the web site: http://www.anthrocon.org/artshow.

No, since the convention handles the sales.

Anthrocon does not believe in restricting the artistic freedom of its attendees (unless that artistic freedom conflicts with Pennsylvania state law). We will, however, confine any artwork deemed to be unsuitable for a general audience to specific areas that will be restricted to adults.

Anthrocon is a cooperative effort. We rely on fans just like you, giving a bit of their time to put on a great con and a great Art Show. We're always looking for more people to join the Art Show crew -- every little bit helps!

Most of the work is clerical -- checking in artwork (comparing the info on the bid sheets on each piece to the info listed on the Control Form we keep on file for each artist, so we know what's been entered in the Art Show), signing up bidders, helping with sales pickup, etc. (We no longer need volunteers to assemble and disassemble the panels -- our contract with the convention center requires us to hire union labor for that.)

We hope that volunteers will agree to help for at least 2 hours on both Friday and Saturday at the con, as well as Sunday afternoon, which is our busiest time. However, we realize that you are a volunteer and want to have time to enjoy the con! Even if you can work only an hour or two here and there, it will help a lot. Simply check the box on the front of the reservation form, then stop by during the con to see when and how you can help. We'll have a training session for new crew Thursday evening, if you plan to arrive by then, but if you can't attend we can train you "on the job" later.

You'll get the satisfaction of knowing that you have played a crucial role in making Anthrocon possible. In addition to our deep appreciation, volunteers can earn tangible rewards -- for more information, see our Volunteer Page.

We've carefully considered various proposals for computerizing our operation, which turned out to be impractical or not enough of a benefit to be worth all the effort. Last year we had nearly 2,000 pieces displayed in the Art Show; it would take a small army of volunteers to enter and verify all the data about the pieces and the bids. As it is we have enough trouble scrounging up enough people to handle existing Art Show requirements without adding more to do.

There's also the question of data verification and integrity. Data is worse than useless if it is not accurate, and trying to enter a lot of data in a hurry in the middle of a busy convention is just asking for errors. Also, paper doesn't crash; any data-entry system would have to be reliable and robust enough to make immediate backups as well as a printed record. This adds to cost and complexity.

Frankly, the bottleneck in sales and artist check-out is because we don't have enough volunteers. Computerizing things might shave a minute or so off of each transaction, but would probably require a dozen more volunteers doing drudge work for too many hours when they could be enjoying the con, as well as a lot of equipment to set up, store and maintain. Adding more clerks requires minimal training and inexpensive supplies, and would be much more effective in speeding up the time it takes to get through the line. We'd love your help! And don't worry, if you help with sales you'll have time to purchase the artwork you bid on yourself, once things slow down a bit.