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The Joint Council on Accreditation of Art Fair Artists (jcaafa) was borne out of a dual need to assure the art fair patron of the provenance of his or her purchase and the need to raise the bar. As the number of art fairs and festivals has proliferated way beyond the need for more, it's become evident that (1) there are persons without scruples who have found their way into the art festival circuit, and (2) after 30 or 40 or sometimes 50 years of doing essentially the same thing year after year, the top-tier art fair needs to reinvent itself, if only to stay on top of its game.
Further, it seems that there isn't a single category of art that is not affected to some degree by what we call the "buy/sell folks" -- those who simply buy the finished work (or very close to finished work) from a third party seller, either from abroad or from in-country, for resale at art fairs. These people are, in fact, not artists, but are merely resellers or agents of the artist. In many cases, the artist may be totally unknown to the reseller or agent.
At the very least, this practice is misrepresentation. At its worst, it's out and out scamming.
There are other issues that accreditation addresses. They include, but are not limited to, the quality of the materials used to make the artwork being sold, the artist's reputation for integrity and honesty, for being transparent and above board in the application process, and for respecting the rules and guidelines of the shows to which the artist applies.
In December of 2011, an impromptu meeting was held with the artists attending the Charlotte, North Carolina, Art Festival. Photographer Les Slesnick, who retired from the circuit in 2006 after more than 30 years of exhibiting, was the moderator. Plans were made to speak to a group of about 40 artists. It is estimated that at least twice that many attended, and response to an initiative such as the Joint Council was overwhelmingly positive. A meeting was held with art fair artists in the Fort Myers area in January with similar results.
At this time, the organization is moving very slowly, testing the waters for acceptance of the concept by both art fair patron and artist alike, as well as the art fair itself and the art fair director, whose reputation depends on such matters. The decision has not yet been made to go forward full steam. That will be determined by the feedback obtained from the accredited artists currently in the field, the number of whom is deliberately being kept quite small during this trial period.
Your comments are invited. Please address them to Interim Director Les Slesnick. Please use jcaafa in the Subject field.
The Joint Council on Accreditation of Art Fair Artists (jcaafa) was borne out of a dual need to assure the art fair patron of the provenance of his or her purchase and the need to raise the bar. As the number of art fairs and festivals has proliferated way beyond the need for more, it's become evident that (1) there are persons without scruples who have found their way into the art festival circuit, and (2) after 30 or 40 or sometimes 50 years of doing essentially the same thing year after year, the top-tier art fair needs to reinvent itself, if only to stay on top of its game.
Further, it seems that there isn't a single category of art that is not affected to some degree by what we call the "buy/sell folks" -- those who simply buy the finished work (or very close to finished work) from a third party seller, either from abroad or from in-country, for resale at art fairs. These people are, in fact, not artists, but are merely resellers or agents of the artist. In many cases, the artist may be totally unknown to the reseller or agent.
At the very least, this practice is misrepresentation. At its worst, it's out and out scamming.
There are other issues that accreditation addresses. They include, but are not limited to, the quality of the materials used to make the artwork being sold, the artist's reputation for integrity and honesty, for being transparent and above board in the application process, and for respecting the rules and guidelines of the shows to which the artist applies.
In December of 2011, an impromptu meeting was held with the artists attending the Charlotte, North Carolina, Art Festival. Photographer Les Slesnick, who retired from the circuit in 2006 after more than 30 years of exhibiting, was the moderator. Plans were made to speak to a group of about 40 artists. It is estimated that at least twice that many attended, and response to an initiative such as the Joint Council was overwhelmingly positive. A meeting was held with art fair artists in the Fort Myers area in January with similar results.
At this time, the organization is moving very slowly, testing the waters for acceptance of the concept by both art fair patron and artist alike, as well as the art fair itself and the art fair director, whose reputation depends on such matters. The decision has not yet been made to go forward full steam. That will be determined by the feedback obtained from the accredited artists currently in the field, the number of whom is deliberately being kept quite small during this trial period.
Your comments are invited. Please address them to Interim Director Les Slesnick. Please use jcaafa in the Subject field.