Welcome to the Art Show reviews for Uptown Art Fair
Art Fair: Uptown Art Fair (Minneapolis)
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Held at Lake Street & Hennepin Avenue &
“The Mall” in Southwest Minneapolis
Dates: Usually held the beginning of August
Presented By: Uptown Association
Founded: 1963
Show Type: Outdoor
Expected Attendance: 325,000 people
Exhibiting Artists: 350
Artist Application Deadline: Usually in March
Jury Fee: $45
Booth Fee: $550 - $1,100
Web site: www.uptownartfair.com
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Medium: Photography
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show:
2022
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $501-$2000
Price Range of your Work: $27-$1850
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show:
1st time
Number of Years You have been doing Art Fairs overall: 2-3 years
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 5 (great)
Location: 4
Facilities: 4
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 1 (poor)
Overall: 2
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Poor
Estimated Attendance: 501-10,000 people
Good Things about this Art Fair:
This was the first time I decided to participate at Uptown. Cancelled two years prior due to Covid and high crime, I was expecting big sales in 2022. That wasn't the case. Made a minuscule profit, but nothing to write home about.
The crowds at times were high, but the demographics of the clientele were young people in their early twenties and early thirties just starting out in their careers or just graduating from college. No one was buying! Typical saying.
Overall, with my overhead cost, a three day show with low sales, I wouldn't do this fair again.
Booth sitters were great!
What could this Art Fair have done better?:
It was oppressively hot the first day of the show. No one on the staff checked on the artists to see how they were doing.
On the last day, no load out instructions after the show. It was a free for all! It appeared once the corporate entity collected their fee's, they just selected auto pilot after that.
Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
Not worth the time or energy to do this show. I spoke with artists that drove five to eight hours to get to participate in the show. Two artists, one new and another a veteran said they were not returning the next year.
Additional Commentary on this Show:
Another art fair riding on the coat tails of past performance. Like Ben and Gerry's Ice Cream, this Fair isn't what it used to be according to many veteran artists who have done this before. Granted there were some artists that hit it out of the ball park, but that was only 1 out of every three.
The URL of your profile on ArtFairInsiders.com. http://www.marcyephotography.com
See my blog on ArtFairInsiders.com for additional commentary on this Show *
What prompted you to submit a review today? *
Just because it was a traumatic and bad experience.
Posted by: Marc Ye | 08/09/2022 at 12:15 AM
Medium: 2D mixed media
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2016
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $501 - $2,000
Price Range of your Work: $30 - $3,000
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show:
1st time
Number of Years You have been doing Art Fairs overall:
Forever...
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 5
Facilities: 3
Ease of Participating: 3
Sales: 1
Overall: 2
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Poor
Estimated Attendance: 50,001+ people
Good Things about this Art Fair:
Location is beautiful, easy set up and break down
What could this Art Fair have done better?:
Get real art buyers instead of just walkers and lookers.
Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
If you are driving more that 5 hrs to get there, don't bother. The crowds did not buy and had low energy. The weekend was beautiful, weather and location perfect. But not much sales. Nobody I knew did well. One guy across from me did ok. Out of 10 people near me that I had asked only one had done the show before.
Posted by: Marirosa Hofmann | 03/25/2017 at 02:08 PM
My first and last year for this show. Pretty good sales on Friday, poor sales on Saturday and a first for me, NO sales on Sunday. Decent crowd, nice people, lots of compliments on my work, they just weren't buying. Glass artist next to me said it was the worst show ever for him.
Posted by: Raymond Rains | 08/24/2013 at 06:09 PM
I have done the Uptown for 19 years. I am now finished with it. The booth fee and traveling expenses no longer justify the trip. In my list of shows I have down-graded it to a local show. First year applicants beware. You will get a leftover placement. The jury seems skewed as many participants are re-invites and director choices. If you live locally its less of a risk, but still a risk. If your traveling from afar I suggest you re-assess.
Posted by: wm kaufmann | 05/20/2012 at 09:54 AM
My comment is based on doing this show last in 2007. It was a nightmare (I was on the blvd). I was surrounded by 3 commercial vendors and this is probably the biggest problem with the show that I keep hearing from people that have done it in the last 5 years. I had the 'hawkers'. One selling windows stopping people on the street. The other two stocked with hired models giving out free food who were also jumping into the passing crowd stopping people. There were finally a few fights that broke out and police were called. Not to mention that there was major vandalism to multiple booths in my area by a drunk in the middle of the night on Sat. Saturday was a cold rainy day and my booth was a sea of mud too. Friday & Sunday were sunny & hot (this is MN in the summer!...you just never know about the weather).
However, this show still has a great reputation among MN fair-goers as a place to go to see great art so I still hold out hope for it....I have not applied again until this past year (2011) and was not accepted. Maybe I am blacklisted as I complained bitterly to anyone who would listen after my 2007 experience. I was traumatized by that weekend but learned many, many lessons by the experience.
Posted by: Mary Johnston | 11/28/2011 at 08:12 AM
Show Name: Uptown Art Fair
City and State: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Your Medium: Photography
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2011
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $2001-$5000
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 1st time
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 3
Facilities: 3
Ease of Participating: 2
Sales: 3
Overall: 3
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Okay
Estimated Attendance: 50,001+ people
Good Things about this Art Fair:
Well attended, with mostly educated buyers, though none of them were rushing into making purchases. Mall spaces have much more room and some shade, though some artists still prefer Hennepin street, claiming more traffic. Personally, I'd rather stay cooler and have day before setup that the mall spaces allow.
Volunteers on Saturday and Sunday were always around to offer booth sitting (though no free water available). Friday volunteers were not to be found on my block.
Bad Things about this Art Fair:
This show is run by the Uptown Association, and it very clearly shows that their top priority is promoting business in the uptown area, NOT the well-fare of exhibiting artists. The organizers seem somewhat clueless in certain areas.
For example, I have nature photography and was placed right next to another photographer with similar subject matter--pretty stupid and inattentive on the part of whoever did the layout.
Also, the "featured artist" at uptown was a former Minnesota Viking and was chosen simply because of his celebrity, not on the merit of his work. He was also a photographer, and was by far the least talented photographer in the entire show. I doubt his work would have even been good enough to get juried into the show...AND THEY MADE HIM THE FEATURED ARTIST! How ridiculous and insulting to the rest of us!
Sales on Friday and Saturday were pretty slow; I did about $750 each day. Sunday ended up being a much better day, which overall made it an OK show, but nothing great. Many artists weren't very happy with their sales, but I don't think anyone near me lost money either.
Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
Don't pay for the YMCA parking, it's not even close and there is free parking on the street--you just need to arrive early to get a close spot.
This show isn't all that much better than the other two smaller shows, Powderhorn and Loring Park, and they are a heck of a lot less hassle, less expensive, and only two days long.
Posted by: Ryan Tischer | 08/20/2011 at 12:59 PM
Did this show in 2008 and 2009. Had high hopes for it. Was in the mall both times. The first I was near the end ... newbie spot. Did not get a lot of traffic down there. Sales were not that good either. 2009 got a better spot in the mall, closer to the middle. Weather was weird. Rain on Friday and then thread of tornado that night. The hardcore buyers still came and bought. Saturday was extremely hot and humid. Very little sales. Sunday was better weather but sales did not make up for Saturday. I agree there does seem to be something wrong at Uptown. I didn't bother to apply this year.
Posted by: Carolina Niebres | 03/30/2011 at 05:29 PM
Photography
I was off by 60% over last time, two years ago. I have done this show, off and on, since 1988--maybe 16 times. This was the very worst I have ever seen.
I have always had great success at this show, just did not get in the last two years. I set a personal record--for the worst Saturday sales that I have ever had at a big show. Did not even top $1K. Ended up, that Friday,opening day was the best when I did $750. Saturday was abysmal and Sunday beat that.
We had horrible heat. Sunday was horrific. Went to 94--felt like 105. It sucked and so did sales. Something is wrong in Uptown, i don't know what it is, but this is the second sucky year for sales at this show. Not a good trend. i may divorce it next year. The signs are not good.
(Read the rest of this review at ArtFairInsiders.com)
Posted by: Nels Johnson | 10/28/2010 at 06:01 PM