Rosemary Balu, ARTbop’s Managing Editor, shares a wonderful new opportunity for local creatives.
ARTbop has long been aware that being able to sell the results of your creativity is often as important as being able to create. I’ve met creatives who have to wait for sales to buy the next batch of materials. As one sage of the art world shared with me: the work is created for the purpose of sale so you can continue to create.
Having a range of art spaces, galleries, markets and exhibition sale opportunities is as necessary as knowing where to source your art materials. And while today many sales are made via the internet there is still nothing like the traditional display of creativity, the opportunity to meet the creatives and discuss the work to be purchased.
So, ARTbop has approached Peta Clavis of the Black Sheep Bar & Grill at Whakamarama and together we have developed an event where local artists and artisans will have an opportunity to display and sell in a relaxed setting on a regular basis.
The Black Sheep complex is located on the corner of Plummers Point Road and State Highway 2 at Whakamarama. It’s opposite the Whakamarama Village Store so this is a high volume traffic area (particularly over the coming Summer tourist season months). The complex itself is well-signed and has plenty of adjacent parking.
The Black Sheep Bar & Grill offers a range of food and has spacious, well planned indoor and outdoor seating areas. It’s a very family friendly place but has a comfortable air of rural sophistication. The event will run from 11am to 3pm when there is a steady stream of customers to the complex. It is open from 9am so there will be plenty of time to set up display and exhibition spaces. Peta plans to have live music in the afternoons of the market and there is a great recorded music system as well.
Participants in other creative marketing opportunities will realise how important the proximity to passing traffic, parking, music and the other facilities offered by the Black Sheep are to the success of an event.
The inaugural Affordable Arts & Artisan Fair will kick off on Sunday the 26th November 2017 at the Black Sheep from 11am to 3pm. This first Fair will provide an opportunity to offer work and product for Christmas gifts and most probably have a wonderful time with fellow creatives in a great exhibition and sales setting with the opportunity to participate in everything the Black Sheep has to offer.
The Black Sheep will then host the Fairs on a regular monthly basis on the last Sunday of each month. Exhibitors will be asked to commit to supporting both the inaugural November market and then at least the monthly markets of January, February and March. It’s a testament to Peta’s support for the creative sector that the minimal exhibition space fee will be primarily directed to the costs of promoting the Fair. There is no commission charged on sales.
To create an event of the highest standard, which will continue to attract visitors and purchasers, Katikati artist and ARTbop contributor Birgitt Shannon will head the selection team: – don’t let that deter you, we want a wide spectrum of creativity and artisan product.
This is a wonderful new promotional opportunity for artists and artisans. Please contact Birgitt Shannon and the AAAF team as soon as possible to indicate your interest at aaafair17@gmail.com
Rosemary Balu. Rosemary Balu is the founding and current editor of ARTbop. Rosemary has arts and law degrees from the University of Auckland. She has been a working lawyer and has participated in a wide variety of community activities where information gathering, submission writing, community advocacy and education have been involved. Interested in all forms of the arts since childhood Rosemary is focused on further developing and expanding multi-media ARTbop as the magazine for all the creative arts in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.
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The Affordable
Art & Artisan
Fair
SUNDAY 26TH NOVEMBER 2017
11am – 3pm
at
THE BLACK SHEEP BAR & GRILL
Corner Plummers Point Road &
State Highway 2, Whakamarama
original local art & artisan creativity
exhibited for sale
interested in an exhibition space?
Contact: Birgitt, aaaf17@gmail.com
