Project Grant - Round 3
ACHF Arts Access
(1) To bring the community together using visual arts as the catalyst and to draw large numbers of residents as well as visitors from outside the St Cloud area to the Art Faire by George resulting in economic benefits for the artists, vendors and area businesses. (2) To increase community participation in and appreciation of the visual arts and to offer opportunities to engage residents in the creation of artwork. (3) To collaborate with community business leaders and residents who hadn't previously been arts supporters. (4) To attract and showcase a wide variety of local, regional and state–wide artists and craft-makers. (5) To enhance the appreciation of fine arts and crafts and increase the sales of original artwork. (6) To produce an arts and crafts event with broad appeal, positive economic results and a reputation for high-quality that garners artists’ and community support, participation and satisfaction.(1): Attendance figures and vendor sales reports, numbers of cars in the parking lot and parked on the street will be quantifiable measures of the desired outcome. (2): Committee members will observe and note if attendees engage with the performing artists, are interested in watching the craft demonstrations, spend time interacting with the exhibitors and participate in the creation of community art projects. (3): The committee will compare a regular list of arts supporters, volunteers and businesses to a list of Art Faire by George participants and identify NEW supporters. (4): We will easily be able to quantify the number of exhibitors; we will also be able to track the retention of artisans and the recruitment of new artisans. (6): We will follow up with exhibitors to survey their satisfaction with the Art Faire, how their sales receipts compared to other events in which they have participated and if they would return as an exhibitor in future years.
The Art Faire, as part of the overall Summertime by George Concert Series, achieved many outcomes: (1) Outcome: Using visual arts as the catalyst, “Art Faire by George” brought people together, created shared experiences and introduced them to an arts and cultural experience that they might not otherwise have sought out or found. The Art Faire also increased community participation in and appreciation of the visual arts by offering opportunities to engage and interact with artists and their artwork (1) Evaluation: The overall festival attendance reached a record 93,500 people in 2013, based on St Cloud Police Department’s official estimations). The Art Faire increased its attendance over the previous year by more than 2,500 people. Art Faire committee members observed that attendees spent more than 45 minutes strolling through the Art Faire area watching demonstrations, interacting with the exhibitors, purchasing art, and participating in the activities offered by the vendors. (2) Outcome: As expressed by the Rotary Club members and the arts and crafts vendors, the Art Faire in its second year remains a unique addition to Summertime by George increasing the audience’s enjoyment of the event and the satisfaction of businesses who sponsored the Art Faire and Summertime by George. (2)Evaluation: Sponsors were interviewed by the Faire committee and received positive responses about the exposure that they had during the event. Their greatest endorsement was their willingness to again sponsor the Art Faire in 2014. (3) Outcomes: To attract and showcase a wide variety of local, regional and state-wide artists and craft-makers, and to enhance the appreciation of fine arts and crafts and increase the sales of original artwork. (3) Evaluation: Through a survey and personal interviews, the committee ascertained that there were economic benefits for artists and local businesses. Although we did not attract our projected number of arts and crafts vendors, those that were there felt that their sales justified their participation in the Faire. Some artists did better than others. Price points of the artwork were not the only driving forces of the sales. Quality and uniqueness played a major role in sales. There were pieces of original art over $200, and some over $400 that were sold during the day. The food and beverage vendors that chose to participate during the extended hours of the Art Faire (starting 4 hours earlier than the normal event opening time of 5:00 pm) indicated that they had good afternoon sales and all of the food vendors who opened after 5:00 pm commented that the Art Faire boosted foot traffic to their area which in turn increased food and beverage sales. The artists also expressed satisfaction with their afternoon and early evening sales. (4) Outcome: To produce an arts and crafts event with broad appeal, positive economic results and a reputation for high-quality that garners artists’ and community support, participation and satisfaction. (4) Evaluation: Random interviews with artists, sponsors, Rotarians, and Faire attendees, indicated that several elements of the Art Faire had a broad appeal and favorable reception. People commented that the 30' x 30' pop-up art gallery featuring ceramics, sculpture and paintings by various local artists added a unique dimension to the outdoor art event. Artists themselves as well as the general public enjoyed arts demonstrations. And another favorite appreciated by artists and faire-goers alike was the “Sam Spiczka” sculpture garden.
Other, local or private