Rural and Community Art Project

This project aims to increase public participation with artists in their home studios and growing the capacity of local artists to market themselves and their crafts. The organizing committee has discussed the following long term goals of this event: -To develop an event with state and regional recognition -Grow total sales across all 50 artists beyond $1 million over the 10 day event -Increase local recognition of the artistic talent present in the community -Expand opportunities for up and coming artists to find solid footing in Cook County Tracking success in this first year of expanded effort includes: -Increased number of visitors across studios as tracked by participants -Increased sales at each location in support of the artisans -Growth of the Art Along the Lake mailing list and social media presences -Growth of individual artists mailing lists and social media presences -Increased collaboration among the event participants in sharing their experiences with the studio tour These goals will be measured through: -Visitor counts at each of the 30+ tour stops -Visitor survey sent out to the Art Along the Lake Mailing List -Post tour surveys with the participating artists -An in-person post-event debrief with the planning committee and participating artists -Total revenue in sales generated at artist stops, with special attention to sales generated at stops for new artists -Potential commissions that are the result of public engagement during the event -Growth in the Art Along the Lake mailing list and social media accounts