At Art-Linx, we believe that the characteristics of the artists we reach are equally as important as the size of our list. Thus, for the last seven years, we have conducted in-depth surveys that allow us to profile our database, giving festivals a deeper knowledge of who receives the Calls to Artists and related marketing communications tools we provide.
Here’s a synopsis of our current database profile. We will be happy to discuss elements of the profile in more detail at any time; simply call or email us with any questions you may have.
WHO THE ARTISTS ARE IN 2017:
Gender: Women 56%, Men 43%
Age: 21-34 4%,
35-49 12%
50-64 45%
65+ 38%
Art Education: 55% self-taught
39% art degree
Family: Most artists live with a spouse or partner; just over 30% have children living at home.
Artist Home Base: 13% Mid-Atlantic
23% Midwest
6% Mountain States
12% Northeast
24% Southeast
9% Southwest
14% West Coast
THEIR PROFESSIONAL LIVES:
Occupational Descriptors: Creating art is the primary occupation of 75% of our artist base. For another 15% art is a secondary occupation. Under 5% consider it a hobby.
Business Organization: Two-thirds of the artists run their businesses as sole proprietorships; the remainder are either corporations or partnerships.
WHERE THEY EXHIBIT:
Geographic Region: More than two thirds of our artists exhibit in Northeast, Southeast and Midwestern shows indicating a willingness to travel. This diversity—and a significant overlap in show locations—demonstrates the broad reach of our Call to Artists and related programs.
Show Distance: Few artists are content to exhibit only in shows near their home bases, preferring to travel to festivals they believe will return acceptable sales. The average distance traveled is:
19% - 100 miles
45% - 100 - 500 miles
27% - 500 - 1,000 miles
8% - Over 1,000 miles
Travel Preferences: Our artists travel in their own vehicles and above 90% stay in hotels and motels. Parking, hotel cost, and proximity to a festival grounds, remains an important consideration for artists. A few artists, less than 5%, travel in RVs.
FESTIVAL PARTICPATION:
History: Our artists, for the greater part, are very experienced in art festival participation. 70% have exhibited for more than ten years and 50% have shown for over twenty years. At the same time, artists newer to the industry receive our Calls to Artists; 10% have been in the business for under five years.
Pricing: Artists vary greatly in the prices they ask for their work and our database reflects this. That said, pricing of art has not reached pre-recession levels: two thirds of our artists sell their (average) work for under $1,000, with only 18% placing average price tags of more than $1,000 on their artwork. Again, this mirrors spending by the art show audience in the post-recession era.
This profile of the Art-Linx database forms a general picture of the artists with whom we communicate. More detailed, in-depth information, is available on request. Please email your questions to: , or call us at 202-251-0637.