Art Show – Artist Guide
This is your comprehensive guide on how to prepare your artwork for display. There aren't many requirements, but some have to be met in order to keep the process smooth for everyone.
Technical Requirements
The Eurofurence Art Show provides panels and hooks for hanging art as well as tables. The panels are sturdy wooden constructs with predrilled pegboard sides where hooks can be inserted. All panels are usable from both sides. See below for images!
The managers lay out the panels in the room to meet a number of requirements. The artists will normally not be able to request a certain layout (you can ask to be placed next to a friend; we try to honor these requests, but don't guarantee it). Panels are assigned and cannot be chosen freely.
To hang artwork, it must have a tab at the backside which fits the hooks. Please note that commercially available frames may come with tabs or holders that do not fit these hooks because they are designed for screws or nails. Eurofurence tries to make different hooks and additional clamp holders available; these will be on hand in limited quantities only, though. It is forbidden to paste the artwork to the panel with sticky tape or any other adhesive; this will ruin both the panel and the artwork.
Panels may be reserved in half-panel steps.
- a full panel will be 2 m by 1 m (6.56 by 3.28 feet)
- a half panel will be 1 m by 1 m (3.28 by 3.28 feet)
Please remember that the space you reserve must include some clearance between pieces, including space for the bid sheets. Your artwork may not extend beyond the upper, right, or left edge of any panel. It may not interfere with any works displayed by other artists.
Not all holes are suitable for attaching a hook; there is a framework inside the panel construction that blocks especially the outer rim of the panel. Please plan your layout to allow for on-site adjustments.
If you have never done this before, you can try the layout for your art at home: Arrange your framed and matted pieces on the floor, and try out what looks best. This will give you an idea of how much panel space you need to reserve. Look here for a sketch with example sizes: Panel Layout.
You can not display extremely large pieces of art where a full panel would not suffice to hang it, or extremely heavy framing (wooden frame and glass) where you'd e.g. need two people to lift it. The Art Show is not able to handle such extreme cases.
If you have three-dimensional artwork to display, you need a table instead of (or in addition to) a panel. The email application will allow you to request tables. Tables may be reserved in half-table steps.
- a full table will be 130 cm by 65 cm (51.2 by 25.6 inch)
- a half panel will be 65 cm by 65 cm (25.6 by 25.6 inch)
Note that the panels/tables are unprotected and open; if your art breaks easily, bring a showcase or a cover to discourage patrons who "look with their fingers". You are responsible for the protection of the artwork yourself.
Additional decoration of panels is restricted.
Panels are meant for the display of artwork, bidsheets and accompanying information. Draping the panels with cloth or paper as background or table-cloth is not allowed. Permanent changes to the panels, like paint, are strictly prohibited and may make you liable for replacement.
You may add artist information, like a box with business cards, to your panel. You may add small items as decoration, but any such items are displayed at the discretion of the Art Show managers, who may ask you to remove them if they do not fit in.
Due to fire hazard, it is not allowed to add any electrical appliance to the panel that runs on more than standard, alkaline batteries (e.g. no lithium batteries or similar). That concerns moving installations, lamps, and electronic displays.
The Eurofurence Art Show managers will try to fulfill all your needs in displaying your work. However, they cannot read minds, and not all requirements can be met on-site, so if you plan something special, get in contact with them as soon as possible.
Online Art Database
After getting your panel/table assignment for the Art Show, you will receive your password and account data for the online art database (once that goes online). Through the online system, you can enter your art data and create and print bidsheets. This data is also essential in the administration of the Art Show: it is the basic information on how much art we have, to whom it belongs, and how it is supposed to be handled.
Through that system, your receipts will be printed and your revenue will be calculated. Any data that is not entered before the con has to be entered on site, which takes a lot of time. Thus, please register your art online ahead of the con, and help reduce waiting times at the con itself.
Packaging
You can leave the packaging with the Art Show during the exhibition.
During setup, you will be given pairs of numbered labels to connect art and packaging, one of which must be hung next to the bidsheet and the other one (with the same number) stuck to the packaging. This allows us to store the packaging elsewhere.
You need to bundle your packaging in a way that we can easily see what parts belong together (e.g. styrofoam padding, a plastic sheet, and a box). Otherwise we are not able to match the packaging (parts) with the exhibit.
A buyer will get the packaging handed out together with the art. If you do not want that, please take the packaging with you.
When picking up unsold art, you will be handed out the packaging again together with the exhibit.
Unlabeled packaging that can not be matched with an exhibit will be discarded.
Bidsheets and Selling Art
The Art Show allows you to sell your art. Please note that the show doesn't buy art, or sell art to bidders. The Art Show acts exclusively as a mediator in a contract between artist/owner and buyer (selling on commission).
Each piece of art will have a bidsheet hanging next to the piece which provides information on the artwork, the artist, and more. The bidsheet is used for identification of the art, and for purchasing art. A piece of art is marked as "not for sale" by a special no-sale bidsheet that does not provide the purchase-related part.
If you don't want to sell a piece, you simply use the no-sale bidsheet by marking it as not-for-sale in the online database, which will automatically select the correct bidsheet. This sheet still gives the visitor all relevant information about the art and the artist, but does not set a price or allow bidding on this piece.
If you want to sell your art, you use the sales bidsheet. Here, you need to state a minimum price, which is essentially the smallest sum you want to sell the piece for.
Bidsheets are available through the online database. If you do not have a printer available, you may print them at the convention; however, it is strongly recommended that you print bidsheets before the con to avoid extensive wait times.
Visitors of the art show may bid on "for sale" pieces by pasting a bid sticker on the corresponding bidsheet. The first bid must meet the minimum price, consecutive bids must exceed the previous bid. The piece is sold to the highest bidder at the end of the show.
After the closing of the show, the money for winning bids will be collected from the respective bidders in exchange for the art pieces they won and paid for. Once sales all have concluded the collected money for their sold pieces will be handed out to the artists/owners. This is done for practical reasons: Eurofurence does not act as a buyer or reseller. Eurofurence will try to mediate in cases of problematic purchase, but it is up to the artist to verify and claim their money.
Unsold pieces (having no bid) or "Not for sale" pieces are returned to the owner at the end of the art show.
Please note that any and all additional obligations like sales tax or income tax declarations have to be fulfilled by the artist/owner. Eurofurence expects all sellers to be fully aware of their responsibilities in accordance with applicable law in Germany as well as their country of origin and will neither assist nor advise on these matters.
Art Show Images
How does the Art Show look? What are the "panels"? How will art be hung on the panel? Well, it's easier to show than to tell, and one image is worth 1000 words, so let's begin. Click on an image to get a larger version!
This is how a completed panel looks like. Many thanks to AlectorFencer for allowing us to use her setup. That is only one example of how panels may be set up; the actual layout of the art show depends on the ratio of adult and general art, security and convenience issues, and technical factors.
You can see a complete nook with three panel sides and one table. Depending on the number of panels you got, you may have a nook or a wall to yourself, or you may need to share even the space on one single panel with someone else. There are also panels available of half the width, which are usually only assigned to you, if you have only half a panel in total.
You can not influence the layout of the Art Show or the placement of your panel(s) and/or table(s) beyond the separation of adult and general art. The panels are distributed among artists in a way that keeps artists' panels together. You can contact us if you have special needs; we will try to help you to realize your creative ideas. No guarantees can be given however.
Tables can be placed in nooks. Note that the table offers less space than the panel, but is the only way to display three-dimensional art that cannot be hung. There is no showcase for your art, so if you have delicate art that must not be touched, better bring a protective showcase with you. It is not allowed to touch the art, but we can't have eyes everywhere, and some people love to look with their fingers.
Do not store boxes under the table like in the photo; we provide a separate space for your packing material that you want to give to the buyer.
This is the empty panel that will greet you. The instruction sheet states your name and tells you what to do. Once you're done with the setup, you are asked to return this sheet with your signature and have an Art Show manager inspect your setup and check whether you follow the rules.
These are the hooks that are available to hang art. There are different sizes to allow for even large framed pieces to be hung.
The top part goes into the panel holes. No, they don't slide out. Some of the holes may be blocked by the construction frame behind it, but most are usable.
And no, you are not supposed to drill new holes, use nails, or glue your art to the panel. We love our panels, so please don't deface them.
How can art be hung with these hooks? Obviously you need a bail / an eye on your frame. Most frames come with something like the eye on the left side, screwed to the upper frame. In cheap glass frames, the eye may be part of the connectors that hold glass front and backplate together. Make sure that your frame has an eye (or several) so you can hang it.
The clamps in the middle and to the right are what the Eurofurence Art Show can offer. These are meant for matted art — they will not hold anything heavier than a cardboard frame (art will slip out) but for these it works fine.
That's how it looks like on the panel.
The white pieces of paper on the panel are the bidsheets. Each piece needs a bidsheet. As you can see, they are fairly large (smaller for art that is not for sale though), so you need to include them in your planned layout.
Without a bidsheet, your audience cannot bid or buy, so it's sort of important to have them.
Example number one of what not to do. The unfortunate soul that tried to display this exhibit used adhesive tape instead of a proper eye. Of course, the piece fell down and had to be taken out of the show.
Obviously this is a standing frame, not a hanging frame — it has no provisions to hang at all. You can use these frames only on a table. Otherwise, you need to screw an eye on the frame. Adhesive tape does not work.
Please note that we cannot fix your frames for you during the show, nor do we have the tools to drill and screw frames.
Example number two of what not to do. Hot-gluing a piece of wire doesn't work either, at least not on wood.
If you need to work with glue, please test the system at home. Remember, a panel may be rocked or shaken during the show, so "working just so-so" is not good enough. The hanging mechanism must be sturdy enough to survive a certain degree of rough handling.
And that's it! Thank you for your consideration in preparing art for the show, it makes the setup so much smoother and faster if you just need to grab a hook and hang a piece.
Please consider that while we are in a city, you may not be able to buy a fitting frame on location, especially if you need one for a foreign aspect ratio. Prepare the frame as well as the art. If you come a long way, we do recommend mat frames for easy transport, but be aware of stubbed corners.
Remember: A clear plastic binder sheet is not a frame! Respect your art, and grace it with a mat frame at least.