Question for My Con-going Readers

[drpaisley]

The new art show maven for ConQuesT has proposed moving the art auction (currently held at 5p on Saturday) to later in the evening, like after the masquerade (roughly 9p). Have any of you seen this done at other cons, and if so, how did it work for you, whether as consumer or part of the art show workers union?

Comments

Re: not a good time

[farrandy.livejournal.com]

In my experience, a lot of your out of town folks are getting ready to LEAVE around 1-2 in Sunday afternoon, so you'd be losing THEM--not to mention any out of town artists who want to be packing up their stuff and leaving around that time, and from personal experience, that's about the time the artshow starts to be knocked down (a process of several hours). Your artshow wouldn't be closed down till, say around 6 p.m. (well after closing ceremonies for most cons). Trust me, you wouldn't want to be near any of the artshow staff after that (and you might have to get a new artshow staff the next year). Just my opinion.

As for the original question, never seen the artshow done after the masquerade, so couldn't say how it might effect things.

is the art show held for the benefit of the art show staff?

[parrismcb.livejournal.com]

Or the benefit of the artists and the attendees?

I can imagine that the artists - most of them - would be willing to wait until Sunday afternoon to pack their works if it meant that there was a bigger likely hood that people would see and buy their work.

Perhaps attendees who were interested in the art show and auction would be willing to do so as well. Maybe some of them leave early afternoon on Sunday because there's nothing going on that interests them by mid-afternoon Sunday.

We attend conventions all over - ConQuest has the luxury of having a full Monday after the con closes as a federal holiday. Some cons I have attended run the art show auction on Sunday - and it makes for a better experience for us because I'm not running onto the art show for a few minutes between commitments, trying to get George to spend 15 minutes in the art show between his panels. Adding in the Friday and Saturday hours of the typical art show at ConQuest, how many hours is the art on display before the show closes and the art is auctioned? Wouldn't more hours of show time and a better time for the art auction make it more likely that those who might be interested in seeing the art show and attending the auction would do so? What about our newbies? Many of them are so overwhelmed by the con-going experience the first few cons they go to, they miss even hearing about many events of the con until its too late for them to attend.

Re: is the art show held for the benefit of the art show staff?

[bat-cheva.livejournal.com]

...is the art show held for the benefit of the art show staff? Or the benefit of the artists and the attendees?

Depends on how many willing souls you have to work on your convention. They are all volunteers after all. If you're in a town where volunteers are scarce, and fewer by the year, you don't tick them off so they don't come back. Do that enough and the Art Show dies.

my question was a bit rhetorical

[parrismcb.livejournal.com]

I attended my first convention in the 70's. I've worked on conventions, slept inside an art show when we couldn't get proper security and locks for the safety of the artwork. Now I can no longer help do setup or tear down, so I send brawny men and canny women to help thanks to the Bros, and I can concentrate on evaluating the art presented and decide if I want to bid. I have been known to spend several thousand dollars at an art show.

I do see that in some instances that certain groups can become so insular that no new people can comfortably fit in to share the work and excitement of working on their section of programming and events. Perhaps more outreach to get people interested in working and making sure there is a welcoming attitude would make the burden less on the 'same old' volunteers.

my question was a bit rhetorical

[parrismcb.livejournal.com]

I attended my first convention in the 70's. I've worked on conventions, slept inside an art show when we couldn't get proper security and locks for the safety of the artwork. Now I can no longer help do setup or tear down, so I send brawny men and canny women to help thanks to the Bros, and I can concentrate on evaluating the art presented and decide if I want to bid. I have been known to spend several thousand dollars at an art show.

I do see that in some instances that certain groups can become so insular that no new people can comfortably fit in to share the work and excitement of working on their section of programming and events. Perhaps more outreach to get people interested in working and making sure there is a welcoming attitude would make the burden less on the 'same old' volunteers.

Re: my question was a bit rhetorical

[bat-cheva.livejournal.com]

We would welcome anyone who showed up and wanted to work with us. Good luck getting them away from their specialty cons.

Most of it is the graying of fandom. I'm sure you've seen plenty of talk about it. The kids aren't interested in our kind of convention. People always had their own areas of interest, but the only place they had to find their own few kind was at a general fan run Con. They tended to run around with the few people who shared their own particular interest but at least they were at the Con and they could be exposed to other areas of fandom and be wheedled into helping out with things.

Times have changed. The internet lets people get together virtually. It lets them find even more people who share their interest and only their interest. They can connect with each other without having to go through the intermediary of a SciFi/Fantasy club that only meets once a month, or the yearly convention. They can organize their own Con, and now they don't have to put up with our weird obsession with books, or old movies or tv shows they don't care about when they can get all the anime cosplay and voice actors they want at their anime con a couple miles away.

They know we're here. They just don't give a damn, because their needs are already being met.