FEATURED SHOW REVIEW
February 2007
NEW MEXICO
October 6-8, 13-15, Fall Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival, Albuquerque.
Contact: Ruth Gore, Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival, 3709 Westerfield Drive N.E., Suite A, Albuquerque, NM 87111; phone 505-292-7457. E-mail: rgacf@nmia.com. Web site: www.riograndefestivals.com. Application fee: $20. Space fee: $395-$750. Space size: 8x8 to 10x15. 85% indoors. Exhibitors: 250. Attendance: 70,000 (gate). Admission: $5.
By Cameron Meier
SA Editor
Compiled from FastAudit reports
The Fall version of the Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival, which is held at the same time as Albuquerque’s International Balloon Fiesta, is routinely ranked as the state’s top art show. (SA’s subscribers voted it the nation’s #39 fine art event in our most recent 200 Best survey.) And while most of our 20 auditors were pleased with the 2006 event, a higher proportion than usual (35 percent) said they would not return, citing substandard quality and a local crowd that was just looking for bargains. However, almost everyone praised organization.
Sales averaged a six (out of ten), while quality and balance brought in sevens. Not surprisingly, prestige scored even higher. All organizational categories — particularly management, advertising and artist treatment — got high marks, although artist amenities could have been better ranked. The only category to receive low marks was judging & awards, but that’s not a shocker since the show has none.
"Ruth Gore and her staff put on a great show — lots of advertising [and] high-quality artists," said a basket maker ($3,400 total sales/$20-$30 average item sold). "My best show!"
"Great show! Super crowd!" said a wood artist ($25,000/$10.80). "[Show-goers were] all there for shopping! This show is as good as the best (i.e., Yellow Daisy, Hamburg [Christmas in the Country])."
Despite decent across-the-board marks, many auditors offered either constructive criticism or downright angry rants. "The combination of food and poor quality of some of the ‘crafts’ brought down the quality of the whole show," said a metal artist ($1,900/$25). "Some of the crafts were the quality of a church bazaar or a handicapped fundraiser. … [The] crowd [had a] definite Wal-Mart mentality."
Three auditors asked how SA could rank this show so highly when it’s, according to a leather-clothing exhibitor ($1,800/$80), "loaded with country crafts and just plain junk," and when, according to a painter, "very few out-of-town people attend." First, although those were common complaints, overall, there were more happy artists than unhappy ones. And second, it’s important to remember that SA’s 200 Best is based upon the votes of our subscribers, who are asked to rate shows on sales only, not quality of art. SA does have to make a choice of which category — fine art or crafts — to put a show in, but while there are certainly more crafts here than at most other fine art shows, it’s been the fine artists who have done better here in recent years.
The show is held on two weekends, and judging by the FastAudits, both were roughly equal in sales this time. (Artists can exhibit for one weekend or two.)
The highest totals among our auditors were made by the aforementioned wood artist ($25,000/$10.80), a metal artist ($24,000/$150-$300) who called the Festival the "best show we do," a steel artist ($10,000/$20), a photographer ($7,000/$75) and another metal exhibitor ($5,500/$20-$25). The lowest reported totals belonged to an exhibitor of paintings and gourds ($600) who said the Festival drew a "family-and-kids crowd" that could not afford high-end work, and another clay exhibitor ($520/$35), who recommended being in the big tent if you wanted to sell anything of value.
