If you've had a more difficult time getting accepted into shows that have switched to Zapplication or Juried Art Services in the last few years, you're not alone. Sunshine Artist recently spoke to the majority of events that are now using the two online-jurying services and found that, with only a handful of exceptions, Zapp and JAS have led to a higher number of applications, putting more money into the pockets of promoters.
Zapplication, an Internet-application process run by the Western States Art Federation (WESTAF) with input from the National Association of Independent Artists (NAIA), allows artists to upload images in JPEG format to a Web site and then use that site to apply directly to shows. Launched in September 2004, Zapp has grown from 11 participating shows to more than 100. Juried Art Services (JAS) is slightly older but has not grown as quickly as Zapp. It has chosen to focus more on fine craft shows such as the Smithsonian Craft Show and the Northern Virginia Fine Crafts Festival. But it too is branching out and now works with more than two dozen events.
There are perceived negatives to Zapplication and JAS, as many artists are quick to point out. Getting used to the new systems and learning how to get good-quality, accurate-color scans of images takes some time, and many complain that JPEGs and TIFFs can never equal the quality of good slides and are too easily manipulated. Sunshine Artist will continue to address these issues in the future, but for this article, we've chosen to focus simply on how Zapp and JAS are affecting the number of applications.
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