New Exhibitor?

As a new exhibitor or the Festival of Arts, you’ve got many questions about how it all works. Here are some topics we’ve covered that will help you navigate through your first season.

Most Important Facts

It is highly recommended you spend as much time as possible in your booth to greet guests, mingle, and represent the show and your work in its best light. Being on the grounds always translates into better sales for you and an overall better Festival experience.

• The Festival takes no sales percentage of your sales, and does not track your sales. Sales volume is not a factor of your returning next year to exhibit.
• This is a highly regarded, juried show. Jurors will be on the grounds multiple times to score your work and your exhibit. Always be mindful regarding the quality of the work shown, as your score reflects whether you’ll be returning next season. Judging criteria can be obtained through the exhibits director.
• You’re required to provide/build a booth, including your own lighting to participate. The Construction Manual, that includes Guidelines and Booth Building regulations, are sent as part of the Exhibitor Agreement.

Booth Walls and Lighting

You are responsible for building a gallery-quality booth to display your art. If you aren’t very handy, it is recommended you contract with one of the several qualified booth builders. You get a metal and wood frame as a starting point and must add drywall, shelves, lighting, etc. Names of builders are available in the Construction Manual you receive from the Festival. Apart from the walls and/or shelves needed to display your art, you’ll want a comfortable director’s chair and a small cabinet to store your sales forms, Gate Clearance Slips, etc. Many artists have the Hollywood Chair from TotallyBamboo. It’s expensive, but comfortable and has attachments available for storage pockets, mini table, and drink holder. Similar versions can be found on both e-Bay and Wayfair.

So that we can be sure the show retains its liquor license, please do not store alcoholic beverages in an unlocked cabinet.

Presenting Your Art

The Artists Fund offers free online webinars and seminars on lighting, building a digital presence, and using social media such as Instagram to promote your art. Videos of previous webinars are featured here.

An in-person seminar on Lighting Your Booth is planned to be held April 27, 2024 in the Forum Theatre on the Festival Grounds. It is highly recommended you attend as effective lighting can have a big impact on your sales.

Parking

Parking is always a challenge in the summer in Laguna Beach. The City offers a parking pass specifically for artists: The Summer Festival Premier Pass. The $50 pass entitles you to park free at the Lot 16-ACT V parking lot in the Canyon. A free shuttle runs regularly between the Act V lot and the three art festivals. You can also park at Lot 13-Susi Q & Community Center parking lot after 5:00 pm on weekdays, and after 8:30am weekends. This is located at 380 3rd St, Laguna Beach, CA 92651,  just before the steep hill. Also Lot 17-Laguna College of Art & Design at 2222 Laguna Canon Road, daily from 8:30-12:00am.

The parking passes typically become available June 1st, and are purchased at the Susi Q & Community Center. Recently, the city began offering the purchase of passes on line. Whether you go on line or in person it is strongly suggested you purchase one early on the first day they are available. The passes sell out IMMEDIATELY!!  Some artists choose to park “up the hill” on High Drive or adjacent side streets. There are no meters, so parking is free. From there you can enter the back of the show down a steep path at the northeast end of Olive Street.

 

Festival Entrances

When the Festival is open, you can enter the show from Olive Street (as mentioned above), through the side gate from the Playhouse Lot, or through the back gate by the tennis courts. When the Festival is closed, gate access varies. The Exhibits Department will send out this information prior to opening.

When to Be at The Show

The most important time to be at your booth from a sales perspective is between 5:00 and 8:30 pm every evening. Customers arrive early for the Pageant to have dinner and listen to the live entertainment that is on the Green every night 5:30-7:00 pm. Weekend afternoons are also busier as there is often live entertainment at those times as well. Exhibiting Artists and Associates have 24-hour access to the grounds if they need to refresh their artwork or update their booth.

Preview night is a big party and the grounds get very crowded. This is a ticketed event so badges will not get you in the gate this evening. You’ll get 10 tickets total. One of these tickets is for the artist. While you are free to bring refreshments for guests, food and drink is available for purchase at several locations within the venue.

Art Associates

Your exhibitor status allows you to have an Art Associate or two. These individuals can be anyone that you’ve officially designated as an aide. Associates serve as sales representatives, booth staff, art hanger, and general help. Like you, they are required to have security badges with a photo ID. Your Associate also has 24-hr access to the grounds.

Artists and Art Associates will each have their own badge and can come and go at will throughout the summer. The Security department is responsible for issuing badges.

Selling Your Work

This is why you are here, right? The Sales Booth is available to process sales at all times. You can sign an agreement with the Sales Booth to allow them to process sales when you are not at the show. For this they charge a 20% commission. The Sales Booth is located adjacent to the gift shop near the main entrance.

Choosing to sign up with the Sales Booth is at your discretion. Even if you have partnered with them, if you are at your booth, you probably prefer to make the sale yourself and save the cost of the commission. You’ll need to have a sales form in duplicate of some kind and a way to process credit cards. The Square Up and similar devices allow you to process transactions from your smart phone or tablet. The show requires you to complete a Gate Clearance Slip for every sale which the customer will hand in to security when they leave as proof of purchase. Keep these locked away. If your work requires packaging when sold, the table with bubble wrap, paper, and tape in the Sales Booth is available for your use.

“Absentee” Sales

If you are stuck at home and can’t make it to the Festival, you can sell your art over the phone, process the credit card info, then make an arrangement with one of your FoA neighbors release the art to the buyer. Consider this just another perk of making friends with other artists in your “neighborhood”. Be willing to help out other artists too.

Sales Tax

You’ll need to collect and report sales tax for all your sales. Sales tax is 7.75%. When the Sales Booth pays you for the sales they made, they will add the sales tax in for you to pay. If you don’t already have a seller’s permit it must be obtained from the state of California at https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/faqseller.htm.

Wi-Fi

The Festival has an Artist Wi-Fi network. The password changes each year. Check with Festival of Arts Security or the Exhibits Director for the password. Although fairly reliable, wi-fi is not recommended in processing credit card sales for best security practices. Also, at peak sales times, many artists use the service at once. Switch to cellular data for a more confident experience.

Artists’ Lounge

The artists’ lounge is a patio located up the steps between the Forum Theatre and the Terra restaurant. There is a coffee maker, water cooler and tables and chairs. On the security patio behind the gift shop, there is a fridge and microwave.

Food and Drink

Terra Laguna has a sit-down restaurant and a separate cafe named Intermission where you order at the window and takeaway. There’s a wine bar near the entertainment area.

Bring Your Own

You can bring your own food, store it in the refrigerator on the security patio and heat it in the microwave there, if needed.

Volunteer Hours

You are required to provide 10 volunteer hours during the show, which can be fulfilled in many ways, including in-booth art demos, support for scheduled FOA events, and behind the scenes efforts. The exhibit director broadcasts volunteer calls to artists by email during the season to help you complete your hours. It’s your responsibility to record your own hours by registering them in the Artist Volunteer Hours Binder at the FOA entrance information booth. Failing to complete your volunteer time will result in forfeiting your return to exhibit on the grounds, so be aware.

Need more help?

In addition to the Exhibits Department, another great resource for guidance is your Artist Advisory Committee representative, who is also a current fellow exhibitor that serves as your advocate and mentor; they usually reach out to you just after your FOA exhibitor status is confirmed. For more info about your AAC rep, or if you haven’t been contacted to see if you need help, reach out to the Exhibits Director. If you have any questions or comments about this information, please contact The Artists Fund at the Festival of Arts.