Pre-COVID, FestivalNet had always included online gallery and exhibition shows. There were only a handful of such virtual events in the database. They would pop up when members would do a zip code radius search. A couple that have been around for years include the Creative Quarterly & the Black Heritage Art Show.
Online art events are not for everyone but can be a great way to connect, network, make sales, win awards, and otherwise ramp up your business. Competitions and gallery events are one thing to do relatively easily online, but what about fairs and festivals? How can fairs and festivals allow for artists to make money? How can attendees shop for art and crafts? And, how can it still be... FUN?!
Disclaimer #1: I do think Art and Craft fairs have it much easier than Music Festivals at going virtual.
Disclaimer #2: I really feel for the festival food vendors who can't sell much of anything on the web!
Fairs and festivals are meant to be experienced. The energy you can feel among a crowd of like-minded individuals can not be duplicated in the safety of your home. However, during these times of social distancing, joining together online has become necessary so we don't lose touch with our communities & customers.
I recently "attended" a beloved local festival online (See blog post). It was bitter sweet! It felt good to watch the Poetry Slam online (they used a combination of Facebook Live and Zoom), it was cool to catch some performances for a few minutes here and there over the weekend, and check out the creative contributions people made, including my daughter's slideshow! (She's been going to LEAF all her life and the festival director, a friend of ours, asked her to contribute!) To see how V-LEAF did their thing, they've archived the festival, have a look at the schedule from one day, it's impressive!
Ultimately, I praise their incredible dedication to make this happen but everyone involved would agree it couldn't possibly get close to replacing the real thing. It's all about people's energy that creates the magic, the festival food and loud music and unique art, the smells, the sounds, the visual stimulation at every turn. That energy can only be felt together. While it wasn't 'fun' per se, it touched my heart.
What I realized is... it's not really about the FUN that we can only manifest when we're in person. It's about banding together. It's about the bitter sweet. It's about doing something to show your audiences that we're all trying our best right now to just keep going.
Take what Ojai Music Festival is doing. This coming weekend, their online event will feature insightful conversations with special guests interspersed with video and music excerpts, and other unique virtual offerings.
They are even calling it their 'virtual edition'... in HONOR of their 74th festival. To honor their event in this way is giving their people a taste of the music, the conversation, the connection, and more importantly, a reminder that we will be back. It's an invitation for guests to hold on to the things we love and look forward to getting back one day.
Another event I recently attended online was the Renegade Virtual Fair.
For this online craft fair, there was a 'portal' on their website, with a grid of all the participating artists. Renegade had a simple but elegant system in place to offer a seamless experience. At one point, I plugged in to the fair on both my laptop and my phone because I didn't want to leave one 'booth' but wanted to check out more of the fair! Something you surely can not do in person.
There's something very human about watching an artist do their thing "live", showing up in their creative vulnerable glory. That feeling of connectedness did shine through when I would comment on their live feed with my positive feedback and emojis & they could reply to me in real-time. ❤️
Again, that tender feeling of we are all 'doing our best' really pulled on my heart strings.
I would like to explain this experience a little more in case anyone is curious how it worked! If the above roster was 'live' right now during the weekend's craft fair, there would be an "O" for "online" under each artist, and if you clicked on that, you were taken directly to their LIVESTREAM channel, where they were working in their studio, offering demonstrations, explaining their goods and crafts, or other creative "performances". (There are so many ways to livestream: Instagram, Facebook Live, YouTube, Twitch, Vimeo, Google Hangouts, & YouNow. Most artists seemed to prefer Twitch and Instagram). In addition to the "O" for online, there was also a link to their website and social. Finally, there was a 'featured' artist on rotation livestreaming on the fair's main page giving everyone a chance to shine. I really enjoyed checking out all the online artists in the portal. I encourage you all to attend the Virtual Craft Fair coming up on June 26th.
To discover how fairs and festivals are bringing their events online, take a look around at many listed on FestivalNet coming up soon!
Online and Virtual Fairs and Festivals
Hang in there, and we're thinking about you all.
I recently "attended" a beloved local festival online (See blog post). It was bitter sweet! It felt good to watch the Poetry Slam online (they used a combination of Facebook Live and Zoom), it was cool to catch some performances for a few minutes here and there over the weekend, and check out the creative contributions people made, including my daughter's slideshow! (She's been going to LEAF all her life and the festival director, a friend of ours, asked her to contribute!) To see how V-LEAF did their thing, they've archived the festival, have a look at the schedule from one day, it's impressive!
Ultimately, I praise their incredible dedication to make this happen but everyone involved would agree it couldn't possibly get close to replacing the real thing. It's all about people's energy that creates the magic, the festival food and loud music and unique art, the smells, the sounds, the visual stimulation at every turn. That energy can only be felt together. While it wasn't 'fun' per se, it touched my heart.
What I realized is... it's not really about the FUN that we can only manifest when we're in person. It's about banding together. It's about the bitter sweet. It's about doing something to show your audiences that we're all trying our best right now to just keep going.
Take what Ojai Music Festival is doing. This coming weekend, their online event will feature insightful conversations with special guests interspersed with video and music excerpts, and other unique virtual offerings.
They are even calling it their 'virtual edition'... in HONOR of their 74th festival. To honor their event in this way is giving their people a taste of the music, the conversation, the connection, and more importantly, a reminder that we will be back. It's an invitation for guests to hold on to the things we love and look forward to getting back one day.
Another event I recently attended online was the Renegade Virtual Fair.
For this online craft fair, there was a 'portal' on their website, with a grid of all the participating artists. Renegade had a simple but elegant system in place to offer a seamless experience. At one point, I plugged in to the fair on both my laptop and my phone because I didn't want to leave one 'booth' but wanted to check out more of the fair! Something you surely can not do in person.
There's something very human about watching an artist do their thing "live", showing up in their creative vulnerable glory. That feeling of connectedness did shine through when I would comment on their live feed with my positive feedback and emojis & they could reply to me in real-time. ❤️
Again, that tender feeling of we are all 'doing our best' really pulled on my heart strings.
I would like to explain this experience a little more in case anyone is curious how it worked! If the above roster was 'live' right now during the weekend's craft fair, there would be an "O" for "online" under each artist, and if you clicked on that, you were taken directly to their LIVESTREAM channel, where they were working in their studio, offering demonstrations, explaining their goods and crafts, or other creative "performances". (There are so many ways to livestream: Instagram, Facebook Live, YouTube, Twitch, Vimeo, Google Hangouts, & YouNow. Most artists seemed to prefer Twitch and Instagram). In addition to the "O" for online, there was also a link to their website and social. Finally, there was a 'featured' artist on rotation livestreaming on the fair's main page giving everyone a chance to shine. I really enjoyed checking out all the online artists in the portal. I encourage you all to attend the Virtual Craft Fair coming up on June 26th.
To discover how fairs and festivals are bringing their events online, take a look around at many listed on FestivalNet coming up soon!
Online and Virtual Fairs and Festivals
Hang in there, and we're thinking about you all.
