"Art is Alive and Well in America," Says Publisher Connie Mettler
COLDWATER, Mich., Oct. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The top 50 juried fine art fairs in the country were announced today by the leading art fair website, ArtFairCalendar.com.
"Art is Alive and Well in America," says ArtFairCalendar Publisher Connie Mettler.
The new "America's Best Art Fairs Awards" are the first of their kind. Based on a groundbreaking new online survey, the Awards opened voting beyond the traditional art fair insiders, artists and show staff, to include the votes of art fair patrons, fine art collectors and the public who travel to art fairs nationwide.
"We are proud of all our art fair award winners because they represent a first-ever People's Choice awards chosen from all parts of the communities that support art fairs and artists," says Mettler. "We look forward to recognizing the top shows and contributors again in coming years and helping attract more business for the towns that host these beloved cultural events."
More than 230 events were nominated in 42 states. The economic impact of art fairs is felt throughout the travel industry, in large and small towns through the country.
For 2013 the top awards went to the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival in Winter Park, FL, the Old Town Art Fair in Chicago and the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair in Ann Arbor.
Other top tier winners include the Des Moines Arts Festival, the Coconut Grove Arts Festival in Miami, and the La Quinta Arts Festival in La Quinta, CA.
The thousands of art-loving survey respondents also voted for the One of a Kind Show in Chicago, the Krasl Art Fair in St. Joseph, MI, the American Craft Exposition in Evanston, IL, and the Cherry Creek Art Festival in Denver.
Chicago and Ann Arbor received special awards as the most loved cities by art fair patrons for the variety and high quality of the art, and their festive atmosphere:
- Art fair lovers love Chicago, with the voters placing 8 fairs in the national top 35. Vibrant urban living in Chicago's diverse neighborhoods includes cool neighborhood art events like Old Town and 57th Street as well as larger events held at Navy Pier and the Merchandise Mart.
- Ann Arbor is Michigan's art fair jewel: a small, friendly town with big city sophistication hosting four fairs simultaneously, showcasing the talents of over 1,000 artists making Ann Arbor an "art fair destination" for a nationwide audience.
The Winners of the 2013 "America's Best Art Fairs Awards"
The awards survey included more than 20 questions and many categories for recognition.
Please visit ArtFairCalendar.com at http://www.BestArtFairs.com or http://www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/americas-best-art-fairs-the-top-50.html for all 50 of the top winners, valuable insights from the more than 1,000 responses to the America's Best Art Fairs Awards survey, and details on how your local art fair can participate in and benefit from the awards.
Visit the links above for other award categories and their winners, including:
- Best East Coast Art Fairs
- Best Midwest Art Fairs
- Best Western Art Fairs
- Best Southern Art Fairs
- Favorite Urban Art Fairs
- Favorite Smaller Art Fairs
About the America's Best Art Fairs Awards
The Best Art Fairs Awards is the first national online survey of the nation's juried fairs, designed to reward those festivals that create opportunities connecting artists and communities to celebrate the arts.
The survey process began with open nominations in August 2013 offered to over 50,000 subscribers of the ArtFairCalendar.com email lists and spread by social media. It focused on questions relating to art fairs specifically seeking the favorite shows of patrons and art collectors regionally and nationally. Over 1,000 unique responses were tabulated to calculate the winners.
About ArtFairCalendar.com
The mission of ArtFairCalendar.com is to promote the American tradition of art fairs by showcasing the events where art collectors can find hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind fine art pieces for sale by the professional artist community and encourage the interaction of client and creator.
As the Number 1 Google ranked website for art fairs, ArtFairCalendar.com offers the only national calendar online of juried fine art fairs, shows, festivals and events. Founded in 2004, ArtFairCalendar.com is published by Connie Mettler, an art fair industry veteran and consultant to fine art events nationwide.
Visit http://www.ArtFairCalendar.com for national show listings, http://www.ArtFairInsiders.com for popular online forums for artists,http://www.ArtShowReviews.com for artist reviews of art shows nationwide, and http://www.CallsforArtists.com to find exhibition opportunities for artists at art fairs across the US and Canada.