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EAST BAY OPEN STUDIOS 2002 EVALUATION REPORT by Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Survey Forms Used in the Analysis PARTICIPATION IN EBOS 2003 AND ON THE WEB SITE GENDER, AGE, AND ETHNICITY OF THE ARTISTS THE RELATIONSHIP OF GENDER TO ATTENDANCE, SALES, RATINGS, AND PARTICIPATION THE RELATIONSHIP OF AGE TO ATTENDANCE, SALES, RATINGS, AND PARTICIPATION THE RELATIONSHIP OF ETHNICITY TO ATTENDANCE, SALES, RATINGS, AND PARTICIPATION THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RATINGS, SIZE OF SALES, ATTENDANCE, AND PARTICIPATION IN EBOS 2003 THE MAJOR ISSUES AND CONCERNS RAISED BY THE ARTISTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe East Bay Open Studios 2002 Evaluation was conducted using the Artist’s Evaluation Form submitted by 189 artists (92 from Oakland, 97 from surrounding cities), who participated in the East Bay Open Studios 2002. Besides looking at the total results, the evaluation looks at differences based on the artists’ location, gender, age, and ethnicity. The results show these major findings: · The majority of the artists participating in the survey were from Oakland (49%), followed by Berkeley (28%), which is representative of the participation in Open Studios generally. · The majority of the artists were women 41 to 60 with European backgrounds, which is the profile of most Pro Arts members. · The total attendance for all visitors was about 54,000 visits, with the greatest number of visits to artists in Oakland – about 9200 visits, and to Berkeley – about 8300 visits. · The artists with the highest average attendance – from 108-173 visitors (30-50 visitors daily) -- were in Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, and Alameda. Attendance was much lower in the surrounding cities, averaging from 20-81 visitors (15-30 visitors a day), and even less in the most distant cities: San Leandro, Fremont, and San Ramon. · The major issues and concerns raised by the artists were these: o Many artists who had previously participated in Open Studios complained about lower attendance than in previous years. Some attributed this to problems with limited publicity, to too many participating artists, and to the dip in the economy. o Many artists complained about problems with the map, because it was hard to read, streets were incorrectly identified or not included, and their own studio was not correctly located. Some objected to the divisions of the map into sections or wanted a complete map in addition to sectional maps, so visitors could have a broad overview of the participating studios and wouldn’t feel limited to going to studios in a particular area. o Many artists complained there wasn’t enough publicity. They noted there weren’t enough articles or listings about Open Studios in the press and felt the insert in the East Bay Express should have been better placed or run on both weekends. o Some artists felt there were too many artists, locations, or days for Open Studios, and they suggested reducing the number of artists, adding additional days, or dividing up the studios and days of participation by location. o Some of the artists who exhibited individually, in a residential area, or in a distant location experienced difficulties, such as low attendance and sales, and felt they were disadvantaged because they were showing on their own or in an out-of-the way studio. They felt they would have done better exhibiting with other artists or in a more central location. o Many artists complained about the Web site, most commonly that it was poorly designed or too late. A major complaint was that the color of their artwork was off or of poor quality. Some noted that there should be links to each artist’s Web site or e-mail and contact information about the artist. · While it is hard to assess the artists’ responses about expectations, since it is not clear what their expectations were, these were the results of their responses to this question. o About half felt their sales expectations were met, and the vast majority did not have their expectations met for gallery contacts or opportunities. o Many artists found Open Studios an opportunity to get their work ready for exhibition and clean their studios. o A large majority of the artists in most areas, except the most distant studios, felt Open Studios met their expectations in broadening the audience for their work. o About half of the artists found Open Studios met their expectations for developing a mailing list. · Attendance was higher in Oakland and the surrounding cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, and Alameda, and was sales. · About a third of the artists rated Open Studios excellent or above average, but the artists in the more distant cities were more critical. · About a third to a half of the artists experienced no sales or low sales (under $200), and even more artists experienced no or low sales in the more distant cities. · The vast majority of artists in Oakland and the surrounding cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, and Alameda expect to participate in EBOS – 73%. By contrast, those in the more distant cities give more “no’s” and “maybes”, perhaps because of the greater distance. · A greater percentage of artists participated in the Pro Arts Web site in 2002 compared to 2001 – almost twice as many in most areas. But many artists who participated complained about the quality or usefulness of the site. A major complaint was about the poor color presentation of their work, and the artists generally felt being on the Web site did not contribute to sales or they were uncertain about how it contributed. · Not only do women comprise the vast number of artists participating in Open Studios, but they experienced greater attendance, more sales, and higher sales. They also gave Open Studios slightly higher ratings than the men did, and they are more likely to participate in EBOS 2003. · In general, the older artists – from 41 up – experienced a higher level of attendance, though there seemed to be little relationship between age and size of sales. However, the younger artists 15-30 were more likely to give EBOS 2002 higher ratings and plan to participate in EBOS 2003. · In terms of ethnicity, not only are the great majority of Open Studios from European-American backgrounds, but they did slightly better in sales, too. However, any differences have to be considered with caution, because of the small number of members of non-European American ethnic groups in the survey. · There is some relationship between attendance and sales, since the artists reporting no sales had among the lowest average attendance in Oakland and other cities. However, some artists with low attendance still had a moderate level of sales, since high attendance doesn’t always translate into sales. But attendance does translate into ratings, since those who gave EBOS below average ratings also reported the lowest attendance. And those with a higher attendance are more likely to plan to participate in EBOS 2003. · Participation is less directly tied to sales, perhaps because the artists have other reasons for participating than sales alone. Rather, plans to participate in the future seem to be related more strongly to the artists’ ratings, in that those rating EBOS 2002 as excellent are the most likely to participate in EBOS 2003 than other groups, while those giving below average ratings are more likely not to participate. · Based on these findings, the following recommendations are suggested: o The questionnaire should be redesigned to clarify and reword some of the questions and add others. o In promoting Open Studios in the future, highlight some of the non-sales benefits, such as the opportunity to meet other artist and prepare work for public exhibition. o Alternatively develop ways to better support and promote Open Studios in more distant cities (such as Albany, El Cerrito, Richmond, San Leandro, Fremont, and San Ramon), encourage artists in outlying areas to team up and exhibit with artists more centrally located, or keep Open Studios more focused on the primary areas where artists have the highest attendance and satisfaction with the event – Oakland, Emeryville, Alameda, and Berkeley. o Find way to provide more outreach to younger artists, male artists, and artists from non-European ethnic backgrounds. o Make improvements to the map and Web site. o Improve publicity to gain more coverage for the event generally and for the second weekend. o Consider dividing the event into different weekends for artists in different areas, limiting the number of artists to increase attendance for those participating, or add a third weekend with divisions of the city by location if there are a large number of participants. o Highlight the things artists do like about the event, and perhaps even use their comments in promotions inviting artists to participate in EBOS 2003.
The following report is based on analyzing the Artist’s Evaluation Form submitted by artists participating in the East Bay Open Studios 2002. Most questions include a breakdown of the artists based on where they were exhibiting -- in Oakland or in other cities, since location is a major factor affecting attendance and sales. This breakdown was also done to provide the background data for a more in-depth study using both surveys and interviews of artists in Oakland who participated in Open Studios. In addition, the analysis looks at other factors that might affect the artist’s experience of this event, including gender, age, and ethnicity. It further considers the relationship between attendance, sales, ratings, and future participation in East Bay Open Studios 2003, and discusses some of the issues and problems raised by artists in their comments. Total attendance figures are included, too. Finally, the analysis concludes with recommendations for revising the Artist’s Evaluation Form, since some of the questions were not answered or were not clear to the artists. Additionally, the written comments by some artists suggests that they had other interests or concerns in participating in Open Studios that were not included in the current questionnaire.
METHODOLOGY Survey Forms Used in the Analysis To conduct the analysis, I used the Evaluation Forms that were distributed and completed by the artists participating in East Bay Open Studios 2003 (EBOS 2003). These are the forms which Pro Arts has been using for several years in evaluating this event. As in previous years, the questionnaires were distributed to the artists when they came to the Pro Arts gallery to pick up their work. This work was a single piece shown during the EBOS event to help gallery visitors decide which artists they wanted to visit. The questionnaires distributed to artists with studios in Oakland additionally included the more in-depth Oakland Artists Survey, which was stapled to it. While all of the artists were asked to take an Evaluation Form and complete it before picking up their art work, some artists took Evaluation Forms promising to mail them in, which some returned. However, many artists did not either complete or return their forms, and two left out location information which was necessary for categorizing their response by city. In addition, some artists picked up their work late or did not pick it up at all, telling the Pro Arts staffers they could toss it (usually because it was a photo or a print that was easily reproduced). As a result, out of 497 participating artists, about 250 each from Oakland and the other cities, the final surveys analyzed included 92 from Oakland, 97 from other cities – a response rate of about 38% for both areas. This is approximately the same rate of return that Pro Arts experienced in handing out evaluation questionnaires for EBOS in previous years.
Thus, while this report refers to the
response of the artists participating in EBOS 2002, these results are
based only on the artists responding to the survey and inferring that
their responses reflect the views in the total population. However, since
this is a self-selecting sample rather than a random sample, it could be
affected by this bias. (For example, the artists filling out the survey
could be those that had a better experience at Open Studios and so were
more willing to fill it out.) Accordingly, any decisions based on these
results should take these non-respondents into account. The data was analyzed using an Access spread sheet for entering the data. It was entered into two tables – one for the Oakland artists, the other for the non-Oakland artists in other cities. As appropriate, the responses were entered as numerical, text, or yes/no responses. While most respondents did not add comments or suggestions, the responses of those that did were noted, and their questionnaires were flagged for a more in-depth analysis. Once the data was entered, a series of queries were used to determine the number of artists giving different responses. These queries looked at the responses of all artists in Oakland and other cities and at breakdowns based on demographics, attendance, sales, and other factors. Finally, the reports from these queries were used to create a series of Excel charts showing the results. Most of the charts include breakouts for Oakland and the other cities, with some of the neighboring cities combined to provide a large enough base for analyzing the data (ie: Emeryville/Alameda, Albany/El Cerrito/Richmond, and the more outlying cities – San Leandro, Fremont, and San Ramon). To examine the effects of ethnicity, all of the data from Oakland and the other cities was combined, since there were only a small number of artists with non-European-American backgrounds and many artists did not answer this question. In analyzing the data, the responses from the artists who did not answer a question were eliminated so that the resulting percentages would more clearly show the differing responses of the artists who did answer the question. (For example, about a third of the artists did not answer the ethnicity question, and there is no way to tell the ethnic backgrounds of those who did not answer, since generally these artists did not include their names. Also, about 20% of the artists did not correctly answer the first question on attendance, since they did not put down a number – rather they just checked the days their studio was open). Thus, the bases for the responses for different questions will sometimes be less than the total artists responding, since they will be based on the number of artists in a category who answered the question.
Finally, the comments noted by
about 10% of the artists were reviewed to look for common themes and
patterns. The findings are presented in the following sections: · An overview of the responses based on the location of the artists · The differences based on the artist’s gender · The differences based on the artist’s age · The differences based on the artist’s ethnicity · The relationship between attendance, sales, ratings, and participation in EBOS 2003 · The issues and comments raised by some of the artists.
MAJOR FINDINGS
The greatest participation in EBOS was from Oakland artists – 49% -- which might be expected, since Pro Arts is located in Oakland and this is the largest East Bay city. The remaining artists mainly came from Berkeley (28%), with only about 10% from the nearby cities of Emeryville and Alameda and 12% from the more distant cities of Albany, El Cerrito, and Richmond. An even small percentage (2%) came from the even more distant cities – San Leandro, Fremont, and San Ramon. (Chart 1). Location played a major role in attendance, since it was highest in Oakland and the nearby cities, particularly in Berkeley, ranging from an average attendance of 108-118 visitors in Oakland, Emeryville, and Alameda to a high of 173 in Berkeley. However, attendance dropped off dramatically in the more distant cities – down to an average of 58-81 visitors in Albany, El Cerrito, and Richmond to a low of 20 visitors on the average in the even more distant cities. (Chart 2). As for the total number of visitors during the event, based on the estimates of the artists answering this question, there were about 54,000 visits to studios altogether, with 9200 visits in Oakland, 8300 in Berkeley, 1000 in Alameda, and 900 in Emeryville. These numbers dropped to about 300-500 in Albany, El Cerrito, and Richmond, and to a low of 80 in the outlying cities. When projected to the total attendance at all artists participating in the event, not just those surveyed – about 38% of the total – there were about 25,000 in Oakland, 21,000 in Berkeley, 2800 in Alameda, and 2200 in Emeryville, with the totals around 800-1300 in the cities of Albany, El Cerrito, and Richmond and 200 elsewhere. (Chart 2a) The number of visitors, in turn, would depend on the average number of visits per visit; for example, if the average visitor goes to a dozen studios, this would represent around 4000 visitors going to the different studios.
There was little difference in
attendance from day to day, however. In general, the artists in the four
cities with the highest attendance – Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, and
Alameda – averaged about 30 to 50 visitors a day, while the artists the
more distant cities – Albany, El Cerrito, and Richmond averaged about 15
to 30 visitors a day, and in the even more distant cities it dropped to
about 1-10 visitors. (Chart
3). While there may be little difference from day to day, brief
interviews with artists during Open Studio visits suggests there were day
to day differences. However, these differences might have been eliminated
in the survey results by combining artists experiencing these differences
on different days, or the lack of difference may be because many artists
answered the question by estimating the total number of visitors and
dividing them equally among the two to four days they were open. How well were the artists expectations met? It is hard to assess their responses, since it is not clear what their expectations were, such as for sales or making contacts. Different artists may have interpreted this question in different ways, too, such as by responding in terms of whether they felt they achieved success in this area (ie: sales), devoted extensive time to this activity (ie: cleaning their studio), or had low expectations that were met (ie: having low sales). Also, a review of the tabulations suggest a relationship between some of the variables that weren’t formally turned into charts – such as artists with low attendance and low or no sales using the time to clean their studios and get their work ready for exhibition. Then, too, the artists who previously participated in EBOS events might have had different expectations than those who did not, in that a number of artists noted on their questionnaires that attendance and sales were down this year, and many artists expressed this concern during my brief Open Studio visits. Accordingly, this question should be revised in the future to reflect whether the artists felt satisfaction in these areas and what they spent much of their time doing. With this caveat, here are the major findings about expectations, with a focus on the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville/Alameda, and Albany/El Cerrito/Richmond, since there were only four artists in the more distant cities of San Leandro, Fremont, and San Ramon so their responses could be strongly affected by a single answer. However, their results are included on the charts.
· Gallery Contacts or Opportunities: The vast majority of artists in all areas did not have their expectations met for gallery contacts or opportunities, presumably because they met few visitors who came from galleries. In Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville/Alameda 72-82% of the artists reported their expectations were not met, and the percentage of unmet expectations is even higher in Albany/El Cerrito/Richmond – 95%. (Chart 5). · Getting Work Ready for Exhibition: Many artists in all areas saw EBOS as an opportunity to get their work ready for exhibition – from 50-63% indicated this in all areas. (Chart 6). Many of the artists who experienced low attendance or sales made especial note in their comments about how they were able to prepare their work. Though they did not do well in attracting visitors or making sales, their participation did help them get their work ready for future exhibitions. · Broadening the Audience for their Work: A large majority of the artists in most of the areas, except for the distant cities had their expectations met about broadening the audience for their work – especially the artists in Berkeley and Emeryville/Alameda (70-72%); plus a substantial majority in Oakland (58%). However, the artists in the more distant students were again less satisfied in meeting this expectation – perhaps because of the lower attendance they experienced – only 45-50% of the artists in Albany/El Cerrito/Richmond and the more distant areas. (Chart 7).
· Many artists weren’t able to rate EBOS 2002 compared to previous years or similar events, since they hadn’t previously participated in these activities – around 20% of the artists in all areas were not previous participants. However, of those who provided ratings, the percentage of artists who rated EBOS above excellent or above average was similar in most cities – about a third of the artists in most areas (33-36%), while a slightly higher percentage in Berkeley (43%) felt this way. By contrast, the artists in the distant cities were much more critical. Whereas only 12-31% in Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville/Alameda gave EBOS below average ratings, 47-50% of the artists in the distant locations did so. (Chart 10). · Not only was attendance higher in Oakland and surrounding cities, as previously noted, (Chart 2), but so were sales. In these cities, 76-81% of the artists reported sales, compared to only 68% in the more distant Albany, El Cerrito, and Richmond and only 50% in the even more distant cities. (Chart 11). · Generally, a great many artists experienced no sales or low level sales from $0-200. This ranged from 34-37% in Oakland and Berkeley to higher in the surrounding cities – 51% in Emeryville/Alameda; 41% in Albany/El Cerrito/Richmond; and 75% in the most distant cities. (Chart 12). For many artists, these low sales may have contributed to their average and below average ratings (Chart 10), especially since many noted on their questionnaires or stated in brief visits to them during Open Studios that their attendance figures and sales were below the figures for last year. On the other hand, these low sales might not have affected the ratings of other artists, since as many noted on their questionnaires, they found EBOS a chance to meet with other artists and feel part of the arts community. · The percent of artists reporting big sales was down in the outlying areas, too. Whereas 28-32% of the artists in Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville/Alameda reported sales of $1000 or more, only 18-25% of the artists in the more distant cities experienced this. However, the artists were much more similar in all the cities in reporting a low amount of sales from $0-500. About a quarter of the artists experienced sales at this level, with a fairly even split between sales from $0-200 and $200-500, except in Emeryville/Alameda and the most distant cities, where all of these sales between $0-500 were in the $0-200 category. (Chart 12).
PARTICIPATION IN EBOS 2003 AND ON THE WEB SITE · The vast majority of the artists in Oakland and the surrounding cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, and Alameda expect to participate in EBOS 2003 – 70-73%. Only a very small percentage in these cities said they wouldn’t take part at all – 6-18%, and the remainder are “Maybes”, often due to the possibility of moving, as some artists noted on their questionnaires. By contrast, there were far fewer “Yeses” in the more distant cities – only 50% in Albany/El Cerrito/Richmond and even less – 25% -- in the even more outlying areas. Perhaps the reason is the distance, because, as one woman noted on her questionnaire, she felt she was too far away to benefit from most of the visitors. (Chart 13). Not surprisingly, the definite “Nos” were higher in these areas, too – from 25-32%. · The Web site participation was much higher for all of the artists in 2002 compared to 2001 – from about 59-72% in most areas in 2002 compared to 27-44% in 2001. (Charts 14 and 15). However, this might be expected given the greater familiarity and acceptance of the Internet and using Web sites generally in the past year for everyone. Another reason for this greater participation in 2002 is that Pro Arts set up a program in which all of the artists who participated in Open Studios were listed on the Web site, and Pro Arts also streamlined the process for them to submit photos of their work by mail or e-mail. But even if the artists do have a Web site, most of them report only limited sales from the Web. The vast majority (70-100%) reported that they either had no sales or they were not sure whether they got any sales from the Web site or not. (Chart 16). · A number of artists who did participate in the Web sites raised complaints in their comments about the quality or usefulness of the site. A common complaint was the quality of the color was poor or the color was off from the actual color of their work. Also, a number of artists felt that the Web site should include links to their own Web sites or contact information in case a visitor to the site was interested in contacting that artist to see more work or make a purchase. However, it may be that these links weren’t included, since the artists did not fill out their information forms correctly.
· Demographically, the vast majority of the artists are women 41-60 with European-American backgrounds. While there is some variation from community to community, in general, this is the profile of most Pro Arts members. · In the case of gender, about three-quarters of the Open Studios participants were women -76-79% in all but the most distant cities. (Chart 17). · In the case of age, the artists 41 and older account for 80-90% of the participants in almost all cities – 100% in the most distant cities. Apart from the most distant cities with only 4 artists, the oldest group of artists 61 and up is in Berkeley (24%), and is about 10% in the other cities. The largest percentage of artists 41-60 is in Albany/El Cerrito/Richmond (84%), while this percentage ranges from 65-71% in the other cities. The younger artists (those under 40) are located in Oakland and Emeryville/Alameda, where they make up about 20% of the artists. (Chart 18). · As for ethnicity, only a small percentage of artists come from non-European backgrounds, with some variation depending upon the ethnic make-up of the different communities, as follows: o Overall, the largest non-European group is comprised of Asian-Americans (12 artists, who are most strongly represented in Emeryville/Alameda – 14%, in Berkeley – 10%, and in Albany/El-Cerrito/Richmond – 8%. Only a small percentage – 5% -- are in Oakland. o The next largest group is represented by the Latinos (8 artists) followed closely by African-Americans (7 artists). o While the African artists are concentrated in Oakland, where they make up 8% of the group, the Latino artists are in Oakland and Berkeley, where they make up 8-14% of the group. o Very few artists identify themselves as being of Mixed ethnicity. (Chart 19). ·
Of all the questions, this question about ethnicity was the
one the respondents were least likely to answer. A few artists even
expressed some annoyance at the question, answering with a flip remark,
such as “Alien.” However, some of the Oakland artists did answer this
question on the accompanying Oakland Artists Survey, so their responses on
this survey were added to the EBOS evaluation. THE RELATIONSHIP OF GENDER TO ATTENDANCE, SALES, RATINGS, AND PARTICIPATION · While women comprise the vast number of artists participating in Open Studios and most of the Pro Arts membership, how do they compare to men in attendance, sales, rating EBOS, and plans to participate in future. By all measures, they report doing much better, and they show a higher level of satisfaction with their participation, too. · In terms of attendance, the women have done significantly better than men both in Oakland and in other cities. In Oakland, where the attendance is slightly lower for both males and females than in other cities, the average attendance is 79% higher for women (131 for women versus 73 for males), while in other cities it is 19% higher for them (143 for women versus 116 for males). (Chart 20). · The women report both more sales and higher sales. Whereas only 18-19% of the women in all areas reported no sales, 40% of the males had none. In Oakland, whereas 31% of the female artists reported sales of $1000 or more, only 5% of the male artists did, while in other cities, there percentages were about the same – 24% and 35% respectively. However, while a high percentage of the women outside Oakland (40%) had relatively good sales from $200-$1000, only 5% of the men outside Oakland reported sales in these categories. Instead, they mostly had no sales (40%) or very low sales (20%). (Chart 21). · Given the better attendance and sales for women, it is not surprising that their ratings are slightly higher than the men’s ratings. In Oakland, 13% of the women rated EBOS 2002 excellent, compared to only 6% of the men; while 69% of the men considered it average or below average compared to 64% of the women. In the cities outside Oakland, both the men and women were the same in their ratings of excellence (13%), but at the other extreme, 38% of the men considered the event below average, compared to only 29% of the women. (Chart 22). ·
Such differences in attendance and sales may translate into
the slight differences between female and male artists in their plans to
participate in EBOS 2003. The females are slightly more likely to say yes
in Oakland, where the likelihood of the participation of all artists is
slightly higher than in other cities (74% females versus 71% males in
Oakland; 68% females versus 60% males in other cities). Conversely, the
males were more likely to give a clear no response – 14% versus 10% in
Oakland; 25% versus 12% in other cities. The remaining responses – about
the same for everyone were maybes – ranging from 14-19% of the responses.
(Chart 23). THE RELATIONSHIP OF AGE TO ATTENDANCE, SALES, RATINGS, AND PARTICIPATION · In general, the older artists – from 41 up – experienced a higher level of attendance in both Oakland and other cities. In Oakland, the older artists averaged 122 and 166 visitors (for artists 41-60 and 61+ respectively) compared to an average of 90-92 visitors for the two younger groups. In other cities, the average for these two groups was 156 and 95 visitors respectively, compared to a low average of 50 visitors for the 15-30 age group and 79 visitors for those 31-40. (Chart 24). · The size of sales varied widely for artists of different age groups in all of the cities. There seemed to be little relationship between age and size of sales – or it may not be possible to determine this, since the number of artists in the younger age groups was so small – only 9 who were 15-30 and 18 who were 31-40 in both Oakland and the other cities, so the percentage distribution can be misleading. (Chart 25). · The ratings by age are even more difficult to determine, since even fewer artists in these younger age groups gave ratings, resulting in 5 artists in the 15-30 age group and 14 in the 31-40 year old group. Perhaps the best that can be said is that the younger 15-30 year old artists were more likely to give the EBOS 2002 event excellent or above average ratings – 40% excellent ratings, versus 9-14% in the other groups, and 60% above average ratings, versus 22-43% in the other groups. Also, there appears to be an increasingly critical assessment that comes with age in that 14% of the 31-40 year olds, 22% of the 41-60 year olds, and 39% of those 61 and older gave the event below average ratings. (Chart 26). ·
Finally, when it comes to EBOS 2003, the artists under 60
are more certain they plan to participate – 67-78% said this – compared to
only 60% of those 61 or over. Those in the oldest group were not likely
to say “no” outright – only 8% -- but they had a much higher percentage of
maybes – 32% -- compared to any other group. Of all the groups, those
31-40 were least likely to plan to participate – 22%, compared to zero
“no’s” for those 15-30 and 8-12% for those 41 and older. (Chart 27). THE RELATIONSHIP OF ETHNICITY TO ATTENDANCE, SALES, RATINGS, AND PARTICIPATION · In general, there were little differences between the levels of attendance in Oakland for the members of different ethnic groups, though the Asian-American had a slightly higher average attendance – 153 visitors for all days compared to 126-135 for the other groups. However, outside of Oakland, the European-American artists did much better; they averaged 162 visitors compared to 88-110 visitors on average for the other groups, excluding African-Americans, since the only group member outside of Oakland didn’t respond to this question. Of these other groups, the Asian American artists had the lowest number of visitors – only 88 compared to 105-110 for those of Latino or mixed backgrounds. (Chart 28). · In terms of sales, the European-Americans did slightly better in having at least some sales, since they had the lowest percentage of no sales (21%) compared to 25-43% for the other groups. The highest level of no sales was among those with Latino or Mixed backgrounds – 38% and 43% respectively. The Asian-American artists reported the highest sales level – 42% had over $1000 in sales – versus 25-32% for the other groups, and 67% had sales of $750 or more, compared to 29%-41% for the other groups. But any differences need to be considered with caution, due to the small number of members of the non-European ethnic groups on which these percentages are based – from 7 to 12 artists in each of these groups in Oakland and other cities. (Chart 29). · It is even more difficult to draw any conclusions about the relationship of ratings by the ethnicity of the artists, since even fewer artists answered this question – many because they participated in EBOS for the first time and had no point of comparison with previous or other shows. As result, there were only 4 to 11 artists in each of the non-European ethnic groups in both Oakland and other cities. But with that caveat, the main findings are these: o Though they had the highest level of no sales and relatively fewer visitors, the Latino artists gave EBOS 2002 the highest ratings – 17% excellent and 50% above average ratings – a total of 67% compared to 18-40% for artists in the other groups – and they were the only group that gave no below average ratings. o The small number of artists from a Mixed background were the most critical – 75% of them giving EBOS 2002 below average ratings, compared to 18-22% for the African-American, European-American, and Asian-American groups). (Chart 30). · Finally, perhaps because their higher ratings reflect a greater satisfaction, the Latino artists were the only ones where 100% indicated that they plan to participate in EBOS 2003 – though here, too, any figures have to be tempered by the low number of minority group respondents – from 7 to 12 artists in each of these groups in both Oakland and other cities. The other two groups with the highest percentage of yeses were the African-Americans (86%) and European-Americans. Only a small percentage of members of any group gave clear “no’s” – only 13-17% for the European-Americans and Asian-Americans respectively – though a “no” doesn’t necessarily mean dissatisfaction, since some artists indicated they don’t plan to participate since they are moving. (Chart 31).
· There appears to be some relationship between attendance and making some sales, since the artists reporting no sales also had among the lowest average attendance in both Oakland and other cities – only an average of 56-61 visitors for the artist in both cities, compared to 100-200 visitors for the artists making higher levels of sales. (Chart 32) · There was no clear relationship between the amount of sales and attendance, since the artists with the lowest level of sales ($0-500) had relatively higher levels of attendance (118-194 visitors) and so did these with $1000 or more in sales (160-180 visitors), while those with a moderate level of sales ($500-$1000) had lower attendance figures (48-125 visitors). (Chart 32). A key factor could be how much the artists did on their own to generate both sales and attendance. Also, high attendance doesn’t always translate into sales, since many visitors could be just looking around, while other visitors going to studios reporting lower attendance could be more serious buyers willing to spend more. · There is also no consistent relationship between size of sales and EBOS ratings, perhaps because the artists have different criteria than sales for rating the success of EBOS. While some may base their ratings on sales or attendance; others may highly value the opportunity to meet other artists, as noted by some artists in their comments. This complex relationship is reflected in the following findings (Chart 33 - Oakland; Chart 33 - Non-Oakland): o While those with the highest sales gave the event the highest ratings in both Oakland and in other cities – 52-54% rated it excellent or above average compared to only 19%-42% among other artists earning less, many artists with no or low sales still gave the event high ratings. For example, in both Oakland and other cities, 5% and 21% of the artists with no sales gave the event excellent ratings, while 19% and 35% of the artists gave either excellent or above average ratings. o Still, as might be expected, the artists with no or low sales under $500 had the highest percentage of below average ratings – 29 and 42% in both Oakland and other cities when compared to 9-18% of the artists earning $1000 or more. But some of those giving high ratings, despite low sales, might have been influenced by these other factors, in that 19-29% of the artists earning less than $500 gave it above average to excellent ratings. o The artists with the highest level of sales in both cities did have the lowest level of below average ratings as might be expected – 9% in Oakland, compared to 23-42% in other sales groups; 18% in other cities, compared to 29-44% in other sales groups. While it might seem surprising that they would offer below average ratings despite high sales, perhaps a reason for this is reflected in the comments of many artists, including those with high sales, that their attendance and sales were well-below what they had experienced in previous years. Hence, their negative ratings, though their reasons are not reflected in the statistical analysis. · There is a relationship between attendance and ratings in that those who gave the event below average ratings reported the lowest attendance in both Oakland and other cities. In Oakland, they averaged only 60 visitors – compared to an average of 121-153 visitors in the other groups. Thus, they had 50% less visitors or even less compared to those giving higher ratings. In the other cities, those giving below average ratings had a slightly higher average – 92 visitors, but so did those giving excellent to average ratings – from 144 to 191 visitors, so they had 36% less visitors or less compared to the other groups. (Chart 34). · As for plans to participate in EBOS 2003, it is slightly related to attendance. Those saying “yes” have a slightly higher average attendance in Oakland and other cities – 125 visitors compared to 102 in Oakland; 141 compared to 121 in other cities. (Chart 35). · Participation does not, however, seem to be directly tied to sales, perhaps because artists have other reasons for participating than sales alone, and there are different patterns in Oakland and in other cities. (Chart 36 - Oakland, Chart 36 - Non-Oakland) o In Oakland, those with no sales are about as likely to say yes (77%) as those with sales of $200 or more (70-79%), and only a small percentage (14%) have definitely said no, about the same level as those with sales of $200-1000 (10-12%). However, those with the most sales have the highest level of saying yes or maybe – 97%, compared to 21-58% with no sales or lower sales. o Outside of Oakland, those with no sales are less likely to say yes than in other groups (only 50%), whereas those with the highest levels of sales -- from $500 or more are much more likely to participate than other groups (71-80% yeses and only 15-17% “no’s”). At the same time, those with no sales are about as likely to say no as those with a small level of sales – from 22-28% from those making no sales or $0-500 in sales. · Participation seems to be related more strongly to the artists’ ratings, based on their reasons for making these ratings (sales, attendance, meeting other artists, or other factors). In both Oakland and the other cities, the smaller number of artists rating EBOS 2002 as excellent are more likely to participate in EBOS 2003 than any other group – 100% in Oakland and 90% in the other cities say “yes” – higher than the “yeses” in any other groups (from 42-81%). Conversely, a much higher percentage of those rating the event below average in all areas are more likely not to participate – 41-46% of the artists in both areas, compared to only 0-17% of those giving higher ratings. (Chart 37 - Oakland, Chart 37 - Non-Oakland).
THE MAJOR ISSUES AND CONCERNS RAISED BY THE ARTISTS While only a small percentage of the artists in Oakland and the other cities made comments on their Evaluation Forms, those that did raised common issues and concerns. Though these comments cannot be evaluated statistically, since it is uncertain how many artists who did not make comments shared similar views, the fact that a half-dozen or more artists spontaneously expressed these views suggests that their comments reflect more widely shared opinions. These major issues and concerns, along with some sample comments, are the following: · Problems with the Map. For a number of artists, the map was a problem, because it was too hard to read, because many streets were incorrectly placed, mislabeled, or not labeled, or because their own studio was incorrectly identified or not included on the map. Some artists also objected to dividing the map into sections, because visitors might feel limited to going to studios in a particular area, rather than deciding themselves which areas to visit. “The map was horrible. Very hard to read and to find particular artists.” (Oakland artist) “In terms of the maps in the brochure, they were confusing to people not familiar with the area (and those are usually the people most in need of maps!) There should be a whole map first which would help you locate the smaller, more specific map.” (Oakland artist). “The new maps seemed to be more confusing than the big map, according to several people that came through the studio.” (Oakland artist). “I thought the ‘map directory’ was poorly organized. ‘Artists by Code’ was misnamed. It was actually ‘Artists by Last Name’ or “Artists Alphabetical’ list. The word ‘by’ was incorrect. The section headings A through J should have been numbers, because it looked like an incomplete alphabetical listing. Without an overall map, it was difficult to: a) get a sense of where each map fit in geographically; b) see the totality of artists, which helps people decide where to visit.” (Oakland artist) “Trestle Glen is a major street in my neighborhood…This street was not shown on the map.” (Oakland artist) “I was not on the map correctly – not even on the right street. I put up lots of signs – so maybe it didn’t affect attendance.” (Oakland artist). “My location was too distant from the other open studios. Potential visitors found the maps confusing.” (Oakland artist). “Our studio is very much off the beaten track. On the map, one street, Henrietta, was placed in large type and looked like a main street instead of a dead end with little association to our location. People had a very difficult time finding us and they complained a lot. We did balloons and signs on the streets, leading to us, which was most helpful. Let’s please do better with the map.” (Oakland artist) “My studio was mislabeled on the map. I believe that probably reduced the number of visitors.” (Emeryville artist). “The map breakdown was a good idea, but the graphic presentation made it difficult to interpret.” (Berkeley artist). “The map printing was so small, it was practically unreadable.” (Berkeley artist). “The map was very confusing…Print a clear map. Do not play favors to certain artists. Make it alphabetical.” (Berkeley artist). · The Decline in Attendance and/or Sales Compared to Previous Years. A number of artist explained their low rating of EBOS by noting that they had much less attendance or sales or both than in previous years. In some cases, the artists noted that while they had less attendance, they had more sales, or more rarely, lower sales but more attendance. In either case, the artists felt the decline in attendance and/or sales was a problem, and most who brought up this issue noted that both were down. “I had very little traffic.” (Oakland artist). “I sent out color announcements and placed PR (posters, newsletters, etc), so I expected more turnout. It was very slow.” (Emeryville artist) “Check if the planet Mercury is retrograde, like this year – bad for business.” (Emeryville artist) “Down 50% from last year.” (Alameda artist with sales over $1000) “Down 1/3 from the last three years.” (El Cerrito artist). “It was slower this year in terms of visitors compared to the last 6 years. Sales remained relatively the same, however.” (El Cerrito artist). · Concerns about Not Enough Publicity. For some artists, who felt they had low attendance or sales, especially when compared to previous years, the problem was not enough publicity. They complained there were not enough articles or listings about Open Studios or that the insert with the studio listings and maps was only in the East Bay Express for one week or should have been better placed – such as being part of the paper itself rather than printed as an insert. Some also felt that the map wasn’t sufficiently available. A few mentioned that Open Studios might have faced competing events that reduced newspaper coverage. “Publicity seemed much less than previous years.” (Oakland artist) “I heard no TV or radio announcements for this event! The word is not getting out. More attention here, please, via press releases.” (Oakland artist) “I was not included in any of the newspaper advertising. We live in Upper Rockridge. All artists in Open Studios were listed in the Rockridge news except us. We were also not listed anywhere.” (Oakland artist) “It would have been good to have more exposure in the big media: Examiner, Chronicle, Via Magazine, etc. There were a lot of events going on those two weekends. Many people weren’t aware of the Open Studios until they saw the signage from the individual artists.” (Oakland artist). “Is there some way to schedule to not compete with other Bay Area art events.” (Oakland artist referring to the lack of coverage of the event) “I think the slight drop in attendance the 2nd weekend may have been due to lack of maps. Can the Express insert maps both weekends? That would be convenient for patrons and a real plus in reaching the public. (Oakland artist) “Only 5 out of 72 visitors were guests as a result of the Pro Arts gallery. The rest were from my mailing list.” (Oakland artist) “Hire a professional P.R. person. There are so many Open Studios now that Pro Arts need to do something to stand out and to publicize the second weekend more. I may do only 1 weekend – the first.” (Emeryville artist) “Need a more aggressive distribution of maps and posters. Expand the media coverage (radio, TV, newspapers, etc.). Get the word out.” (Berkeley artist) “The map needs to be available everywhere that a person goes – no one could find the map. This is a big problem.” (Berkeley artist). “A big waste of money. Why did Birdhouses of Berkeley get a ‘giant’ advertisement with my money?” (Berkeley artist). “I was expecting more newspaper coverage. I think it might have increased awareness in the community about the Open Studios.” (El Cerrito artist). “I seldom see public advertisements for Open Studios, yet I pay an annual fee specifically for Open Studios. Where does that money go? It isn’t visible.” (Albany artist). · Too Many Artists, Locations, and/or Days for Open Studios. Some of the artists attributed their reduced attendance or sales to having so many more artists and locations for visitors to go to. They suggested either reducing the number of artists participating or adding additional days on a third weekend. In other cases, the artists felt there were too many days to open their studios to visitors, and they felt that it might be better to divide up the studios and days of participation by location, such as dividing the event by studio location into Open Studios North and South. A few who mentioned making such a division referred to a time when East Bay Open Studios had been so divided in the past or they pointed to how it was divided up by locations in San Francisco. One complained that so many artists made it hard to see all the art in the gallery. “It would be nice to break it to East Bay Areas and do it on different dates.” (Oakland artist) “I think we need more than 2 weekends.” (Oakland artist) “I think these need to be quarterly/subject oriented.” (Oakland artist) “Why are you not asking what people think about having all studios available both weekends? (Oakland artist) “I’ve never participated in EBOS, only San Francisco. It may be helpful to divide the East Bay in ˝ or thirds. People felt spread too thin (visitors).” (Oakland artist). “I will only do one weekend in EBOS 2003.”(Oakland artist) “One weekend only (referring to EBOS 2003).” (Oakland artist) “Break East Bay into districts, with one district per weekend, as in S.F. Open Studios. Four 7 hour days is very long to spend in the studio after a full work week.” (Berkeley artist). “11-6 is too long for me; 1-6 would be more manageable. Also, less than 4 people came from 11-1 each day.” (Berkeley artist). “I will only do one weekend, if I do it at all (exhibit in EBOS 2003).” (Richmond artist). “I think perhaps 500 artists are too many. The public can’t visit every studio. 350 might be more manageable. Perhaps a 3rd weekend would help. Berkeley Artisans does four weekends and holidays.” (Berkeley artist). “The salon style, 4 squares high, using larger squares was too visually overwhelming. The top rows were almost impossible to see up close. If this many artists sign up next year, please reduce the size of the squares and go back to three rows.” (Oakland artist) · The Problems of Exhibiting Individually, in a Residential Area, or in a Distant Location. Some of the artists who exhibited alone, generally for the first time, raised these concerns about solo exhibits or off-the beaten track locations. They felt that they hadn’t gotten as high attendance or sales as they could have, because they were showing on their own or they had an out-of-the-way studio. They felt unsure about exhibiting again or felt they would want to show with a group of artists in the future, so they could get more traffic, feel a greater sense of community, and share the work of hosting the event. Other artists in the outlying areas complained they were too far away to get sufficient traffic. “This was my first time. But I don’t expect to do a solo Open Studio (next time). I would think about joining a group of people in a more visible location.” (Oakland artist) “A lot of work for so few people (and costly), and the majority were accidental visitors (not people with the Pro Arts map). I promoted the event the same as always with postcards and flyers and participated with a local group, but there were simply too few people looking here this year. Perhaps we’re spread to think in the outskirts of the map, or there are too many close together in Oakland and Berkeley to bother driving to El Cerrito. (El Cerrito artist) “I’ll only participate in EBOS 2003 with a small group of full-time artists or at their own studio.” (Berkeley artist). “As a studio artist in El Cerrito, I find it difficult to draw much of an audience from Pro Arts. Most of my visitors are from my existing mailing list.” (El Cerrito artist). “Possibly Fremont is too far for the Oakland audience to drive to.” (Fremont artist) · Complaints about the Web Site. While a few artists praised the Web site, such as one Emeryville artist who said: “Keep doing it. People who visit it are impressed with the site, and it helps an artist’s credibility, whether it makes immediate sales or not,” more commonly the artists criticized the Web site as poorly designed and too late. The major complaint was that the color of their artwork was off or was of poor quality. Some also noted that there should be links to each artist’s Web site or e-mail, and that there should be contact information about that artist. Some pointed out the value of including a map on the Web. Another complaint was about poor navigation. “My slide didn’t look too good. Maybe a Web master who is conversant with photoshop?” (Oakland artist) “The color quality is not good.” (Oakland artist). “Check with the artists to see if the information/image are correct. Get it up in a timely fashion.” (Oakland artist) “Get it up sooner.” (Oakland artist) “I was very disappointed with the Web site and believe that it should be definitely improved for next year. The Web site was completed too late. In addition, it was not very user friendly. There were too many boxes to choose from in order to arrive at the Open Studios page. In addition, who were all of those people’s faces? What did they have to do with Open Studios? A simple Open ART Studio presentation would have been better.” (Oakland artist) “I didn’t know I should mask off surrounding junk in the slide (on the Web site). This should be guidelined.” (Oakland artist) “Keep it accurate PLEASE!” (Oakland artist). “Were there Web links to the artist’s own Web site? If not, that would be helpful.” (Oakland artist). “I asked for a link to my Web site through the Pro Arts Web site, but it was not done. I hope they do it for 2003.” (Oakland artist). “I provided text which included the link to my site. But it showed as plain text, not a link. I would like it to be pickable next time. When touring (the Web site) by medium, the city is unknown. When by city, medium is unknown. Should show this on the artists page (both the city and the medium). (Oakland artist) “Our Web site information was not posted even though both Juan Domingo and I submitted slides and information. I submitted mine twice. I would still like to get my Web site info posted, because then I could direct people to it. Is that an option at this point?” (Oakland artist). “Make sure that the colors match the colors of the slide submitted. My color was off.” (Berkeley artist) “Get it ready on time! The quality of image wasn’t great – no statement either.” (Berkeley artist). “The Web site needs better navigation.” (Berkeley artist). “Not all artists are listed on the Web. Add others, even if only a map to their studio.” (Berkeley artist) “List all artists and locations on the Web. Make the map available on the Web, too.” (Berkeley artist) “Put the map on the Web.” (Berkeley artist) “Create a more direct link from the Home page. It needs to be clearer.” (Alameda artist). “Some of my visitors complained they couldn’t easily find the Web site on search engines, because there don’t seem to be enough (or correct) meta tags on the site.” (El Cerrito artist). · Other Issues. A few other issues raised by some of the artists were these: o Poor Translation into Spanish. As one artist noted: “Regarding translation of material from English to Spanish, it’s not accurate. It’s great that you provide the information in additional languages, but it would be much better if it were done properly.” (Oakland artist). o Not Being Able to Take Down Their Own Work. One Oakland artist who came to pick up her work on time objected that someone had already taken down her display and some of her parts were on the floor or missing.
Though only a small number of artists shared positive comments and praise, since a request for comments usually evokes negative criticism and complaints, they generally praised the reception and gallery exhibit. Some welcomed the opportunity to connect with other artists and set up their own show for the first time. Among their comments: “It’s a good way to meet other area artists.” (Oakland artist). “Party. Good time. Art fun.” (Oakland artist). “It was a motivational exercise to get myself to clean up my garden and finish pieces. A real treat to ‘stage’ my own show.” (Oakland artist). “I loved the reception. I met old friends at the Open Studios and reception, and made new friends.” (Berkeley artist). “It seemed more people were actually following the procedure of going to Pro Arts firs and marking their maps to tour studios. (Many compliments on the gallery display!) Many thanks. (Emeryville artist). “It was a great experience. I love your support. Thanks.” (Richmond artist).
Based on the above analysis, the following recommendations are suggested: · The questionnaire should be redesigned in several ways: o Make the questions which many respondents didn’t answer or had trouble answering clearer (such as Question #1, which could provide a series of categories for estimated attendance for each day). o Include additional categories on the questionnaire, based on comments made by respondents, such as adding in the value of meeting with other artists in Question 2, which asks about meeting expectations. o Reword questions that aren’t clear or hard to interpret. For instance, ask artists about what they devoted the most time to or what they considered successful, rather than asking about their expectations in Question 2. o Change the rating question (Question 3) to ask artists to rate the event in terms of what they consider a success for them. Then, ask artists who participated before to compare this year’s event with previous events, since many artists were confused about how to answer this question if they hadn’t participated before, since it asked them to compare EBOS 2002 to other events. o Eliminate overlapping categories and designating them more clearly, such as revising Question 4 to read: “No Sales; $1-199; $200-499; $500-749; $750-999; $1000 or more”. o Ask more specific questions or ask “why” questions to get more open ended opinions. o Separate out the demographic categories more clearly and explaining the reason for asking questions about ethnicity and age to get more artists to answer these questions. o Add a question to ask artists to make suggestions for improvements for the next event. o Add a question about what the artists liked most to evoke positive responses, otherwise comments will commonly reflect negative criticism and complaints. · Highlight some of the non-sales benefits in promoting Open Studios in the future, such as the opportunity to meet other artists and prepare work for public exhibition. Deemphasize the benefits that are less likely or less important to the artists, such as making gallery contacts, since few artists found their expectations met in this area. · Provide artists with guidelines on how to have a more successful exhibit, such as by exhibiting with other artists in more central locations, so that artists in out of the way locations can better determine if they want to use their studios or homes for the event. · Alternatively, develop ways to better support and promote the Open Studios event in the more distant cities (ie: Albany, El Cerrito, Richmond, San Leandro, Fremont, and San Ramon), encourage artists in these areas to team up with artists who are more centrally located, or keep Open Studios more focused on the primary areas, where artists have the highest attendance and satisfaction with the event. (ie: Oakland, Emeryville, Alameda, and Berkeley). · Find ways to provide more outreach to younger artists (40 or younger) andartists from less represented ethnic groups, since the vast majority of the artists are artists 41 and older from a European-American background. · Find ways to appeal to more male artists, since the large majority of the artists are females, and they report higher sales, attendance, and ratings than the male artists. · Make improvements to the map, so it is clearer to read and more accurately locates streets and artist locations. Also include a complete map along with map breakdowns, so visitors can see the big picture, as well as selected areas within the city. · Consider dividing the event into different weekends for artists in different areas, limiting the number of artists, since the greater number of participating artists could be a factor in declining attendance compared to the previous year when there were fewer artists. Or possibly add a third weekend with divisions of the city by location, if there are a large number of artist participants. · Improve the Web site to provide better quality colors, links to artist Web sites and artist contact information, and better navigation. Also, get up the information about Open Studios on the Web more quickly, and provide the artists, if needed, with more assistance on how to provide information and slides for the site, if they are not providing this correctly. · Improve the publicity to gain more coverage for the event generally and for the second weekend. Send out more press releases and distribute the maps more widely, including having inserts in the East Bay Express or other papers for both weekends. · Highlight the things the artists do like about the event. Perhaps even use their comments – in your promotions inviting artists to participate in the event. ·
Encourage artists who might need additional help to sign-up
for workshops on how to have a successful event, or perhaps provide them
with a summary list of guidelines on how to get the most out of the event,
such as how to create postcards and group flyers to promote their work,
how to mark their street to get more traffic, and how to find and team up
with other artists to exhibit together. |
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