The following article appeared in "ART Venues / Summer 1999 edition / Volume 1, No. 3"

www.jolaf.com: Juried OnLine Arts Festival
by Donna Klaasen


Cover of Art Venues Magazine

Although exhibiting your artwork through a host site seems an easier route than learning to create a site yourself, there are many things to consider. Your goal is to receive as much attention as possible, and that can be achieved by the popularity of the web site itself. So there are many questions to ask before selecting such a site.

These are all very valid questions, and ones that were seriously considered by Ann Contois and Steve Reynolds, artists and co-owners of JOLAF, the Juried OnLine Arts Festival.

Ann and Steve spent years traveling around the country to exhibit their stained glass in juried festivals. Along the way they have spoken with a multitude of artisans and found a universal thread: they all want a venue to show their work. Simultaneously, the couple began to notice the existence and widespread interest in the Internet. In early 1996, they came to the realization that they could offer artists more exposure by designing and hosting web pages, a service / company that became JOLAF. "We wanted to set up one location where fine art and crafts could co-exist," says Steve.

During their research, they learned that gallery websites already existed, but the high level sites cost a lot and commissions of up to 50% were expected. The lesser known sites were just that - unknown - and there wasn't much in the way of traffic.

The first order of business was to acquire artists, and to assure a high level of quality, Ann and Steve decided to create a juried site. "The whole notion of jurying is to simply allow customers a filtered selection so they will be able to trust our credibility. So Ann and I do the jurying ourselves," explains Steve. "However, there is already so much information on our site about the selection requirements, the work submitted usually meets the criteria." He adds, "You can almost always tell just by talking to them that they are seriously dedicated artists."

One advantage is that commissions are never paid to JOLAF. They manage to exist without these fees. "JOLAF is a service for artists," stresses Ann. "It's almost a cooperative spirit, in the sense that we're not taking commissions from anybody. The customer deals directly with the artist."

Cooperation plays a key role in the success of JOLAF and contributes to an average of 10,000 to 15,000 hits per month the site receives. An actual art gallery could never expect this kind of traffic. "We've tried to set up a synergy," Steve says. "If you have 32 different artists sending cards and literature with their web page address, then that's 32 people helping to promote a one site. It's more cost effective and we're working towards a common goal."

Interested artists can obtain application information through the website and a packet will be sent that explains the entire process. Once accepted, there are two plans available, one for artists with a current web page, and one for artists without.

Artists without an existing site can request a page to be designed by Ann and Steve. Design fees start at $240, with an average cost of $400. This fee also includes registration with the top 10 search engines, advertisement via reciprocal links with other online organizations, press releases, newspaper articles, and personalized keywords or meta tags written in to each individual site in conjunction with the search engines. These services all add up to one thing - exposure.

For artists who have their own web page, but who want to expand their exposure by reaching a wider audience, they can link their present site to JOLAF for an annual fee of $25. This entitles the artist to listings in two separate locations on the site and allows artists to tap into their high level of hits per month.

About two years ago we started hearing from artists that galleries were beginning to go online to search for unusual work. We've even had some of our clients invited to shows strictly on the basis of their website," he says. Ann adds, "They say, 'Content is king on the web', and this is a terrific way for artists who have unique content to display their work."

If you would like to subscribe to "ART Venues", contact Donna Klaasen at:
PO Box 2291,  Capistrano Beach, CA 92624    949.388.4278

For More Information about JOLAF:



BACK TO TOP | JOLAF HOMEPAGE

Website Design by Cyberfirms Web Development