Welcome to CAFÉ, the Community of Artists for Equity, a new and rapidly expanding artist's organization now with over 600 artist members.

Background:  Our acronym, CAFÉ, was chosen as an historical homage to the Café Guerbois where many notable Impressionist artists met to discuss the artistic and financial concerns of their day to day lives.  The word "Community" reflects the desire of our members to treat their fellow artists and festival committee members with cooperation and mutual respect as we work to achieve our goals.

CAFÉ was formed because of a widespread consensus that the interests of artists who create one-of-a-kind two-dimensional original artworks (oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, collage, drawing, mixed media, etc.) are unrepresented by any other artist's organization and out of a growing concern that the livelihoods of our members are being adversely affected by misguided policies that restrict or prohibit the display and sale of reproductions of their artworks.

CAFÉ believes that these restrictive policies are rapidly leading toward a time when painting and other two-dimensional one-of-a-kind original mediums will no longer be economically viable in most art festivals. 

CAFÉ believes that these same adverse economic forces will make it nearly impossible for new, younger artists to take part in art festivals in the future.  Furthermore, CAFÉ believes that the current climate of excessive restrictions on reproductions is counter to every art festival's responsibility to expose the communities they serve to the best art available while also ensuring that the public has the opportunity to own affordable art of their own choosing regardless of the medium.

Mission Statement:  CAFÉ does NOT advocate that all festivals allow two-dimensional reproductions because it recognizes that a small number of festivals attract a clientele capable of providing economic opportunities for painters and other creators of two-dimensional one-of-a-kind originals that are on a par with those of artists working in other mediums. 

The guiding distinction in determining whether a festival should be "originals only" or whether it should allow two-dimensional reproductions should not be whether one format seems more prestigious or more pure than the other but rather, whether a festival is capable of providing painters and other creators of one-of-a-kind original artworks with an equitable opportunity to compete fairly for a livelihood that is on a par with those of the other two-dimensional mediums and a reasonable likelihood that the festival can, in fact, attract affluent patrons in sufficient numbers to make that opportunity real rather than imagined.

CAFÉ wishes to point out that the majority of art festivals already allow two-dimensional reproductions under a patchwork quilt of often contradictory and needlessly arbitrary rules.  The CAFÉ endorsed rule seeks only to establish a uniform and equitable rule for the display and sale of reproductions by eliminating arbitrary restrictions and providing for proper labeling and disclosure.  The CAFÉ endorsed rule is not a radical departure from the spirit of most existing rules:  it seeks only to strike a balance between the desire of artists and festival management to expose the public to true one-of-a-kind original art while at the same time acknowledging the economic and competitive realities of the contemporary art festival environment.
 
To further its mission, CAFÉ will provide festival committees with information and educational materials about the pros and cons of various rules used by festivals to govern the display and sale of reproductions.   Wherever possible CAFÉ will consult with festivals that currently allow two-dimensional reproductions to ensure that rules are consistent, fair and equitable . 

The CAFÉ web site will serve as a meeting ground where educational materials can be accessed by artists, the public and art festival committees.  Wherever possible, CAFÉ representatives will seek face-to-face meetings with festival committees to discuss the festival's concerns and CAFÉ's position relative to this important issue and to work cooperatively toward mutually agreeable and fair treatment of reproductions of paintings and other two-dimensional one-of-a-kind original artworks.

CAFÉ believes that any rule for two-dimensional reproductions that is not applied equally to all other two-dimensional mediums is inherently discriminatory.  Therefore, CAFÉ opposes arbitrary limitations on edition size, number or size of browse bins, restrictions on display of framed reproductions, "print" tents, and rules which seek to limit the number of reproductions displayed on the basis of vague percentages.

CAFÉ proposes the following rule for two-dimensional reproductions which, although still discriminatory, seeks to balance the concerns of festivals with fair and equitable treatment of painters and other creators of two-dimensional one-of-a-kind originals.  The recommended rule reads as follows: