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| CAFÉ’s increasing prominence has led to several speaking
engagements before director’s conferences in Florida as well: The first of these was the Florida Director’s Roundtable held in New Smyrna Beach, Florida in October of 2002. This conference was attended by representatives from Deland Fall Festival, Delray Affair, Gainesville Downtown Festival and Art Show, IMAGES (New Smyrna), Leesburg Art Festival, St. Stephens Arts and Crafts Show, Under the Oaks (Vero Beach), and the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival. In all, over 30 Florida festival directors were invited and those who were unable to attend were provided with a synopsis of the meeting including our presentation. Patrick Seslar who made the presentation for CAFÉ provided all attendees with copies of the CAFÉ Mission Statement and our member list. We have since received very positive feedback from a number of those festivals. This year, (2003) CAFÉ was invited to make a presentation at the annual Florida Festivals and Events Association (FFEA) conference in Delray Beach, Florida, in July. Although this is a busy show season, we realized that we must take advantage of these opportunities. Therefore, following the Madison "On the Square" show, Bruce Peeso flew out of Milwaukee for the Wednesday presentation. Over twenty-five directors were present and his presentation was well received. Following this, Bruce fielded questions from the group, with serious discussion with all present. Bruce's packet provided each director with the CAFE member list, Mission Statement, and a list of the festivals that have changed the rules for reproductions as a result of our contact with them. The discussion was moderated by Brandy Upright, Chairman of Artigras, in West Palm Beach. To date, CAFÉ has mailed materials to over 125 festivals whose rules fall short of the fair and reasonable policies that CAFÉ advocates for 2D reproductions. We have received favorable responses from many of the festivals we have contacted and have had many worthwhile discussions by telephone and in person with festival directors from across the country on the issue of how to fairly handle 2D reproductions. As more festivals have begun to adopt the CAFÉ model rule for reproductions as a result of our direct contacts and efforts, other festivals have begun to follow their example and, every day, we are hearing of more festivals who have adopted the CAFÉ rule based on the example set by other prominent festivals in their areas. The Columbus Arts Festival is an excellent example. After we met with Festival Director Brian Gartland and then Festival Coordinator – now Director Katie Lucas, they adopted the CAFÉ rule commencing with their 2003 festival. Our meeting was cordial and open-minded and we all left with new insights. We believe that the following statement from the Columbus Arts Festival prospectus in many ways sums up what CAFÉ is all about. It reads: "The Columbus Arts Festival has adopted the following reproduction policy. Because it is part of our mission to foster appreciation for the value and importance of art in our lives among all people, including those who cannot afford original work, we believe it is important to offer the public the opportunity to buy reproductions, hoping that as their incomes grow, they will turn to original work. This transition is possible only if customers understand exactly what they are buying and the process behind it." Another excellent example is the Mount Dora Arts Festival who, after consulting with CAFÉ representatives, literally pulled their prospectus off the web and back from the printers to incorporate the CAFÉ model rule for reproductions beginning with their 2002 festival. In addition to Columbus and Mount Dora, the following festivals have incorporated the CAFÉ model rule into their prospectuses as a result of direct discussions and contacts with CAFÉ representatives: Bellevue Art Museum Fair, WA Buffalo Grove Invitational Fine Art Festival, IL Cantigny Sculpture and Fine Art Festival, IL Centerfest, NC CraftFair at Hathaway-Brown, OH Fountain Square Art Festival, IL Goldcoast Art Fair, IL Great Gulfcoast Art Festival, Pensacola Lincolnshire Square Art Festival, IL Sun Trust Central Park Art Festival, FL South Miami Art Festival, FL Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival, OH West End Art Festival, IL Winterfair-Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH; Indianapolis, IN Many discussions with other festival directors are on-going and we expect to be adding a number of new festival in the near future to list of shows that have adopted the CAFÉ model rule for reproductions. |
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