The Art Fair Survival Guide, Part 1: Pricing, KPIs, and Taking the Leap with Alex Mitow
If you have been thinking about applying to an art fair, this episode is for you. Alex Mitow, co-founder of Superfair, joins us again on the Create! Podcast to go back to basics. Superfair has welcomed more than 5,000 artists across 40+ fairs over the past eleven years, so Alex has seen what helps artists thrive in person.
In Part 1, we talk about how to choose your first fair, when you are ready to take the leap, how to price your booth, and why every artist can benefit from a simple business tool called KPIs.
How to Choose Your First Art Fair
According to Alex, the number one question artists ask is which fair to choose. His answer is refreshingly simple. Start where it feels easiest.
Many artists try to match their work to a city's taste, assuming abstract work sells in one place and landscapes in another. After running fairs in more than ten cities, Alex has found that this rarely holds true. Collectors for every kind of work exist everywhere.
Instead, he suggests choosing the fair that is closest to home, or the one where you have the most support. Do you have a friend's couch to sleep on? A few people in that city you can invite? Those warm connections make a big difference.
A hometown fair also introduces you to a new audience. As Alex puts it, you have not met every potential collector in your city yet. A fair brings in people you would never reach on your own, and when they live nearby, you can keep building those relationships through studio visits, open studios, and future shows.
Kat shared that she slept on a friend's couch during her first art fair. It saved her thousands of dollars, and her hosts brought friends to support her, which created a feeling of safety that carried her through the weekend.
When Are You Ready?
Alex's answer: now. If you are making work, curious about selling it, and researching fairs, that is your sign.
He calls inertia the highest cost in anyone's life. When you commit to a fair six months out, you start creating with purpose. You plan a collection, tell friends and family, and build energy around a milestone in your career.
Many of the artists Alex speaks with sell fewer than ten original works a year. At a single fair weekend, that number is very achievable. Do a few fairs a year and you begin to build a real collector list, which becomes the foundation of a sustainable career.
And if a fair is slower than you hoped, you still leave with a fresh, finished collection, professional photos, and new contacts. Your paintings keep their value. You can continue to share and sell that body of work for months to come.
What Are KPIs and Why Should Artists Use Them?
KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator. It is a business term, and Alex believes artists deserve to use it too.
A revenue goal like "I want to make $10,000 this weekend" is abstract, and it is hard to act on. A KPI is something tangible that you can control. For example:
Have 15 conversations each day that last longer than two minutes
Collect 20 email addresses a day (Alex estimates that about one in four people you ask will share theirs, so that means asking around 80 people)
At the end of a three-day fair, that could mean 60 new email subscribers and dozens of meaningful conversations. You can count those actions as you go and feel proud of showing up.
KPIs also help you learn. If you had great conversations but people hesitated at the price, you know to look at pricing. If they loved the price but not the work on the wall, you might look at framing or curation. Each fair gives you useful information for the next one.
For artists who feel uneasy around sales numbers, this approach puts the focus back on the actions within your power. The sales follow from there.
How to Price Your Work for an Art Fair
Pricing is the second most common question Alex hears, and he started by clearing up two myths.
Your prices can change over time. Collectors are not tracking your prices as closely as you might think. If the economy shifts and sales slow, you can adjust thoughtfully. Just keep your prices consistent during a single fair.
Show your prices. Alex strongly recommends clear pricing in public settings. Most people feel uncomfortable asking what something costs, and hidden prices can quietly push buyers away. Offer the same price to everyone.
Alex's Booth Pricing Formula
Alex recommends a strategic spread of small, medium, and large original works:
25% under $1,000. Accessible, high quality work that new collectors can take home right away. These could be small studies, watercolors, or a playful series you love creating.
50% between $1,000 and $4,000. Medium sized work, such as 18 x 18 or 24 x 24 inches. Alex says this is where most sales happen at Superfair.
25% above $4,000. One to three large showstoppers that stop people in their tracks. At Superfair, prices cap at $10,000.
This mix responds to natural buyer behavior. Some visitors come looking for a large painting for a specific wall. Others want something small to start their collection. A large work also acts as an anchor, helping visitors understand the value of everything else in your booth.
If you work small, you can still create a spread within your own practice. If your small works take many hours, share your process through wall text or a video so people understand the time and care involved. Kat mentioned artist Dina Brodsky as a beautiful example.
Entry Points Into Your Universe
One of our favorite ideas from this conversation is thinking of your work as an invitation into your world. Alex compared it to a concert. There are nosebleed seats, general admission, floor seats, and VIP passes. The performance is the same for everyone, and each person joins at the level that fits their life right now.
Alex shared that he once bought a pencil study for $150 at an art fair. Years later, he owns several studies by that same artist, a $4,000 oil painting, and an $8,000 oil painting. It all began with one accessible work.
Kat's early collectors started the same way, with small works she offered in her twenties. Today, she still creates studies for art advisors whose clients love her work at a more accessible scale.
Every person who buys your work becomes a collector. Keep building new collectors each year, and you create a career that lasts.
Coming Up in Part 2
Alex returns to talk about curating your booth, starting meaningful conversations with visitors, and more insider tips for art fair success. Subscribe to the Create! Podcast so you catch it.
Exhibit With Superfair and Save $250
Superfair is expanding to cities with passionate art lovers and fewer opportunities for independent artists, including Philadelphia at the 23rd Street Armory in Rittenhouse Square and Boston at the BCA Cyclorama in the South End. They also offer multi-fair bundles that can save you up to $2,000 when you plan your year in advance.
Create! listeners receive $250 off their booth. Write "Create! Magazine" on the survey where it asks how you heard about Superfair, and mention it again on your discovery call.
Book your 15-minute discovery call with Superfair
Keep Learning With Us on Substack
Pricing inspired one of our most popular Substack posts, and we continue the conversation there with more resources for your art career.