The Hotel Fair will take place on Sunday morning, June 5. An in-house event, it's an opportunity for every conferee to show their work to their colleagues (and, as always, there is no fee for this). Just open your hotel room at the times noted below. Some artists create entire installations. Others approach the event more casually, placing work on their beds or on the furniture. If you don't have a room at the Inn, not to worry; you can set up in the lobby.
Schematic layout for the Hotel Fair. Green goes first, then yellow
Timetable
. 9:30 to 11:00: Rooms in the motel section--Harborview, Cape Tip and Breakwater and the lobby
. 11:00 to 12:30: Rooms in the two-story Inn section--Waterview Inn and Standard inn plus Waterview and Standard
The Motel Section (green in the schematic above) is divided into three sections, each with a different name:
. Harborside rooms begin after the Main Lobby area: 120 to 134
The Inn Section (yellow in the schematic above) is the two-story area where much of the Conference takes place
. 1st floor Waterview Inn: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14
. 1st floor Standard Inn (across the hall, no water view): 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 15
. 2nd floor Waterview Inn: 16, 22, 24, 2, 28, 30, 32
The longer section on the second floor is, somewhat confusingly, also called "Waterview" and "Standard" but there's no "Inn" in the name
2nd floor Waterview: 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52 , 54, 56, 58, 60, 62
2nd floor Waterview: 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52 , 54, 56, 58, 60, 62
Looking into Lisa Pressman's room at the Conference 7
Hotel Fair
Some views of earlier Hotel Fairs The History of the Encaustic Conference blog has a lot of good pictures. Once you're on the blog, scroll about one quarter of the way down the page (it's a long page) to find the Hotel Fair section. The post following this one, Tips for Setting Up For Your Hotel Fair, shows you how other conferees set up at Conference 7.
Can you sell out of your room?
Yes. Some conferees use electronic card readers to accept credit cards (though Wifi can be weak in the Cape Tip and Waterview Rooms). Others take checks, cash, or IOUs. And still others are open to trading. There are no rules, except that the business is between you and the person interested in your work. Neither The Encaustic Conference nor the Provincetown Inn assumes any responsibility for your transactions.
Is the Hotel Fair open to the general public?
For security and liability reasons, the Hotel Fair is not open to the public. However we do invite all the gallery owners in town. We also invite a number of local and regional critics, curators, writers and publishers to attend the Conference specifically so that they may see what's going on in contemporary encaustic. We encourage them to attend the Hotel Fair, and many do.
Is there anything you can't do?
You cannot make holes in the wall with pins or nails. If you do and the Inn sees them, you will be charged a refinishing fee. However, there are temporary-tape picture hangers, and artists with light-in-weight work may use those. Others simply prop work on the furniture or the bed. Conferees have also used the bathroom to create displays and propped paintings on the outdoor areas of their rooms. Be inventive while being respectful of the limitations.
"What if I have registered only for Friday and Saturday night. I'm supposed to vacate my room by 11:00 am on Sunday. Can I participate?"
Yes! However, be prepared to vacate your room as soon as the Hotel Fair is over. You can leave your suitcases and/or wrapped art with the manager once you have checked out, but know that neither the Inn nor the Conference will assume responsibility for your belongings.
"What if I'm not staying at the Inn. Can I participate?"
Yes! The lobby is available for you to set up. Participants typically place work on the furniture in the lobby. Others have brought their own card table and chairs to set up. Again, be inventive without banging into the walls. And please be conscious of the amount of space you take, which you can gauge as others are setting up. A few installations from Conference 8 below:
Jeff Schaller brought paintings, prints and even printed T-shirts
Laura Moriarty showed and sold out of a suitcase. Wayne Montecalvo, standing at left . . .
. . . used the empty drawers of a lobby table to show his work
"What time can I start setting up in the lobby?"
Between 8:30 and 9:30. Please be set up by 9:30 when conferees will start to come through.
"Can I ship artwork to the Inn?"
If you are staying elsewhere, no. If you are a registered guest at the Inn, yes. The Eric, the event manager, will accept packages addressed to you. Add this at the bottom of your label: ATT: ERIC, ENC. CONF. Please know, however, that neither the Provincetown Inn nor the Encaustic Conference will assume responsibility for them. Some additional things to bear in mind if you ship your work:
. Provincetown is at the very tip of the Cape, so UPS and Fed Ex typically arrive late in the day
"How do I ship it back?"
. If you send packages to yourself, be prepared to send them back. That means contacting your carrier ahead of time to ascertain what you'll need to provide in the way of labels
. You will be responsible for storing the shipping boxes
. Make sure your carrier will pick up the packages for return delivery. If not, you will need to drop the packages off. Make sure you know where the drop locations are and when they are open
.Here's the link for the FedEx drop-off location in town
How to let conferees know where to find you
So that conferees know what room you're in, I will post outside the Mayflower Room a large sheet of paper with all the rooms numbers. If you're participating in the Hotel Fair, write your name next to your room number so that people can find you easily. Also, use the Comments section below to note your name if you'll be participating. Feel free to include a website URL, too.
Look for a sign like this outside the Mayflower Room
