RAW Showcase 2015 Thoughts
This post is just me sharing my thoughts on what I thought the Holiday RAWk 2015 was like for me. Hope this helps people out!
The showcase itself was really fun! I'd highly suggest you to bring an energetic artsy friend with you to help you out, so that you're not alone. The vibes that people had at the showcase I was at, was just really people who want to share their art and coming together to do so. I was told that the shows are filled with artists that are hand selected, so I feel people who handling and producing the show already have an idea and flow in their mind. People are incredibly talented and creative and you get to meet a group of a-bit-shy-at-first creatives, but it's fairly easy to get to know them. The RAW employees are very helpful and responsive, and even give a feeling of wanting to help you out because it's their show as well! I was definitely able to tell that the art producer was working his hardest to help out the artists as much as he could. Every time we meet up in person, he always seemed extremely tired on the outside, but then he'd immediately still help everyone. You do need to reach out to the employee/Art Producer though if you need help with something, or if you have a question. (kind of like being in college and you need to be the one to reach out to the professor, not really the other way around) Onto the part however that I think could have been a definite negative aspect of the show. The booth costs $300, and since the show ranges from 4-6 hours, it's definitely something that could pose as a difficulty to people to pay out. However, RAW started a program where if the artist sold 20 tickets, then the booth would be for free. If you didn't sell 20, then you would only pay for the difference of tickets left. This is the part where I think that being in the shows wouldn't necessarily fit every creative. They do however say that if you sell out your booth (ticket-wise), then you'd get a free show that is out-of-state within the next year. If you sell over 20 tickets, then you can even make money. I've heard from some people that it felt very pyramid-schemey, but I honestly think that for any show people would have to "bring" people in some way anyway. Also, you don't feel any pressure from anyone to join RAW as an occupation. The only thing that would be a concern is if this kind of set up is something that would fit you as a creative.
Hope this helps someone out! :) Happy new year!
