Mostra Internazionale dell’Artigianato
Florence, Italy
Dates: 23rd April – 1st May 2022
Ann McBride
Ireland
Mostra Internazionale dell’Artigianato – Report by Ann McBride
Mostra Internazionale dell’Artigianato – Report by Tsiala Gigauri
November 25, 2022
Mostra Internazionale dell’Artigianato – Report by María del Carmen Diego Lafuente
November 25, 2022AN EXTRACT FROM THE CASE STUDY FOR CRAFTING EUROPE
The massive space of 100k sq. metres in the Fortezza da Basso was packed with international exhibitors. It is truly an international event with traders from all over the world. Jewellery, luggage, prints and art materials, beauty products, wood and inlay techniques, ceramics, leather shoes and bags, fashion, baby clothes, silks, baskets and weaving, rugs, lighting, artisan food products, bakeries and even wedding dresses!
I would need to think hard about exhibiting here. My first takeaway from it – the scale of work displayed on each stand was immense. If I was to exhibit I would need at least 6 to 12 months work to justify the trip. From the few traders I spoke with, the fair has been enormously successful for them but I am not sure if it is the right fit for me. My work is primarily gallery based and I would like to keep that element of exclusivity to it. But as a business model, I need to have a diffusion line at a more affordable price range, in order to keep sales coming in. I am currently working on this. I would definitely attend this fair again, if only as a visitor. It is big and very broad in its mix of exhibitors. And of course the location, Florence, is absolutely wonderful with an incredible history in the arts. There is something for everyone. I still feel that my work would be a good fit for an Italian fair, but perhaps a dedicated ceramics fair or design fair would be more suitable for me.
There is so much involved in the preparation, making, firing and paperwork involved. The price point for work in Europe seems to be slightly lower than here in Ireland so that would need to be taken into account. I envied people that I spoke to at the fair as they had driven from Austria, Spain, Germany etc. It seems so doable living in mainland Europe. I would advise anyone who might be considering doing MIDA (or any other fair) to check online and have a look at the exhibitor list, available on the previous year’s list too. It will give a very good indicator if your work is a good fit for the event. Also really investigate every aspect of the trip especially the costs involved.
I would bring a laptop with a video of my work practice, running on a loop with subtitles in Italian. I received so many technical questions on my work process, the language barrier was difficult to overcome when trying to explain. I would also bring examples of my original illustrations and samples of the decal transfers to show the application process.
