The 16th annual Northeast Iowa Artists’ Studio Tour (NIAST Inc.) applications to exhibit are now available to area artists. Print an application or more information, email Darla or Glen Ellickson or call 563-382-2295. The 2013 Tour takes place October 11, 12 & 13. Studios are open 10 to 5 daily.
Media considered is limited to Fine Art and Fine Craft. Items include: Painting, sculpture, jewelry, photography, clay/ceramics, wood, glass, metal, printmaking, mixed media, handmade paper, fiber, etc. as appropriate at Fine Art Fairs. All works must be original in concept and design and must have been executed by the applicant: works from molds or kits, commercial or manufactured items, and buy/sell are not permitted. Tour exhibitors qualify as “fine artists,” meaning, “They possess the skill to expand and adapt even a high-end craft with individual vision.” Artist’s applications for tour entry are juried, and participants are selected for their work’s technique, quality, and vision and studios must reside within 40 miles of Decorah, in Iowa. Postmark deadline for submitting an application is February 28, 2013.
The self-guided Tour is specially timed to enjoy the fall color and travels along winding gravel roads, for a behind-the-scenes view into the Artists’ personal workspace.
Many attendees traveled from as far as Chicago in one direction to Omaha the other. The 2012 Tour featured 53 artists at 43 locations. Estimated 2000 visitors annually from as many as 15 states and 2 countries have been reported as attending from past Tours. According to the Travel Association of America, Cultural travelers spend more per trip than the average U.S. traveler. The Studio Tour brings economic benefit to the entire northeast Iowa area.
Participating in this event features inclusion of color photos of your artwork and contact information in top quality full-color posters and 20-30,000 brochures, complete with detailed map with GPS to studio locations. These brochures are distributed in many ways, including: being personally handed-out by the touring Artists throughout the country; through a bulk-mailing of nearly 9000 brochures to the pre-qualified mailing lists of the Artists; to special requests to area Tourism venues; and from the tour drawing cards requesting information.
Past NIAST press has included: 2000 September Minnesota Monthly, national exposure in 2000 November American Artist, 2001 Luther Alumni Magazine and 2002/03 Home and Away magazine. 2003 Tour news was included in: The Iowan, Tapestry, several area newspapers, the Des Moines Register, and the Boston Herald. Winneshiek County Tourism Convention and Visitors Bureau (WCCVB) recognized the Studio Tour for “Leadership in Promoting Regional Tourism” in January of 2005. 2007-2012 featured extensive radio advertising on KDEC radio and IA Public Radio.
The event is free-to-the-public and self-supporting, funded by artist entry fees, donations, and sponsors. 2012 sponsorship included Major Sponsor: KDEC FM/AM radio. Sponsors included: Darla & Glen Ellickson – Jewelry, Dave & Brenda Carlson, Trevor Huinker Solutions, D.Art.Co (DRAC), Decorah Bank and Trust Company, Bank of the West of Decorah, Viking State Bank and Trust, Waukon State Bank, Kerndt Brothers Savings Bank, New Albin Savings Bank and KZCQ FM 102.5 SuperC Radio. Friends of the Arts were Mary Ann Gloe – Paintings, Douglas Cole Pottery, In-kind sponsors were: Winneshiek County Convention and Visitors Bureau (WCCVB), Julie Strom Photography (brochure design and photography), and Iroc Web Design Services, plus ad support from area hotels and restaurants.
If you are interested in supporting area Tourism and the Arts by becoming a sponsor or advertiser, or a “friend of the Arts”, contact Glen Ellickson 563-382-2295.
2013 brochures will be available around May. To obtain a brochure with the Tour map or for other area Tourism information, call Winneshiek County Convention and Visitors Bureau at: 563-382-2023 or 1-800-463-4692 or email. For more complete information about the artists and ongoing events, view the official Tour web-site: www.iowaarttour.com.