Spring Art Swap- Announcement & Call for Artists
We're hosting a Spring Art Swap Meet, as a community building event as well as a way to raise some operating expenses. I am SO EXCITED about this event, and the potential to be able to take home a piece of artwork from one of our talented local artists here in Portland- and/or to be able to offer quality art and craft supplies to our creative community! Open to all, regardless of your situation or income level!
Here's the current planned schedule:
Dropoff of items:
-Pre-Swap- We will be able to accept drop off of items for swapping or raffling up until Saturday, May 6th. PLEASE EMAIL US to set up a time to come to NXT Industries on 1302 SE MLK to drop off. Be mindful of the fact that we are a busy staff of three, so our availability for drop offs may be limited.
-The Day Of, you may bring a bag or three of items the day of the event during event hours for free entry.
We CANNOT accept items between Saturday evening and Sunday evening, as we'll be busy sorting items & setting up.
Event Date: Sunday, May 7th, 2017
(PLEASE NOTE THIS NEW DATE & TIME!)
Event time: 1-6pm
Location: NXT Industries, 1302 SE Martin Luther King, jr. Blvd, Portland, OR 97214
Cost: FREE to attend for those donating items. $5 to "fill a bag" for those who would like to come to the Swap without donating items.
What we're seeking:
-Finished art or craft pieces that you no longer want/need- they can be your own pieces (such as unsold canvases, art greeting cards, etc.) or items from your collection. Any items considered, but PLEASE, no items larger or heavier than one average person could move by themselves or take home with their car.
-Art and craft supplies (overstock, unused items, "gently used" items, extras, etc.)
-Items, goods or services valued between $10-$50 to be put in our raffle drawing.
Guidelines:
-This is a "swap meet" that's similar in format to swaps for other kinds of items (such as clothing or bicycles, etc.) When you arrive, we will check you and your items in, and direct you to put them out on the appropriately marked table. Swap attendees are free to choose whatever they like from the art and tools/materials/supplies tables, in exchange for what they're donating.
-We aren't your mom, but just in case it needs to be said: Please swap responsibly, and only take what you truly need & will use! Leave enough goodies for others to have a fair chance at swapping, too. Items left with us will be going to other area nonprofits, so all the items will find a home.
-All items offered should be in usable condition. We will reserve the right to refuse items that don't meet our criteria for Swap-ability (broken, excessively dirty/dusty, leaky, mostly dried up or used up, highly toxic chemicals, household items not related to art or craft purposes, items that should better go in the recycling bin, etc.)
-This is truly a "you give what you get" style event- If you want to have the opportunity to obtain good quality artwork and art/craft supplies from others, then think about which items of yours would be "worth" the ones you'd like to swap for. Bring us your extras, but also think about bringing us a few of your best! And please feel encouraged to PARTICIPATE and have fun with this opportunity!
-If you have a REALLY large collection of the same art/craft supply items (over 1,000 of something bulky, for example) that you need to get rid of all at once, please consider whether it would make a better donation to someplace like SCRAP PDX or I've Been Framed.
-LABEL YOUR ARTWORK! Don't forget that this is an opportunity to show your work off to others! Even if someone doesn't take home one of your items, they might still want to take note of your information for later. You never know what might happen!
-PLEASE SPECIFY RAFFLE ITEMS so that we know to put them in the raffle and not the swap. We will run the raffle one or more times during the event and all items will be raffled off. ** If you have a service or offering that isn't a physical item (such as art photography, for ex.), bring us a coupon or some other tangible item that winners can redeem with you later. Make sure it has your contact info on it!**
-BRING YOUR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS! If you have flyers for other events, business cards, free stickers, etc. you can drop them off with us to set out on a table during the event!
-RETURN OF UNSWAPPED ITEMS: If you have unswapped items left over at the end of the event, you are free to take them back with you. Any unswapped items left with us will be donated to another nonprofit of our choice. We do NOT have room to store left over swap items!
Also please consider taking any leftover business cards/flyers etc. back at the end of the event- we will try to set out promo items for artists at future get-togethers, but as we don't have storage space, we can't make 100% guarantees here.
Volunteering:
We LOVE our volunteers! Visit the Contact Us page to get in touch if you'd like to help staff the event (setup/cleanup/front desk/runner etc.), distribute flyers, help with collection and sorting of donated items, etc.
We are ALWAYS excited when people help spread the word about our events and activities- word of mouth, social media, etc. Find us on Facebook or Meetup.com to help share online!
