In an SCA context, what do you think should be included in an Arts display? What makes for a good display?
Okay. As always, I have opinions.
I believe the SCA Arts display falls somewhere between a Science Fair project (lifecycle of a frog) and an elevator pitch** about your work.
**What is an elevator pitch? You step onto an elevator and someone says “Hey, you look familiar, what are you working on?” and you have the 2 minutes between the first floor and the 15th floor to give them an idea of what you do.. convince them that it’s cool and sexy and give them enough of a draw that they want to find out more. Bonus points if you have a card or pamphlet with your contact info and a link to more information.
Ideas for display:
- a display to show the steps use to create an item to show that you have a deep understanding of the process and to share that process with others
- a display to show the materials used in your process and information about how the different materials effect your final project
- a collection of items you’ve made to show progression over time
- a collections of items you’ve made to show artistic breadth (keep in mind this starts to look like a garage sale before too long.. so use this style with care as I’ve found it hard to have an aesthetically pleasing “all the things I’ve made” display)
Remember that you’ll probably only have about a 3’x3′ area. From experience if you’re displaying items of clothing you can only realistically display one or possibly two. Consider a dress dummy or pictures of items instead of the actual items.
Lay your display out on a table at home and look at it before you get to the event. Do you want a table cloth? Do you want boxes to give different levels to your display?
I recommend you have at the very least a card with your name and contact info on it so that interested folks can take your information and contact you later with questions or feedback. Even better than a card would be a short tri-fold pamphlet that includes your contact information and some reminder information about the contents of your display.
I hope this has helped, please let me know if you have any feedback.
* The feature image on this post is a picture from the Artisan Display at October Crown 2012 when I was a Royal Artisan for Their Majesties Roger and Zenobia. The photo was taken by Jocelyn Rowenwood.
