Connecting with Collectors
The first-ever virtual Cherokee Art Market saw a number of strong sales and participation from collectors around the country.
TULSA, OK
Cherokee Art Market pivoted in 2020 to host its milestone 15th event in a virtual format as a way to keep artists and patrons safe during the ongoing pandemic. The online platform, through the CAM website, gave collectors a place to browse and view all of the work in one spot as well as provided contact details for each artist so collectors could inquire and purchase work.
There was strong interest for the event from buyers all around the United States, as they reached out to artists to purchase a number of works throughout the show’s run from December 7 through 21. “Overall, I am very pleased with how it went. I’ve had a lot of artists call to tell me thank you and say how well they’ve done,” says Deborah Fitts, coordinator of the show. “We expanded to a larger audience…i’ve asked some of the artists who sold pieces where the buyers were from and it showed there were people from all over the country buying.”
Each artist participating was able to display 10 available pieces at a time, and as the works sold, new inventory could be added. “The artists would email me and tell me works sold, and it would be replaced with another piece,” Fitts elaborates. Several artists had sold out shows, which was exciting for the first virtual event. Renee Hoover, who received Best of Class – Basketry for her work Tell Me Turtle Stories, reported a number of sales including her award-winning piece, while Summer Peters’ beaded ballet slippers sold on