The numbers are in for the 2012 Meander Art Crawl, and despite less-than-perfect weather, it turned out to be another successful weekend! With forty-two of the forty-five artists reporting, the total art sales reported so far is $94,076, an increase of 9% from 2011!
Each year during the Meander Art Crawl, artists and customers are asked to fill out surveys. The reason we do this is to gather information about who is visiting our area during the Meander weekend, what they are spending their money on, the quality of their experience, and how the Meander benefits the artists involved. These surveys are a valuable tool for planning. The results shown below are tabulated from the 2012 artist and customer surveys that have been turned in.
- $85,357 total reported Meander art sales to customers during the Meander weekend. An increase of 23% from 2011! (42/45 surveys reported)
- $2,240 Average reported art sales per artist (Increase of 5% from 2011)
- 91% Money raised to organize the Meander through sponsors and artists was spent on products or services (printing, paper, advertising, graphic design, staffing) in the five county area
- 70 to 1,100 Reported total number of customers at individual studios for the entire weekend
- 12 studios Average number of studios customers visited
- 2 people per travel party (on average)
- 71% of customers said the quality of the art was excellent
- 78% of customers said their overall experience was excellent
- 53% did NOT attend last year
- 81% plan to attend again next year
- 14% maybe plan to attend next year
- 44% came from within 5-county area
- 20% came from greater Minnesota (outside 5-county area)
- 23% came from the metro area
- 13% came from out of state
Average Expenditures per Customer (387 reporting in 2012 vs. 273 reporting in 2011)
- $98 on Meander Art ($103 in 2011)
- $41 on Food/Gas ($36 in 2011)
- $14 on Shopping – other than art ($15 in 2011)
- $12 on Lodging ($8 in 2011)
You can also download a 1-sheet PDF containing this info right here.
For more information on the Meander, see the Meander page here on our website, visit the Meander website or Facebook page, or call Kristi Fernholz, Meander coordinator, at 320-289-1981 ext. 6 or kristi.fernholz@umvrdc.org.
