Artists' Alley FAQ
This is information on the Alley registration process, the at-door check-in process, schedules, clarification about table setups, badges and the various numbers you will be assigned.
SPACE REGISTRATION:
Spaces for Artists' Alley are available on a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED basis.Where is Registration?
Registration is an ONLINE PROCESS ONLY. You come to the website, fill out a LETTER OF INTENT, and follow the instructions from there.
When is Registration?
Registration has ended.
I can't find the form to register, how do I get in?
Don't panic. Check for a date. Check for instructions. If you don't see a date, or the date is listed but hasn't arrived yet, then you're just here a little too early. Come back at the announced time.
If the date has passed, then check for these announcements on our Artists Alley Welcome Page - "the Artists' Alley is full" or "registration is closed". That means you did miss the registration but you still have hope because of space that might be freed up later in case of a cancellation.
How does the online table registration work?
Visit the Artists' Alley page on the Anime Boston website, click on the 'letter of intent' link and fill it out. Once the letters of intent have been received and processed, approved requests will receive additional instructions. Make sure to fill out ALL the available fields as this is integrated into the Anime Boston Registration system and will have items for both the Alley registration and your entire convention registration.
INFORMATION NEEDED:
- Real Name*
- Badge name (this is what you want on the Artists' Alley badge, not what you got on your convention badge)
- Studio/Group Name (if any)
- # of additional artists or assistants (if any - also, do not count yourself)
- Real names of additional artists/assistants
- Badge names of additional artists/assistants
(Please place badge names in parenthesis and separate each person with a comma. EXAMPLE: John Doe (Jack), Jane Doe (Jill)) - Complete mailing Address
- Phone Number
- Website URL (if any)
- Permission to post name and website (more on this later)
- Special Requests (do you need electricity, wall space, to sit next to someone or AWAY from someone....)
Please note that requests may not be honored, particularly if they are not possible. - Table Selection
Be certain that all Real names, Badge names and Studio/Group names are spelled correctly. We are not guessing, and we don't have time to confirm with every single artist. We will write on your badge and on the map listing exactly what you give us (group names are listed when given).
* REGARDING ALIASES - IMPORTANT NOTE
Artists who do NOT provide their real name when purchasing a table along with a convention badge will be forced to buy another badge on site.If you are worried about your real name being posted on the website or in the program guide, just tell us in the section of the form that allows comments that you would prefer your badge name to be posted instead.
We also have a 'submission/change/correction' period EVERY YEAR for the online map and artist listing. We make it public only to artists for a week to figure out any corrections/changes that need to be made. Then the Artists' Alley staff submits it to the Anime Boston webmaster to be put up for public consumption. This is a great reason to make sure you check your email regularly.
RESERVE LIST:
If you didn't get in, the Artists' Alley staff will place you on the reserve list, though everyone stands a very good chance of not having to worry about that this year.
Make sure to give a valid email address that you check regularly. There may be many people waiting to get in, so we have a two day time limit for you to respond. If we go through the entire list and still have room, we will give you another chance.
Please do not email us a dozen times in the space of (for example) two weeks asking if you can get in. We have to wait on other people before we know if we can or not. We will tell you that you've been on the waiting list, and as soon as something opens, we will email you. We reserve the right to reject any applications at any time for any reason.
We require that any artist who puts themselves on the reserve list (or starts a registration but never finishes it) answer any emails sent to them by the Artists' Alley staff. Again, we reserve the right to reject any applications at any time for any reason.
If you have changed your mind about needing a table, please don't assume we can read your mind. Instead of wasting time waiting for your answer before moving on to the next person on the list, you can make the whole process faster by answering your emails or just letting us know.
Why are we asking for this courtesy? It helps us help everyone. In the past, people were understandably worried about not getting tables. So two different situations developed:
- Situation 1: Artist A would list Artist B at their table just in case Artist B didn't get one of their own. But Artist B did get in and took a long time to finish their registration. But because of Situation 1, we couldn't separate out the artists who were in:
- Situation 2: Artists who were planning to be at the same table anyway and both of them signed up just to make sure they got one table. The second sign up would then just sit there, unneeded.
But we couldn't tell and nobody answered their emails. So please be considerate to the AA staff and help us make things move along faster! Once again, we reserve the right to reject any applications at any time for any reason - don't make us need to use this right preemptively!
Unreserved spaces: If any spaces are unreserved by the start of the convention, at-door registration will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Pricing for any spaces available at the start of the convention will be the same as advance registration. Cash or money orders will be the only form of payment accepted at the door.
SCHEDULES:
Hours of Operation (when convention-goers can get in)
- Friday 10AM to 11PM
- Saturday 10AM to 11PM
- Sunday 8AM to 4PM
Early Set up Times (Artists, assistants, and Anime Boston staff only)
- Thursday 8PM to 10 PM
- Friday 8AM to 10AM
- Saturday 8AM to 10AM
- Sunday 8AM to 9AM
Take Down times: (Artists, assistants, and Anime Boston staff only)
- Friday 11PM to 12AM (midnight)
- Saturday 11PM to 12AM (midnight)
- Sunday 4PM to 5PM
Closing Hours: Artists' Alley staff will start turning away convention-goers at the entrance 15 minutes before the closing time. At the closing time, we will start emptying the room of the rest of the convention-goers. Again, you must be able to pack up whatever you are not leaving before the hours listed above. You will NOT sit at your table and continue to do portraits or other commissions. You can always work on them elsewhere (I'm not being mean, I've done it myself.)
Whether you're cleaning up all of your setup or only part of it, you must be out when we say. We cannot leave till you do. The Hynes cannot lock the room up until we leave. If the room isn't locked, the items other artists have left behind won't be secure. And if we are to get there early in the morning before the convention center staff opens the doors to the public, we need to be able to get SOME sleep.
No artist is permitted to be in the room after midnight. There are no exceptions.
SPACES AND CHAIRS:
Location: Ballrooms B and C (shared with the Art Show). Being in a room allows us to lock up and so artists have the option now of leaving behind the bulkier parts of their setup each night. If, however, you can't guarantee that you'll be there upon the room's opening, I wouldn't suggest it. The Alley is really big nowadays and it's much harder to watch for shoplifters.
Setup: Tables will be split into 4 spaces. Each space will be 2 feet wide and automatically comes with 1 chair.
Maximum Limits:
- There is a max limit of 4 spaces purchased per artist/group.
- There is a max limit of 1 chair per space
- There is a max limit of 2 people per space.
Clarification: if you and another person share one (2 foot) space, you must understand that it is physically impossible for both of you to sit behind the table at your space at the same time. You're being allowed a second person so you have an assistant to help you out for those times you need to leave the table. We have had to crack down on this because of issues we had last year.
TABLE SIZES & PRICES:
Because of the growth of the alley, we'll be unable to continue plotting our map with only 8 foot tables. So we're going to have 8 foot tables in Ballroom B and 6 foot tables in Ballroom C.
Secondly, we're going to split the tables up a little differently, whether it's a 6 or 8 foot table. Instead, we're going to sell tables in 2 foot allotments with a MAXIMUM of 8 feet available to an artist. This means that 1 space is 2 feet. The maximum of spaces allowed will be 4 spaces (8 feet). This is in response to the fact that there are artists who are perfectly happy with only 2 feet, but have had to buy 4 feet in the past and then share it with people.
Prices are now based on this new system. $20 for every two feet of space you buy. Hence:
- 1 space (2 feet) will be $20
- 2 spaces (4 feet) will be $40
- 3 spaces (6 feet) will be $60
- 4 spaces (8 feet) will be $80
PAYMENT:
We accept three types of payment: PayPal, Check, or Money Order.
CASH OR MONEY ORDER ONLY if you're paying at the convention, but very few people find themselves in that situation.Mailed payments must be postmarked within 1 week of completing your online registration.
Please note that if the person who is paying for your space is not you (i.e. Mom, Dad, or a friend), then your name must be placed on the money order or check so that we know who it's covering. For those of you using PayPal, there is a notes section during transaction, please type your name there.
REFUNDS:
Effective March 1st, 2010, your Artists' Alley table payment will not be refundable. Please alert the Artists' Alley staff via e-mail through the contact form as soon as possible if you cannot attend. If you e-mail a cancellation notice before this date, you can still get a full refund.
We can only give you a refund of your Artists' Alley table registration. ALL CONVENTION registrations are non-refundable and non-transferable, regardless of where you got it.
BADGES:
There are two badges for artists and both are important!
Con Badges:This is your membership badge for the Anime Boston convention itself. This is required to attend the con, even as an artist.
Artist Badge:Received upon check-in at the Artists' Alley info desk, this is to keep people from 'squatting'.
This means that by having an Artists' Alley-specific badge, we can keep people who did NOT pay for a space from setting up shop at what they think is an empty table and thereby taking someone else's spot.
If you do not have an Artists' Alley badge and you are found sitting at an artist's table, you will be evicted. It's important that you get your badge on check-in.
When you sign up for the Alley, you'll be asked how many artists there will be and who they are. If you decide to add more after this (within the limits defined above), that's also perfectly fine but be sure to inform us as soon as possible so that your badges can be ready upon check-in.
You do not have to be an artist to get the badge. Assistants are welcome so that artists can have help and breaks. Just tell us so that they can get a badge too.
In addition to this important feature, there is also the fun feature that the badge becomes a nice little keepsake.
CHECK IN PROCEDURE:
Each artist from a group has to check in at our Artists' Alley Info Desk (found just inside the entrance of the Alley) to pick up their Artists' Alley badges individually.
You must present your convention badge so we can check who you are against who you're claiming to be. While we believe most of our Artists to be honest, it isn't the ones who are IN the alley that we're worried about. We're checking to make sure someone isn't trying to take your place by pretending to be you.
At least one artist from each group or space must check in for that group by 11 AM on Saturday. If nobody checks in, the table is forfeit with no refunds, and can be sold to someone else.
If you are at the table and you never checked in, and we sell the space, than you must leave. You did not follow procedure.
At check-in, you will show your convention badge to receive your Artist Alley badges and be pointed towards your table location. If you can remember your table number, it makes it easier to check you in.
Once checked in, you are checked in for the entire convention, regardless of how often you use your table.
ANIME BOSTON IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR STOLEN ITEMS.
Never leave your table unattended. If you must have a bathroom break, find someone to watch your table. If you plan on being away for two hours to get dinner, pack up your belongings and materials and bring them back to your room.
The only time you can leave your stuff behind is at lockup. Artists' Alley is in a lockable room, so we can secure the room at night. However, if you do not show up promptly at opening time, we will not be responsible for anything you left behind.
As stated above, Anime Boston is not responsible for lost or stolen items.LOCATIONS IN THE ALLEY
In the past, a map was put online and artists were able to (in a limited sense) choose their tables.
Space Choice: Artists' Alley has grown so big that space selection is no longer possible. The Alley staff will place artists at tables based on their requests' timestamps for a first come, first serve basis.
Special Requests: If you need to be placed with another artist, you and the other artist must take note of it and we'll do our best to place you together. When all artists have been placed, the map and artist location list will go online for review. We ask that all artists check the map to make sure they are listed the way they want, their names and such are spelled correctly and website links are working. We will give it one week for corrections before placing it online as is.
If you need electricity, you'll need to take note of that as well. It's limited availability, but we'll do our best to seat you near an outlet on a first come, first served basis.
Also, if you are an artist who has a very large setup, please note that as well. We'll try to put you on one of the wall tables to make things easier to manage.
The possibility of getting a wall table with electricity is even more limited than just a spot with access to electricity, but we'll do our best to make it work.Changes: It's perfectly fine to make switches or changes as needed, but there are guidelines:
If changes are needed, the Alley staff must be contacted by all parties involved in the change. If you are part of a group, we only need to hear from the head of the group and the artist or head artist of the other group if you and said artist/group have agreed to switch tables.
Changes will no longer be available after the program guide goes to print. The deadline for changes is January 25th. This is to try and keep our map as current as possible as we prepare for physical print outs of this map.
AVAILABILITY OF TABLE LISTINGS AND/OR MAP
The map will be posted in three places that are available to the public:
- Online, mainly for artist review
- Program guide (if possible)
- The map at the Artists' Alley info desk
If you do not want to be listed on this map, you can click "No" on appropriate option during online signup. However, you won't be listed on ANY map. If you have a website, your site will be linked online for potential customers to review, so think of it as free advertising.
You do not have to have a website to be listed. The only information that will be posted is the name of the artist OR studio name (or both if asked) and website (if available). If you don't want your real name listed on the map, we can alter it for you. This is why it goes for artist review before being officially made public.CONVENTION REGISTRATION:
Due to how we are integrating the artist alley registration with the convention registration system, and the fact that we are no longer offering discounts for badges (because it will not be necessary), you will only be allowed to purchase ONE convention badge purchase with your table. You can still list the artists who will BE at your table, but make sure they go and register themselves separately.
ELECTRICITY:
Electricity availability will be very limited. Therefore, you have to request it if you need it and requests will be heard on a first come, first served basis. If you can reach an outlet on the wall from the middle of the room, than be sure to TAPE DOWN the wires so no one trips. USE ONLY GAFFERS' TAPE. The Hynes Convention Center will fine for the use of any other kind of tape.
Places you can find gaffers tape:
- Barbizon: http://www.barbizon.com/home/index.cfm (Woburn)
- Backstage Hardware: http://www.backstagehardware.com/ (Boston)
- Productions Advantage: http://www.productionadvantageonline.com/ (Online)