Packing Your Van for a Sidewalk Art Show

The weapon of choice for sidewalk artist's transportation is the conversion van. Most artist's can not afford a new van and buying a used van often can be very tricky. Affordable used vans are usually worn out. Most individuals and businesses trade them in when they are shot, therefore it is very hard to find one that is reliable. However, conversion vans are many times purchased new by senior citizens for traveling and are used only occasionally. When they can no longer travel or they no longer wish to drive a large van, these vehicles come on the market often with low miles.

Although these vans are heavier than regular vans and use more gas, if you limit your show distance to 150 miles from home, they are still affordable and it is better in the long run to develop markets closer to home that you may take advantage of throughout the year. Also, conversion vans have a raised roof which allows for additional space as well as standing up room.



Above is a picture of my 1993 Ford Econoline van which I purchased a few years ago from my next door neighbor who no longer wished to take such a large vehicle on long trips. It had only 50,000 miles when I purchased it and I put a new A/C compressor and a new radiator in it when I bought it. Altogether, it cost me about $7,000 and I have put about another 60,000 miles on it since then.

Before we bought this van we had a Chevy S10 pickup which had a back rack on the trailer hitch and roof racks that were loaded way past the safety point. The new van saves us about 2 hours in loading and unloading at the shows.



Looking in the back compartment, I built a deck that holds my show racks and tent poles underneath. Notice the broom, a good item to have when your street site is full of leaves. The items on top of the deck are a box which holds my chairs and the wood I use for my little office that I build out of three shelves in the back of my booth.




Looking from the side, you can see my weights with a piece of wood on top to make a platform, my lights are in the black box under the cardboard box which holds my print racks.I leave all these items in my van all the time so that I do not have to lift them out and find additional storage in my home after each show.




Above is a picture of a small compact car that my wife and I use for most transportation needs. However, I try to drive the van once a week for short distances since the worst thing you can do with an older vehicle is let it sit too long.



This is a view of the back of the van packed for a show this weekend in Georgia. The black bags on the right top are my tent canopy and sides which I put on top of my print boxes since the tent is the first thing out and the last thing in. The tent racks and the tent poles go underneath and can be loaded out first and loaded in last without having to move anything else.

Many times, when the show is over, we zip the tent up and go have a meal and wait until all the craziness of breakdown is quiet and then break down our tent. We always stay Sunday night in the town we show in and never drive at night after a show. Falling asleep on the road is a good way to get yourself killed.



This is the side of the van with my tool box and dolly inside. I leave lots of room in this area for our clothes and stuff that goes in the motel room since we always get into town the afternoon before set up day and check in the motel, unpack and then head out to check out the show site.



Above is a picture of the map I drew for packing for this show. Go ahead and laugh, all my friends do when ever they see me using this map. But it may save you an hour or more packing it all back in. It is no fun to pack in the rain and when the van is full there are still three large boxes left over. That is when this map is very helpful.

After 35 years of doing sidewalk art shows, I still get anxious before the set up since it is like a gladiator coming out of the doors of the arena, you never know when your going to get smacked in your head with some unknown difficulty. It is wise to go to the site the day before in order to get a sense of place and see where your booth is in order to plan the attack and find a good parking place. 

Also, by visiting the site the day before, there will be some long time artists who will be checking out the site also. The information they have about the show and set up could make the difference between mission impossible and a pleasant set up.