Bruh we need to collectively boycott bigass conventions like Galaxy Con and Anime Expo until they fix their shit. We can't be scared of being blacklisted or getting tomatoes thrown at us for pointing out explicitly awful fucking behavior.

I was reminded of this reading about AX's sneaky new rules where they're trying to force vendors into non-compete clauses. TLDR: You can't vend at another convention in a 100 mile radius for a month. TLDR: You can't be involved in the production of another weeb event for TWO YEARS.

Other people with more legal knowledge have said it's unenforceable. It's all fucking awful. People who make their living off convention art generally, you know, go to different conventions every week. There's no reason why one single convention can force artists AND musicians to only play at their thing for the month, especially because they're not salaried employees and they don't guarantee money. Artists pay the event for a table?? Why do they have to pay for not being able to do other events too???

Big convention artist alleys are basically gambling $1000 on a table, and hoping that you can make $10k back. If you don't get heat stroke because they overbooked the hotel and don't have adequate ventilation, or because they turned off the water fountains to force you to buy their overpriced water, or because they put vendors outside in dangerously hot weather, or if the ceiling doesn't fall in and release sewer water flooding the halls, or if a fire doesn't break out and ruin everyone's art, the list goes ON of risks that people have just come to sadly accept as part of paying $1000 to be part of a big event. All in one year!!!

All this on the heels of Galaxy Con, which travels around the United States but recently had an event in my state, North Carolina.

• Here's a google docs of stuff from multiple sources that happened at Galaxy Con Raleigh.
• Here's an artist's story from instagram.

Guess how many of the above paragraph's grievances you can check at this event?! Heatstroke, overpriced tables, water shortage, dangerously hot outdoor weather… and add racism, refusal to accommodate disabled people, NOT TELLING ATTENDEES where the artist alley was so people lost money, and just a huge history of mismanagement and making artists vend in worse and more expensive conditions.

IDK I attended Galaxy Con Raleigh last year and it was just… part of my art depression shit. I had fun playing video games like Guitar Hero at the game part of the convention. I didn't really hit up any panels I really liked. I heard some events/panels you had to pay extra for on top of the already-expensive ticket price (I think it was like $50-80 for a day lmao). They had advertisers shilling fucking, car insurance and shit for no reason. The Artist Alley made me depressed cuz it was gridcube sensory hell where the artist is behind a speakeasy hole in their maximalist 5000 prints covering the wall setup and you can't see or talk to anyone. Everyone's was stock was basiclly just plastic keychains from Vograce probably, so it really stood out when someone had handmade items or zines and comics or something.

I don't really go to big conventions cuz they make me suicidal and depressed, but I wish artists that DO depend on conventions had the ability to band together and collectively fund a lawyer together. Instead of trying to stab each other the back over petty stuff like “omg you stole my manu!!!”. IDK man I just.. really don't want to put up with mistreatment just cuz 'another day another dollar' kinda shit. But I know I have the mental illness that makes me unemployable because I will say out loud “I don't like this” when someone in a higher position of power says something I don't like lol.

We looked up the prices of Sakura Con on the wayback machine. AA tables started at like $50, then $100, then exploded to multiple hundreds after Covid lockdown. And now we're at the point where you pay $2200 for an exhibitor's booth, AND you have to give away your credit card information on an insecure form instead of just. Paying them after you get accepted. Wow cool!

IDK all this sounds like some Vince Mcmahon shit where they're being petty and shitty just to exert power over Independent Contractors (which artists and wrestlers are…I am always thinking about this link), even at the cost of losing money for their business because… ???? They're nonconning people into psychological BDSM torture? No fucking clue.

I've been happy with the small events I've done this year, my first real year of doing multiple events every couple of months. I certainly don't make $10000 in a weekend, but almost all the small events provide food and water and parking and a sense of community. And they cost like. $40 or $25 or free to vend at. Versus $1000.

I think I'm fine just doing small local events for meeting people, and being able to actually talk one-on-one with the show runners. People have emailed me after these events for collabs that I thought were cool, like drawing an album cover for a band I admire. I don't think anyone hit me up after I tabled at Fanime lol :P

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