Setting Up an Art Group or Society
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Factfiles Setting Up an Art Group or Society | ||
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What to think about when setting up an Art Group | |||
Meetings |
It is often the case that a few artists get together and decide to meet on a regular basis to paint together and to exchange views with other enthusiasts. They all want to attend meetings that are friendly, informative but informal. Gradually the group increases in size to incorporate professional and amateur artists alike. Members find that their skills are improved by exchanging views on different techniques and attending exhibitions and demonstrations | ||
Members of The Committee |
Once a few artists have got together and decided to form an art group or art society; it will soon become apparent that they will need a Secretary to organise meetings; a Treasurer to take care of the money in the form of subscriptions and payments to visiting demonstrators and other attendant costs and a Chairman to help oversee everyone. Other members of the Committee could include an Exhibitions Organiser, a Demonstration Organiser and a Trips Organiser, depending on the size of the group. | ||
Making a Constitution |
Every body or group of people should consider writing a Constitution. This will concentrate the minds of the members on what their aims and objectives are. On who should run their organisation and within it they should set a subscription for each year. They should have regular Committee Meetings and an Annual General Meeting for all their members so that the accounts can be discussed and plans for the future year can be debated within the whole of the Society. New members of the Committee could take over each year from the old Committee. | ||
Funding of the Society |
Subscriptions may not be enough to keep the Society afloat and it may be prudent to discover whether the Local Authority would be prepared to offer assistance where necessary. Arts Council Grants are available for the enterprising Art Society. New exhibition boards and hanging systems cost a large amount of money and help from outside quarters may be a godsend. Sometimes, local companies may be called upon to offer assistance in the form of sponsorship for exhibitions. It is well worth asking around. | ||
Choice of Venue |
When like minded people want to get together to form an art group they will need to decide where to meet. Some groups start out by meeting in each others' houses. Otherwise they may have started out life as an offshoot from an art class run by an education authority. This may mean that they may be able to meet in the college or school where they first started. Sometimes, art groups have to make the decision to find an alternative venue such as a church hall or community centre. Wherever the art group meets, they need to choose a room that has plenty of light. If this is impossible, the group ought to take the opportunity to get out and about outside whenever they can, to take advantage of natural light. Another factor to be taken into consideration is that of a sink for replenishing the water pots. Sometimes painting can get rather messy and so a sink with several cloths is a great bonus for those messy days! An electric point is useful but not essential, so that a hairdryer can be used to speed up the drying time on watercolour paintings. An electric kettle is also desirous for those thirsty artists who need some sort of sustenance whilst working at their painting. Another good reason for having an electric point is to plug in a radio or cassette recorder to play relaxing music. This all helps to enhance the painting session and make it as enjoyable as possible, whilst perhaps giving the artists inspiration for that masterpiece! | ||
Costs involved - Subscriptions! |
Naturally, if the group has to pay for their venue, then they will have to take that into consideration when agreeing to the amount of subscription that they should pay to offset those costs. Some art groups pay as they go. Each week they contribute some money which is then put by until they have enough to cover a demonstrator. Other societies take an annual subscription to cover all the necessary costs incurred by the Secretary such as postage and telephone, together with the cost of the venue, etc. | ||
Demonstrators |
From time to time, the group may want to use the services of a demonstrator to show various artistic techniques. A good demonstrator can cost anything from £50 upwards. Obviously, if the demonstrator is travelling any distance, travelling costs will have to be included. One way to keep costs down is to temporarily amalgamate with another art group or society and share the costs of a demonstrator. Sometimes, several art societies can club together to meet in a large hall with video or overhead projector so that a demonstrator of good reputation can show everybody in close detail, what he/she is demonstrating. It is worth looking out for public bodies (such as St David's Hall Cardiff) which show artist demonstrators in large venues where the admission charge is low because they have been sponsored by one of the large art materials companies. The attendant costs of demonstrators can seem very high and this has to be considered when setting a subscription. Another way around this is to take money at the door on the night in order to cover the extra cost. However, if the weather is inclement or there is an flu' epidemic, and attendance is poor, then the costs may not be covered.td> | ||
Topics for Demonstrations |
Naturally, the interests of the members of the Society need to be taken into consideration when choosing topics for demonstrations. However, if all the members are water colourists, perhaps after they have seen a few demonstrations on watercolour techniques, they may be open to looking into the use of acrylic paints A demonstrator who uses both mediums would be worth choosing so that comparisons could be made. Some Demonstrators use slides and can do a "Stand up Slide Show" which can be very entertaining. Other demonstrators can be very entertaining by bringing along various articles to use in their demonstration. i.e. a Japanese kimono or Chinese bowls can be useful to demonstrate Aspects of Art from the Far East. One demonstrator brought a stained glass window to show a group which then went on to learn how to make their own stained glass design on something smaller. It is best to choose a variety of topics and mediums. Help is at hand for the stressed Society Secretary for she/he can go online to choose a demonstrator from the Artists/Demonstrators database on Art Net Directory. By searching on the list of mediums (oils, watercolours, pastels, etc) and specialities (portraits, landscapes, seascapes, still life, etc) together with the area the Society is situated within, she/he will soon build up a programme of demonstrations to which the members will look forward | ||
Trips out to Exhibitions |
Trips by bus can be very high as a bus can cost over £500 for a 50 seater whilst a smaller, 35 seater can cost around £70 or more. Thus, whoever arranges the trip has to make allowances for absenteeism and build that into the cost of the trip. Some Art Societies offer seats on the bus to members of other Art Societies to offset the costs. This can be very worthwhile because not only does it mean that the group can travel to a greater number of venues at a cheaper cost, but the relationship between the different clubs/societies improves and members can meet a larger number of like-minded artists. Often, the trip organiser can make a small profit on the longer trips, which will offset the cost of the shorter trips where the bus may be only half full!. If there is a shortfall, then the Society Subscription must be able to cover the deficit. Once the Art Society or Club has settled down to a routine of producing fine work, they will want to exhibit their work to the public. Exhibitions can be arranged at a suitable venue. Gradually over a number of years, the Society will become well known in their area for producing a high standard of work and there will be many people clamouring to buy their pictures. If you would like to read about what to exhibit, and where to exhibit and how to exhibit then we recommend you to read the Art Net Directory FactFile on Exhibitions. The Factfile includes tips on how to present your work, how to promote and publicise your exhibition. All the hundred and one things to do to make it a successful venture! | ||
If you or your society would like to add any relevant information or tips to the above, please contact |
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