Hi everyone,
I have been thinking during the project of issues that have arisen during ‘the name of this association shall be Transmission’ project. And I think a broader qualification of issues personal and political: in relation to how Transmission operates, what conditions it operates under in relation to funders and how it is determined by its members, deserves further examination. As I see some problems in terms of focusing in on certain areas of these without looking at the bigger picture.
Working at Transmission, is chiefly running a gallery, but also being an artist.
Working with other artists who run a gallery, running a gallery for artists who belong to an organisation. Running a gallery that belongs to an organisation of artists and developing ways of sustaining other kinds of activity, relationships to organisations, interest from other art professionals and artists to that organisation and gallery.
As an artist this is a peculiar trajectory that inevitably feeds back into the knowledge and development of myself as an artist, my relationship to the field in which I have chosen to work and the other people that I come into contact with as a consequence. It explains and requires a crash course in the simultaneous realisation of the demands and expectations of individuals and a collective. Ideas circulate from and through the regular activities of the gallery, the membership and those that come to visit the gallery. And as the committee changes and as different members come and go, different sensibilities, priorities and agendas are proposed, agreed on, forgotten, held in mind and executed.
Travelling to other places it is clear that a lot of people in the art world know about Transmission and if so are at least partly aware of its place in the production and dissemination of Scottish contemporary art and if they have visited Glasgow is usually one of the places they come to, to find out about artists and art activity. This is because in the period before the existence of commercial contemporary galleries that is 10 to 15 years ago till now and in the last 10 years with the increase of commercial and other artist-run activity, Transmission has and still serves as a critical platform for the dissemination of ideas surrounding artistic production beyond the simple displaying of artworks in a gallery space.
This description of my relationship to Transmission and its activities demonstrates a few things
- The determination of art activity in Glasgow as belonging to Glasgow and Scotland
is largely defined by funding criteria of promoting artworks on a local and national level that operates in marked contrast to the non- Scottish population making art here. Not to say that non-Scottish artists don’t choose to move here and stay but this stands in contrast to a changing number of people who don’t or more particularly can’t stay because of immigration laws. And identifies the motives of the Scottish Arts Council to brand artistic activity despite the origins of the artist, or the content of the work. Under a current if shaky Nationalist Government, this has only become stronger. Culture Minister Linda Fabiani was asked recently if she thought that the proposed change to funding under the Creative Scotland Act (something designed to categorically redefine art activity within the larger creative industries to compete on a business development model with other cultural industries for that funding) was a way for the Scottish Government to have more control over the works selected for funding. She ironically replied, “Only if.” (Since writing this Linda Fabiani has been suspended in her position as Culture minister and the proposed Bill has been delayed-again.)
- Notions of diversity and representation have been co-opted into neo-liberal funding agendas in Scotland and the UK for the last ten years now as a way of resourcing the arts as a healing balm, particularly in areas of deprivation, like large areas of Glasgow, and here community arts are thriving. The Commonwealth Games, five years away, is already representing a panacaea of regeneration via social inclusion. The unquestioned shoe-horning of artistic activity into a broader social agenda has succeeded in increasing the pool of cash designated to Culture and Sports by the City Council: which in the form of Culture and Sport Glasgow the departmental funders for the city (now in effect a private company that with an over-determined emphasis on art as a potential leisure/ tourist facility for the citizens and tourists of Glasgow and business opportunity to investors) is offering culture funding at the cost of representing Glasgow under a sports-orientated post-colonialist banner. This is clearly a means of accessing the revenue explicitly for artistic activity, to advertise the Commonwealth Games. And here as in other places in the UK: any attempt to question this is to question the grounds for development or investment in general.
And in a sense, to see Transmission’s constitution is to see how much it is required as a means of communicating a complicity of form to the funding strategies and other socio-political agendas by these, its two main funders.
For example a brief look at the galleries activities above demonstrates the extent to which these can be determined from a professional development and business model perspective- an argument furthered by Darren Rhymes in his letter and in its 25 years Transmission long predates the more recent revaluation of voluntary labour within the arts as a business strategy.
- The necessity for Transmission to operate a Equal Opportunities Policy is necessary to demonstrate a social contract of equality and the acknowledgement of human rights laws in the choosing of artists on the grounds of their individual merits, regardless of race, gender, class or sexuality. To apply these definitions as determining the character of the constitution and by implication to the programming of the gallery is to ignore the efforts currently undertaken by the committee to attempt to challenge hegemonic issues of representation in the arts and to acknowledge the unprobelmatised relationships that exist between artist- run and commercial, represented and non-represented artists, dissemination and assimilation by so called dominant and non-dominant artistic forms and definitions of gender, sexuality and class as issues which serve to define artists in socio-political framework that may over-determine these issues in relation to their overall artistic value. I agree fundamentally in an effort to develop mechanisms for examining and acting on power relations and discrimination in the art industry at large but I don’t agree that an organisation can legislate within another organisation without undermining its own authority. Who moderates the relationship between JA! and its host organisation. Once the two organisations are legally bound- who is determining whose actions and for what period of time? While for me this raises interesting issues by questioning ethical modes and adopting critical and reformist models; I don’t see how in this instance other than agreeing that we share the same aims that the model proposed for the constitution could ever work.
- Altering the constitution of Transmission would create a legal document that would be unsustainable and would serve a gallery that was nearly impossible to programme for. In advance of programming a committee would need information (above and beyond what is discernible from an artist’s practice, or written information about that artist) on the nationality, race, gender, sexuality and class of that artist. And these artists would be required to adapt their own means of identification into the strategies of representation defined by Transmission on a constitutional level.
While there are strands of the programme that are for Scotland and Internationally based artists, this is often clearly stated in an artist’s biography and assumes less as to how someone identifies themselves. It also permits that an artist is more than their demographic representation.
As to the movement of the constitutional amendment and following discussion I think its worth elaborating on a few points, as the minutes won’t nearly make up for what I think we recall ourselves and the breadth of discussion.
The model for proposing and opposing the motion in a typical debating style results in an antagonistic outcome where either side is forced to defend their motion. In the event of the AGM I feel this got somewhat out of hand with the chair stepping down to represent an opposition to the motion and the proceedings becoming more and more baroque and confused with amendments to amendments, and quite heated debate. I feel that if the issue had been given more time i.e. each person spoke for 10 minutes and then there was a discussion and a simple vote and there was a less competitive edge this may have leant more decorum and range to the discussion.
This said those that attend the AGM are usually amongst the most vocal and experienced within the membership in relation to the gallery’s running and history and most have experience in the arts in Scotland and immediately reacted to the problems inherent to changing the constitution so significantly and immediately questioned the differential between a reformist agenda, an item that has been raised as part of an exhibition at the gallery (its long term consequences) and the specific quality and character of the constitution in relation to the gallery’s activities. This immediately raised the question of how those proposing the motion had become members and it was clear the knowledge that it had been done in the days before the AGM made people quite hostile, although subsequently there were many who expressed interest in the overall project and were interested in the methods and formal qualities of the project, as such. With hindsight, I feel it would definitely have been more effective and better received as a motion if all might have been able to be present. It was questioned inevitably as to how much notice a significant amendment should be granted and although the project did attempt various ways of doing this- the blog, the newsletter the first letter while admittedly there was a problem with the final amendment not going out by mail- this is something that should be re-addressed were there a next time.
All in all I feel this was an extremely profitable situation for the membership and the committee. It is never possible for any one person to know the entire history and mechanisms of Transmission but posing a question as to how the gallery identifies, regulates and functions and how this relates generally to this artistic activity in general has produced some interesting results. I feel that researching the particularities of the constitution and evaluating the more contentious elements really helped to separate out my own initial judgement from the organisation’s legal and funding obligations and historical precedents for this kind of artistic activity.
I am happy to continue developing these discussions with JA! However I would like to discuss the programme more analytically. And look at what we are doing in relation to the JA! Constitution as well as ways in which we would need to adapt JA’s aims to Transmission’s specific functioning, further to the discussions we had in the gallery and recent developments.
CONAL MC STRAVICK
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Letter to Transmission, reply from Kajsa Dahlberg
Dear Conal, Transmission and all.
I'm writing to say that the minutes from the AGS meeting together with Transmissions reply to me and to The YES Association have finally been posted on the blog.
My apologizes for not responding earlier. The reason for this is simply that I've been caught between feeling a little despondent, and the urge to make something out of a project that we've all been giving quite a lot of attention and time.
I'm still not sure I understand exactly what happened in those days leading up to the AGS meeting, but I felt the communication brake down as we approached the date. I'm thinking now that I wasn't clear enough in my communication and that it was a big mistake to not come to Glasgow to realize the project on location. To clarify one thing in particular: The idea that you would sign the actual Equal Opportunity Agreement, and therefore be legally bound to The YES! Association, was never suggested or pushed by them, but something that you brought up yourself. The proposal from The YES! Association, as was clearely stated all along, was an open proposal for you to consider, discuss, adopt or discharge as you liked.
The starting point of The Name Of This Association Shall Be Transmission, which I hope came across in my project description as well as in the letters we sent out to the members, was to start a discussion on what a self-organized space like Transmission is, and is aspiring to be, in relation to its history and to this given time and context: to its members, its audience, the city, the art world etc. The project was meant to create a platform were issues could be raised concerning what such a commitment means in relation to the local situation as well as to society at large. My initiation came out of relating to your practice as an artist who's been involved in several artist run projects and collaborations myself.
I found it very interesting and inspiring to read your thoughts on Transmission's role in relation to an overall cultural policy adopted by a neo-liberal view on "culture as entertainment industry". This was one of the issues I had hoped would be brought up through the project as a way to discuss common strategies in how to deal with the Scottich cultural policy specifically, but also in relation to a larger context as something that is currently affecting not only Scotland but large parts of Europe, if not the world. Thomas Idergard, one of the leading people of the swedish neo-liberal think-tank "Timbro", just wrote an article in the biggest Swedish newspaper a couple of days ago, suggesting that the municipalities should simply stop spending money on culture altogether, under the pretext of the crisis of economy.
However, It is very unfortunate if neo-liberal politics will succeed in its efforts to make us stop thinking critically in terms of representation, as well as to call out against structures of oppression. What is needed with todays political situation is certainly not less thinking, discussing, debating etc. It makes it even more urgent to question what lies behind our use of concepts like "quality" or "artistic value". To set up "artistic value" as adversarial to issues of representation in terms of gender, sexuality, class etc is historically one of the core strategies for patriarchy to maintain its power. Unless you belong to the group which holds the power to represent, an artist is often times not "more than their demographic representation". To pay attention to the socio-political framework of artists is not to over-determine that aspect in relation to their overall artistic value, but a way to challenge hegemonic issues of representation.
I therefore do not follow your line of argument stating that issues of equal rights as something that 'narrows the bigger picture'. The ideas that circulate and permeate the activities of any given space, the members, the visitors, the committee are inevitably gendered. We are never only artists, but all our activities are intersected by structures of gender, nationality, race, sexuality, ability, class etc. These perspectives, as I see it, is not something that is threatening to art, but something that enriches the field immensely. When I started my art education almost all my teachers were male. Almost all of the art they advanced and talked about was made by men. To change this situation slightly has required a lot of work from many female artists for many years. From this perspective an awareness of gender equality is not something that obstructs the change of sensibilities, agendas, priorities and visions of a given practice, but provides the conditions for change in a very fundamental way.
I'm hoping to make it to the "Subject in Process" symposium at the CCS in September and look forward to see you all then!
Yours, Kajsa Dahlberg
I'm writing to say that the minutes from the AGS meeting together with Transmissions reply to me and to The YES Association have finally been posted on the blog.
My apologizes for not responding earlier. The reason for this is simply that I've been caught between feeling a little despondent, and the urge to make something out of a project that we've all been giving quite a lot of attention and time.
I'm still not sure I understand exactly what happened in those days leading up to the AGS meeting, but I felt the communication brake down as we approached the date. I'm thinking now that I wasn't clear enough in my communication and that it was a big mistake to not come to Glasgow to realize the project on location. To clarify one thing in particular: The idea that you would sign the actual Equal Opportunity Agreement, and therefore be legally bound to The YES! Association, was never suggested or pushed by them, but something that you brought up yourself. The proposal from The YES! Association, as was clearely stated all along, was an open proposal for you to consider, discuss, adopt or discharge as you liked.
The starting point of The Name Of This Association Shall Be Transmission, which I hope came across in my project description as well as in the letters we sent out to the members, was to start a discussion on what a self-organized space like Transmission is, and is aspiring to be, in relation to its history and to this given time and context: to its members, its audience, the city, the art world etc. The project was meant to create a platform were issues could be raised concerning what such a commitment means in relation to the local situation as well as to society at large. My initiation came out of relating to your practice as an artist who's been involved in several artist run projects and collaborations myself.
I found it very interesting and inspiring to read your thoughts on Transmission's role in relation to an overall cultural policy adopted by a neo-liberal view on "culture as entertainment industry". This was one of the issues I had hoped would be brought up through the project as a way to discuss common strategies in how to deal with the Scottich cultural policy specifically, but also in relation to a larger context as something that is currently affecting not only Scotland but large parts of Europe, if not the world. Thomas Idergard, one of the leading people of the swedish neo-liberal think-tank "Timbro", just wrote an article in the biggest Swedish newspaper a couple of days ago, suggesting that the municipalities should simply stop spending money on culture altogether, under the pretext of the crisis of economy.
However, It is very unfortunate if neo-liberal politics will succeed in its efforts to make us stop thinking critically in terms of representation, as well as to call out against structures of oppression. What is needed with todays political situation is certainly not less thinking, discussing, debating etc. It makes it even more urgent to question what lies behind our use of concepts like "quality" or "artistic value". To set up "artistic value" as adversarial to issues of representation in terms of gender, sexuality, class etc is historically one of the core strategies for patriarchy to maintain its power. Unless you belong to the group which holds the power to represent, an artist is often times not "more than their demographic representation". To pay attention to the socio-political framework of artists is not to over-determine that aspect in relation to their overall artistic value, but a way to challenge hegemonic issues of representation.
I therefore do not follow your line of argument stating that issues of equal rights as something that 'narrows the bigger picture'. The ideas that circulate and permeate the activities of any given space, the members, the visitors, the committee are inevitably gendered. We are never only artists, but all our activities are intersected by structures of gender, nationality, race, sexuality, ability, class etc. These perspectives, as I see it, is not something that is threatening to art, but something that enriches the field immensely. When I started my art education almost all my teachers were male. Almost all of the art they advanced and talked about was made by men. To change this situation slightly has required a lot of work from many female artists for many years. From this perspective an awareness of gender equality is not something that obstructs the change of sensibilities, agendas, priorities and visions of a given practice, but provides the conditions for change in a very fundamental way.
I'm hoping to make it to the "Subject in Process" symposium at the CCS in September and look forward to see you all then!
Yours, Kajsa Dahlberg
Saturday, August 15, 2009
TRANSMISSION GALLERY ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES 22.01.2009
TRANSMISSION GALLERY
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
MINUTES 22.01.2009
These minutes are available to all Transmission members. Please contact the gallery if you wish any amendments to be noted.
PRESENT
Bob Carey-Grieve (Chair), Helen Tubridy, Conal Mc Stavick, Victoria Skogsberg, Tim Facey, Jens Strandberg, Nick Evans, Michael Hill Johnston, Sierra Stinson, Michael Kent, Toby Patterson, Lola Edwards, Paul MacInnes, Kathryn Elkin, Lynn, Hynd, Laurie Figgis, Roddy Buchanan, Sally Chapman, Stephanie Spindler, Olivia Gurtler, Charlie Hammond, Nika Kupyrova, Louise Montgomery, Sara Barker, Rob Kennedy, Andrew Kerr, Simon Gowing, Jodi Cave, Liam Casey, Kirsteen Macdonald, Chris Dyson, Katherine MacBride, Helena Skulstad, Belinda Scott, Louise Shelley, Laura Aldridge, Luke Neve, Maeve Redmond, Heather Purcell, Craig Mulholland, Katy Dove, Sarah Lowndes, Rallou Panagiotou, Michael Stumpf and Marianne Greated (Scottish Arts Council) as an observer.
Minutes taken by Helen Tubridy.
AGENDA
1. OPENING REMARKS AND NOMINATION OF CHAIR
2. APOLOGIES
3. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
4. AUDITED FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED MARCH 08
5. GALLERY ACTIVITES
6. DEVELOPMENTS
6.1. MOTION TO AMMEND THE CONSTITUTION BY KASJA DAHLBERG, ASA ELZEN AND MALIN ARNELL.
7. APPROVAL OF THE COMMITTEE
8. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
ITEM 1 – OPENING REMARKS AND NOMINATION OF CHAIR
Tim Facey thanks those attending, introduced the current committee and proposes that Bob Carey-Grieve chairs the meeting. This was seconded by Victoria Skogsberg and the chair was appointed unanimously. Bob Carey-Grieve outlined the rules of the meeting and explained the procedure involved. He also declared the membership requirements in conjunction with the AGM as stated in the Transmission Gallery Constitution.
ITEM 2 – APOLOGIES
The chair introduced Helen Tubridy to read the apologies. Apologies were made in advance by the following members who were unable to attend the meeting:
Helen Tuck, David Allen, Scott Myles, Giles Bailey, Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt, Jane Topping, Ian Hetherington, Hrafnhildur Halldorsdottir, Ufuk Gueray, Anna Tanner, Christy Cole, Rebecca Wilcox, Anne-Maria Copestake, Lucy Potter, Jenny Soep, Jenny Baynes, Karen Cunningham, Andy Robertson, Tom Owen. Jamie Cooper, Emily Beckmann, Clare Stephenson, Alex Pollard, Ian McIlroy, David Sherry, Mick Welbourn, Robert Johnston, Malcolm Gauldie, Jon Nicholl, Helen Shaddock, Cathy Wilkes, Richard Wright, Laura Yuile.
ITEM 3 – MINUTES OF PREVIOUS AGM
The chair then invites the members to read the minutes of the previous AGM (05.02.08). There were no objections or corrections offered to the minutes of the previous year. The chair then proposed a vote of the minutes which was passed unanimously.
The chair asked if there were any matters arising from the minutes of the previous AGM.
Bob Carey Grieve asked the committee if the membership renewal system whereby there is two points in the year one in summer and one in winter, when members would be able to renew their membership was working effectively. Victoria Skogsberg answered that it was working well and encouraging members to renew their membership as well as allowing the committee to keep on top of the database.
The chair draws the memberships attention to the fact that commissions of artworks have been changed and amended in the constitution from 15% to 30% in comparison to March 2007.
ITEM 4 – AUDITED FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED MARCH 31ST 2008
The chair introduced Victoria Skogsberg who read out the audited financial report ending March 2007. Victoria read through all the items in the income and expenditure columns, explaining what each heading covered. She drew attention to the bigger grand income than year ended March 2007 and explained that this was due to Glasgow International funding and Scottish Arts Council funding for curatorial internship. Also due to the two- point membership renewal system there was an increase on membership fees from the previous year.
Victoria announced that Transmission have been awarded a Capital Grant of £37,000 by the Scottish Arts Council towards fitting out the new space and archive when Transmission relocates back to 28 King Street as part of Trongate 103.
The chair asked the membership if anyone had any questions regarding the figures presented.
Michael Hill Johnston asked for an explanation as to why there was an increase on rent rates and water charges and why the council was not covering these costs. Tim Facey explained that VAT had been applied on all council properties.
The chair due attention to the bank charges which have increased by £100 on the previous year. Toby Patterson said that if there were ever more than £50,000 in the accout there would be a risk to such charges. Conal McStravick said Transmission is working on setting up a paypal account to aid with charges for sending money abroad so money will leave the bank account quicker when making international payments. Laura Aldridge added that according to OSCAR Transmission as a charitable organisation should never have that amount of money sitting in the account.
The chair recommended an action point as to what the implications of this are and that Transmission seek advice.
The chair asked all attending for an approval of the accounts. This approval was passed and carried.
The Committee proposed that the accountants Benham and Conway continue to audit the accounts. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
ITEM 5 – GALLERY ACTIVITES
The chair introduced Jens Strandberg to present an overview of the gallery’s activites over the past year. Jens presented this in the form of a projected slide show and talk. The gallery’s activities were as follows:
4 - 8 March
Luke Fowler
Screening and artist talk
45 King Street
18 March - 5 April
Ann Bowman, Luke Collins and Derek Lodge
45 and 48 King Stet
27 March
Luke Collins and Derek Lodge
Two Artist talks
45 King Street
11 April - 10 May
Melanie Gilligan
Prison for Objects
45 and 48 King Street
(Glasgow International)
27 May – 14 June
Jennifer West
Lemon Juice and Lithium
48 King Street
George Ziffo
New Work
45 King Street
10 June
Grier Edmundson and Hrafnhildur Halldorsdottir
Two Artist talks
45 King Street
24 – 28 June
Lois Rowe
Exhibition and screening event
45 King Street
28 June
Donald Urquhart
Plagues
Performance
48 King Street
8 – 26 July
You should be on Holiday!
Annual Members Show
45 King Street
18 July
Transmission Summer Party
Poloc Cricket Club
30 September – 25 October
Michael Kent, Kendall Koppe, Ariki Porteous, Darren Rhymes, Michael Roy
45 King Street
14 October
Salomeh Grace and Becky Sik
Two Artist talks
45 King Street
23 October
Performance by Jamie Grier and Muscles of Joy using ‘you wet my signal’ by Ariki Porteous.
45 King Street
25 October
Anja Kirschner and David Panos
Trail of the Spider
Screening and discussion
45 King Street
3- 30 November
Moot Points
45 King Street
(Curatorial Internship)
9 December - 31 January 2009
José Antonio Hernández-Díez
45 King Street
(International Solo Show)
14 January – 25 March
4x4: Studio Projects
48 King Street
Jens briefly talked about the upcoming Scottish solo Show with Alex Gross, an off site project in Ruchill opening 14 February.
Victoria mentioned this year Transmission has programmed more artist talks and continues to do so as a response to last years AGM.
ITEM 6 – DEVELOPMENTS
The chair then introduced Tim and Conal to talk about the gallery’s developments.
The biggest development continues to be the move to Trongate 103. Tim explained that the move has been put back to September 2009 and rather than move earlier Transmission will keep the existing space and continue with 2009’s programme between 45 and 48 King Street. Tim talked about the capital grant and how it would be used to reequip the gallery, create an archive room and useable office space. Tim outlined the total cost of the project as being £50,000 – with receiving the capital grant of £37,000 and £6,000 plus the fee for a professional archivist from Glasgow City Council there will still be a shortfall of £4,000. Tim explained it is up to Transmission i.e. the committee and membership to raise this money.
Tim mentioned that the Committee had decided to approach the membership with the idea of raising the membership fee to contribute to the shortfall; £8 for student/unwaged or £20 for waged. Conal added that in recent times similar artist run spaces such as Generator and Catalyst have also raised their membership fee. The chair asked the membership if they could consider this. Michael Hill Johnston made the point that the postage costs for mail outs are still not covered by the increased fee. Toby Patterson added that the fee has not gone up in at least 15 years.
The chair proposed a vote on this motion and the membership agreed unanimously.
Kathryn Elkin said this should be mentioned in a mail out to the membership.
A member asked what the other ideas for fundraising might be.
Tim suggested an art auction as part of an exhibition that could be presented online to encourage buyers from outside Glasgow and welcomed suggestions. Sarah Lowndes suggested a jumble sale.
Conal introduced the developments of the new website and anticipated it would be ready over the course of the next few months. He went through a demonstration of how the website would look showing past committee members, a members directory and an online archive. Toby Patterson asked how it would be possible to view past shows online. Conal explained that this is being worked on systematically with each committee member working on a different time period.
Michael Stumpf questioned how the members slide archive would work with international members as it could be exploited by becoming a host for artist’s works who don’t necessarily have a vested interest in the gallery.
It was suggested that inline with raising the prices for UK members that international membership should be set at a higher cost, not only to cover the mail out costs which are considerably higher but also to discourage people joining just to have their work on Transmission’s website. The price was agreed at £35.
It was also discussed that the definition between full or associate member should be made clearer and that anyone living outside Glasgow should be advised to become an associate member as it is unlikely they will attend the AGM.
Kathryn Elkin questioned the five-year lease assurance for Trongate 103. Conal explained that we are still pursuing this issue and Victoria added we are waiting on papers to arrive.
ITEM 6.1 - MOTION TO AMEND THE CONTITUTION BY KASJA DAHLBERG, ASA ELZEN AND MALIN ARNELL
The chair asked the membership if we could move on to item 6.1 and introduced the motion put forward by the YES! Association represented by Kathryn Elkin. The chair, Bob Carey-Grieve asked the membership to consider allowing him to step down from the chair in order to give his opinion as a member and proposed Tim Facey to take over the duties of chair. This was passed unanimously. Tim asked Kathryn Elkin to present the motion.
Kathryn explained her relationship to Kasja Dahlberg and the YES! Association and presented the membership the Transmission constitution and the YES! Association’s amended constitution explaining that the YES! Association felt the Transmission constitution was outmoded and did not do enough to fully represent equality in terms of artists shown at Transmission.
Tim asked if there was anyone in opposition to the motion who could present an argument. Bob Carey-Grieve asked to be considered and the membership voted unanimously.
Bob spoke of how the YES! Association’s amendment was unrealistic and by accepting the amended constitution the committee would have to practice positive discrimination in order to programme in accordance with the agreement, as a result of this shows would not necessarily be awarded on artistic merit. Bob said that positive discrimination is illegal and as Transmission is funded by the Scottish Arts Council signing the agreement could jeopardise Transmission’s funding. Bob presented an amendment to the constitution to allude specifically to equal rights as part of the constitution.
Kathryn explained she had spoken to a solicitor and the Equalities Officer from the Arts Council but was unsure if this question of a specified percentage of female artists would be deemed to be positive discrimination in the UK. Kathryn made use of the definition of Positive Action as provided by the YES! Association. Kathryn also mentioned she had an informal conversation with the Equalities Officer who had reacted positively, but this was not the official sentiment offered by the SAC.
Kathryn said the solicitor she had spoken to had advised that in order to adopt the line regarding quantifying gender representation in terms of artists selected by the gallery, there would have to be statistical substantiation that women were under-represented, and those statistics would need to apply to Glasgow generally.
A discussion followed in which the following points were raised
Transmission has an equal rights agreement, is it necessary for this to be part of the constitution also.
How could the statistics be monitored?
It is not a good idea to change a constitution as it is a legal document – a lawyer must oversee any changes and changing it may be costly.
The length of time for this amendment being presented was ill considered
The document doesn’t represent Transmission
The argument about Transmission already showing enough female artists was raised again as was the question of the legality of specifying a percentage of artists represented be female.
Are the YES! Association members?
Kathryn then spoke and said the YES! Association – Malin Arnell, Asa Elzen and Kasja Dahlberg had joined as members yesterday.
Tim asked if there were any other amendments to be considered a member put forward another amendment. Tim asked for a vote on the amendments from the membership, it was voted unanimously the constitution should remain as it is.
Bob then stepped back up to the position of chair for the remainder of the meeting.
ITEM 7 – APPROVAL OF THE COMMITTEE
The chair explained the proceedings of the vote to approve the current committee. This vote in favour of the current committee was passed unanimously.
ITEM 8 – ANY OTHER BUSINESS
The chair suggested a time limit for all motions to be submitted one month before the AGM to allow papers to circulate and a time limit for any amendments should be no later than one week. This was approved unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
MINUTES 22.01.2009
These minutes are available to all Transmission members. Please contact the gallery if you wish any amendments to be noted.
PRESENT
Bob Carey-Grieve (Chair), Helen Tubridy, Conal Mc Stavick, Victoria Skogsberg, Tim Facey, Jens Strandberg, Nick Evans, Michael Hill Johnston, Sierra Stinson, Michael Kent, Toby Patterson, Lola Edwards, Paul MacInnes, Kathryn Elkin, Lynn, Hynd, Laurie Figgis, Roddy Buchanan, Sally Chapman, Stephanie Spindler, Olivia Gurtler, Charlie Hammond, Nika Kupyrova, Louise Montgomery, Sara Barker, Rob Kennedy, Andrew Kerr, Simon Gowing, Jodi Cave, Liam Casey, Kirsteen Macdonald, Chris Dyson, Katherine MacBride, Helena Skulstad, Belinda Scott, Louise Shelley, Laura Aldridge, Luke Neve, Maeve Redmond, Heather Purcell, Craig Mulholland, Katy Dove, Sarah Lowndes, Rallou Panagiotou, Michael Stumpf and Marianne Greated (Scottish Arts Council) as an observer.
Minutes taken by Helen Tubridy.
AGENDA
1. OPENING REMARKS AND NOMINATION OF CHAIR
2. APOLOGIES
3. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
4. AUDITED FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED MARCH 08
5. GALLERY ACTIVITES
6. DEVELOPMENTS
6.1. MOTION TO AMMEND THE CONSTITUTION BY KASJA DAHLBERG, ASA ELZEN AND MALIN ARNELL.
7. APPROVAL OF THE COMMITTEE
8. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
ITEM 1 – OPENING REMARKS AND NOMINATION OF CHAIR
Tim Facey thanks those attending, introduced the current committee and proposes that Bob Carey-Grieve chairs the meeting. This was seconded by Victoria Skogsberg and the chair was appointed unanimously. Bob Carey-Grieve outlined the rules of the meeting and explained the procedure involved. He also declared the membership requirements in conjunction with the AGM as stated in the Transmission Gallery Constitution.
ITEM 2 – APOLOGIES
The chair introduced Helen Tubridy to read the apologies. Apologies were made in advance by the following members who were unable to attend the meeting:
Helen Tuck, David Allen, Scott Myles, Giles Bailey, Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt, Jane Topping, Ian Hetherington, Hrafnhildur Halldorsdottir, Ufuk Gueray, Anna Tanner, Christy Cole, Rebecca Wilcox, Anne-Maria Copestake, Lucy Potter, Jenny Soep, Jenny Baynes, Karen Cunningham, Andy Robertson, Tom Owen. Jamie Cooper, Emily Beckmann, Clare Stephenson, Alex Pollard, Ian McIlroy, David Sherry, Mick Welbourn, Robert Johnston, Malcolm Gauldie, Jon Nicholl, Helen Shaddock, Cathy Wilkes, Richard Wright, Laura Yuile.
ITEM 3 – MINUTES OF PREVIOUS AGM
The chair then invites the members to read the minutes of the previous AGM (05.02.08). There were no objections or corrections offered to the minutes of the previous year. The chair then proposed a vote of the minutes which was passed unanimously.
The chair asked if there were any matters arising from the minutes of the previous AGM.
Bob Carey Grieve asked the committee if the membership renewal system whereby there is two points in the year one in summer and one in winter, when members would be able to renew their membership was working effectively. Victoria Skogsberg answered that it was working well and encouraging members to renew their membership as well as allowing the committee to keep on top of the database.
The chair draws the memberships attention to the fact that commissions of artworks have been changed and amended in the constitution from 15% to 30% in comparison to March 2007.
ITEM 4 – AUDITED FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED MARCH 31ST 2008
The chair introduced Victoria Skogsberg who read out the audited financial report ending March 2007. Victoria read through all the items in the income and expenditure columns, explaining what each heading covered. She drew attention to the bigger grand income than year ended March 2007 and explained that this was due to Glasgow International funding and Scottish Arts Council funding for curatorial internship. Also due to the two- point membership renewal system there was an increase on membership fees from the previous year.
Victoria announced that Transmission have been awarded a Capital Grant of £37,000 by the Scottish Arts Council towards fitting out the new space and archive when Transmission relocates back to 28 King Street as part of Trongate 103.
The chair asked the membership if anyone had any questions regarding the figures presented.
Michael Hill Johnston asked for an explanation as to why there was an increase on rent rates and water charges and why the council was not covering these costs. Tim Facey explained that VAT had been applied on all council properties.
The chair due attention to the bank charges which have increased by £100 on the previous year. Toby Patterson said that if there were ever more than £50,000 in the accout there would be a risk to such charges. Conal McStravick said Transmission is working on setting up a paypal account to aid with charges for sending money abroad so money will leave the bank account quicker when making international payments. Laura Aldridge added that according to OSCAR Transmission as a charitable organisation should never have that amount of money sitting in the account.
The chair recommended an action point as to what the implications of this are and that Transmission seek advice.
The chair asked all attending for an approval of the accounts. This approval was passed and carried.
The Committee proposed that the accountants Benham and Conway continue to audit the accounts. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
ITEM 5 – GALLERY ACTIVITES
The chair introduced Jens Strandberg to present an overview of the gallery’s activites over the past year. Jens presented this in the form of a projected slide show and talk. The gallery’s activities were as follows:
4 - 8 March
Luke Fowler
Screening and artist talk
45 King Street
18 March - 5 April
Ann Bowman, Luke Collins and Derek Lodge
45 and 48 King Stet
27 March
Luke Collins and Derek Lodge
Two Artist talks
45 King Street
11 April - 10 May
Melanie Gilligan
Prison for Objects
45 and 48 King Street
(Glasgow International)
27 May – 14 June
Jennifer West
Lemon Juice and Lithium
48 King Street
George Ziffo
New Work
45 King Street
10 June
Grier Edmundson and Hrafnhildur Halldorsdottir
Two Artist talks
45 King Street
24 – 28 June
Lois Rowe
Exhibition and screening event
45 King Street
28 June
Donald Urquhart
Plagues
Performance
48 King Street
8 – 26 July
You should be on Holiday!
Annual Members Show
45 King Street
18 July
Transmission Summer Party
Poloc Cricket Club
30 September – 25 October
Michael Kent, Kendall Koppe, Ariki Porteous, Darren Rhymes, Michael Roy
45 King Street
14 October
Salomeh Grace and Becky Sik
Two Artist talks
45 King Street
23 October
Performance by Jamie Grier and Muscles of Joy using ‘you wet my signal’ by Ariki Porteous.
45 King Street
25 October
Anja Kirschner and David Panos
Trail of the Spider
Screening and discussion
45 King Street
3- 30 November
Moot Points
45 King Street
(Curatorial Internship)
9 December - 31 January 2009
José Antonio Hernández-Díez
45 King Street
(International Solo Show)
14 January – 25 March
4x4: Studio Projects
48 King Street
Jens briefly talked about the upcoming Scottish solo Show with Alex Gross, an off site project in Ruchill opening 14 February.
Victoria mentioned this year Transmission has programmed more artist talks and continues to do so as a response to last years AGM.
ITEM 6 – DEVELOPMENTS
The chair then introduced Tim and Conal to talk about the gallery’s developments.
The biggest development continues to be the move to Trongate 103. Tim explained that the move has been put back to September 2009 and rather than move earlier Transmission will keep the existing space and continue with 2009’s programme between 45 and 48 King Street. Tim talked about the capital grant and how it would be used to reequip the gallery, create an archive room and useable office space. Tim outlined the total cost of the project as being £50,000 – with receiving the capital grant of £37,000 and £6,000 plus the fee for a professional archivist from Glasgow City Council there will still be a shortfall of £4,000. Tim explained it is up to Transmission i.e. the committee and membership to raise this money.
Tim mentioned that the Committee had decided to approach the membership with the idea of raising the membership fee to contribute to the shortfall; £8 for student/unwaged or £20 for waged. Conal added that in recent times similar artist run spaces such as Generator and Catalyst have also raised their membership fee. The chair asked the membership if they could consider this. Michael Hill Johnston made the point that the postage costs for mail outs are still not covered by the increased fee. Toby Patterson added that the fee has not gone up in at least 15 years.
The chair proposed a vote on this motion and the membership agreed unanimously.
Kathryn Elkin said this should be mentioned in a mail out to the membership.
A member asked what the other ideas for fundraising might be.
Tim suggested an art auction as part of an exhibition that could be presented online to encourage buyers from outside Glasgow and welcomed suggestions. Sarah Lowndes suggested a jumble sale.
Conal introduced the developments of the new website and anticipated it would be ready over the course of the next few months. He went through a demonstration of how the website would look showing past committee members, a members directory and an online archive. Toby Patterson asked how it would be possible to view past shows online. Conal explained that this is being worked on systematically with each committee member working on a different time period.
Michael Stumpf questioned how the members slide archive would work with international members as it could be exploited by becoming a host for artist’s works who don’t necessarily have a vested interest in the gallery.
It was suggested that inline with raising the prices for UK members that international membership should be set at a higher cost, not only to cover the mail out costs which are considerably higher but also to discourage people joining just to have their work on Transmission’s website. The price was agreed at £35.
It was also discussed that the definition between full or associate member should be made clearer and that anyone living outside Glasgow should be advised to become an associate member as it is unlikely they will attend the AGM.
Kathryn Elkin questioned the five-year lease assurance for Trongate 103. Conal explained that we are still pursuing this issue and Victoria added we are waiting on papers to arrive.
ITEM 6.1 - MOTION TO AMEND THE CONTITUTION BY KASJA DAHLBERG, ASA ELZEN AND MALIN ARNELL
The chair asked the membership if we could move on to item 6.1 and introduced the motion put forward by the YES! Association represented by Kathryn Elkin. The chair, Bob Carey-Grieve asked the membership to consider allowing him to step down from the chair in order to give his opinion as a member and proposed Tim Facey to take over the duties of chair. This was passed unanimously. Tim asked Kathryn Elkin to present the motion.
Kathryn explained her relationship to Kasja Dahlberg and the YES! Association and presented the membership the Transmission constitution and the YES! Association’s amended constitution explaining that the YES! Association felt the Transmission constitution was outmoded and did not do enough to fully represent equality in terms of artists shown at Transmission.
Tim asked if there was anyone in opposition to the motion who could present an argument. Bob Carey-Grieve asked to be considered and the membership voted unanimously.
Bob spoke of how the YES! Association’s amendment was unrealistic and by accepting the amended constitution the committee would have to practice positive discrimination in order to programme in accordance with the agreement, as a result of this shows would not necessarily be awarded on artistic merit. Bob said that positive discrimination is illegal and as Transmission is funded by the Scottish Arts Council signing the agreement could jeopardise Transmission’s funding. Bob presented an amendment to the constitution to allude specifically to equal rights as part of the constitution.
Kathryn explained she had spoken to a solicitor and the Equalities Officer from the Arts Council but was unsure if this question of a specified percentage of female artists would be deemed to be positive discrimination in the UK. Kathryn made use of the definition of Positive Action as provided by the YES! Association. Kathryn also mentioned she had an informal conversation with the Equalities Officer who had reacted positively, but this was not the official sentiment offered by the SAC.
Kathryn said the solicitor she had spoken to had advised that in order to adopt the line regarding quantifying gender representation in terms of artists selected by the gallery, there would have to be statistical substantiation that women were under-represented, and those statistics would need to apply to Glasgow generally.
A discussion followed in which the following points were raised
Transmission has an equal rights agreement, is it necessary for this to be part of the constitution also.
How could the statistics be monitored?
It is not a good idea to change a constitution as it is a legal document – a lawyer must oversee any changes and changing it may be costly.
The length of time for this amendment being presented was ill considered
The document doesn’t represent Transmission
The argument about Transmission already showing enough female artists was raised again as was the question of the legality of specifying a percentage of artists represented be female.
Are the YES! Association members?
Kathryn then spoke and said the YES! Association – Malin Arnell, Asa Elzen and Kasja Dahlberg had joined as members yesterday.
Tim asked if there were any other amendments to be considered a member put forward another amendment. Tim asked for a vote on the amendments from the membership, it was voted unanimously the constitution should remain as it is.
Bob then stepped back up to the position of chair for the remainder of the meeting.
ITEM 7 – APPROVAL OF THE COMMITTEE
The chair explained the proceedings of the vote to approve the current committee. This vote in favour of the current committee was passed unanimously.
ITEM 8 – ANY OTHER BUSINESS
The chair suggested a time limit for all motions to be submitted one month before the AGM to allow papers to circulate and a time limit for any amendments should be no later than one week. This was approved unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned.
Friday, January 16, 2009
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Dear Members of Transmission,
My name is Kajsa Dahlberg and I've been writing to you before about the project The Name Of This Association Shall Be Transmission that was developed as part of the exhibition project Moot Points. The Annual General Meeting is coming up and this is the chance to make changes to Transmission’s constitution. I would therefore like to encourage you to propose new formulations that will be discussed and considered for January 22nd.
The current OBJECTIVES read as follows:
To advance the education of the public generally and in particular the inhabitants of Glasgow and its environs by securing and maintaining premises for the purpose of presenting the arts in all their forms. In particular the works (in the widest meaning) of persons who under normal circumstances would be denied a platform for expressing their artistic ideas, so long as such ideas expressed through their work are not subversive of all religion and morality.
What does it mean to express artistic ideas as "long as such ideas expressed through their work are not subversive of all religion and morality”? How could the OBJECTIVES be formulated to suit the needs and ideas of those who are involved and interested in the possibilities of such a place? What does it mean to work within the frame of a public (exhibition) space? and how can the limits of such a place be formulated and renegotiated, by who and on what grounds? Is there a need to be specific in the description of OBJECTIVES?
As an example one of the collaborators for this project has been the YES! Association. After negotiations with the Transmission board on the 28th of November their proposal for a new formulation of the constitution read as follows:
OBJECTIVES:
To develop sustainable structures and strategies for a non-profit engagement in the production of exhibitions as well as the circulation of knowledge within the field of art. To advance the education of the public generally and in particular the inhabitants of Glasgow and its environs by securing and maintaining premises for the purpose of presenting arts in all their forms. Transmission will observe an intersectional perspective and work to ensure equal opportunities in regard to gender, ethnicity, sexuality and class in all aspects of their activities; meaning exhibitions, programs, screenings, publications, availability, PR, budget and choice of committee members. A gender equal exhibition program means that at least half of the exhibited works should be made by women. An ethnic equality practice means that the institution’s selection of originators should reflect the ethnic spectrum of society.
COMMITTEE:
At the Annual General Meeting (hereinafter AGM) the association will approve a Committee to administer the day to day affairs of the association. Transmission agrees to observe an intersectional perspective and work to ensure equal opportunities in regard to gender, ethnicity, sexuality and class in the process of approving new Committee members. This Committee shall comprise of a Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer and at least 2, but not more than 4 other ordinary members. The maximum period allotted to members of the Committee being two terms (2 years). Any casual vacancy arising may be filled by the Committee. The Chairperson will preside at all meetings of the association, and in the event of their absence the Committee or the association, as the case shall be, shall appoint one of their number.
The aim for the project is to bring about a change in the Transmission constitution based on the proposals that you bring in. All comments and/or suggestions are welcome, small or large. I'm hoping for your contribution and look very much forward to being in dialogue with you.
Until the 22nd, all the best,
Kajsa Dahlberg
Dear Members of Transmission,
My name is Kajsa Dahlberg and I've been writing to you before about the project The Name Of This Association Shall Be Transmission that was developed as part of the exhibition project Moot Points. The Annual General Meeting is coming up and this is the chance to make changes to Transmission’s constitution. I would therefore like to encourage you to propose new formulations that will be discussed and considered for January 22nd.
The current OBJECTIVES read as follows:
To advance the education of the public generally and in particular the inhabitants of Glasgow and its environs by securing and maintaining premises for the purpose of presenting the arts in all their forms. In particular the works (in the widest meaning) of persons who under normal circumstances would be denied a platform for expressing their artistic ideas, so long as such ideas expressed through their work are not subversive of all religion and morality.
What does it mean to express artistic ideas as "long as such ideas expressed through their work are not subversive of all religion and morality”? How could the OBJECTIVES be formulated to suit the needs and ideas of those who are involved and interested in the possibilities of such a place? What does it mean to work within the frame of a public (exhibition) space? and how can the limits of such a place be formulated and renegotiated, by who and on what grounds? Is there a need to be specific in the description of OBJECTIVES?
As an example one of the collaborators for this project has been the YES! Association. After negotiations with the Transmission board on the 28th of November their proposal for a new formulation of the constitution read as follows:
OBJECTIVES:
To develop sustainable structures and strategies for a non-profit engagement in the production of exhibitions as well as the circulation of knowledge within the field of art. To advance the education of the public generally and in particular the inhabitants of Glasgow and its environs by securing and maintaining premises for the purpose of presenting arts in all their forms. Transmission will observe an intersectional perspective and work to ensure equal opportunities in regard to gender, ethnicity, sexuality and class in all aspects of their activities; meaning exhibitions, programs, screenings, publications, availability, PR, budget and choice of committee members. A gender equal exhibition program means that at least half of the exhibited works should be made by women. An ethnic equality practice means that the institution’s selection of originators should reflect the ethnic spectrum of society.
COMMITTEE:
At the Annual General Meeting (hereinafter AGM) the association will approve a Committee to administer the day to day affairs of the association. Transmission agrees to observe an intersectional perspective and work to ensure equal opportunities in regard to gender, ethnicity, sexuality and class in the process of approving new Committee members. This Committee shall comprise of a Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer and at least 2, but not more than 4 other ordinary members. The maximum period allotted to members of the Committee being two terms (2 years). Any casual vacancy arising may be filled by the Committee. The Chairperson will preside at all meetings of the association, and in the event of their absence the Committee or the association, as the case shall be, shall appoint one of their number.
The aim for the project is to bring about a change in the Transmission constitution based on the proposals that you bring in. All comments and/or suggestions are welcome, small or large. I'm hoping for your contribution and look very much forward to being in dialogue with you.
Until the 22nd, all the best,
Kajsa Dahlberg
Proposal for a change in Transmission's Constitution by The YES! Association
2009-01-10
Dear Transmission,
After very interesting negotiations at the galley on November 28th last year, and after further discussions amongst ourselves we would like to propose the following changes to the Constitution to be considered at the Annual General Meeting on January 22nd 2009:
OBJECTIVES:
To develop sustainable structures and strategies for a non-profit engagement in the production of exhibitions as well as the circulation of knowledge within the field of art. To advance the education of the public generally and in particular the inhabitants of Glasgow and its environs by securing and maintaining premises for the purpose of presenting arts in all their forms. Transmission will observe an intersectional perspective and work to ensure equal opportunities in regard to gender, ethnicity, sexuality and class in all aspects of their activities; meaning exhibitions, programs, screenings, publications, availability, PR, budget and choice of committee members. A gender equal exhibition program means that at least half of the exhibited works should be made by women. An ethnic equality practice means that the institution’s selection of originators should reflect the ethnic spectrum of society.
COMMITTEE:
At the Annual General Meeting (hereinafter AGM) the association will approve a Committee to administer the day to day affairs of the association. Transmission agrees to observe an intersectional perspective and work to ensure equal opportunities in regard to gender, ethnicity, sexuality and class in the process of approving new Committee members. This Committee shall comprise of a Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer and at least 2, but not more than 4 other ordinary members. The maximum period allotted to members of the Committee being two terms (2 years). Any casual vacancy arising may be filled by the Committee. The Chairperson will preside at all meetings of the association, and in the event of their absence the Committee or the association, as the case shall be, shall appoint one of their number.
The YES! Association.
Appendix: notes on the proposal for a change in Transmission's Constitution by The YES! Association
Dear All.
The starting point for the YES! Association was a feminist perspective were gender inequalities was the central concern, but over the last year we have developed our understanding of power relations and now strive to work from an intersectional perspective. For us, intersectionality is a perspective where gender, class, ethnicity/race, sexuality never appear in a “pure” relation but affects and transforms through other forms of power relations. Since women are not only women but has class-, ethnic- and a sexual identity it’s not enough to analyze inequality, power abuse and structures of oppression merely through a gender perspective.
Intersectionality questions an agenda were resistance is reduced to one structure or one set of relations that is universally prevailing. By prioritizing only one you make the others invisible. For example the white heterosexual middle class position within the feminist project or the class position within the left movement. The possibilities of this perspective are that it doesn’t fix neither positions of oppression nor power, these relations are never static.
We mean that the Constitution should be something to strive towards, which differentiate it from for example signing the Equality Agreement that we discussed in Glasgow. The way we have formulated the Constitution is to suggest that the discussion on equality cannot simply be to count men vs. women but to have a constant and present discussion about the artists you choose to exhibit, their projects, the budget and pr spent on these projects, the committee members and Transmission as such. All in relation to space, time, existing political climate, economic possibilities and participation in society from multiple perspectives.
To embrace the perspective and see ones practice as part of the structures that upholds and has responsibilities in society is for us a way to empower the institutions and the position of art and cultural production.
The YES! Association would be happy to try to help and support Transmission Gallery to live up to the Constitution we are proposing. How this could be done practically will have to be developed. Since our meeting in Glasgow we have not had the resources to spend a lot of time on figuring this out, ie we have not had time to write a lengthy documents of guidelines and details as I think we discussed at the meeting in Glasgow. So for now perhaps it could just be in the form of an email conversation? If you have questions or find yourself in a situation of difficult decision making and would like a partner to discuss specific situations, we are happy to be that partner and engage in such a conversation, to the extent that we have time to do at that particular moment. This is something I think we have to develop together. For example if it would make it easier for you perhaps you could send us a annual report or a report every six months with statistics? But only if this is a wish from your side, from our side this is not needed.
Again, we think it is important to emphasize the difference between the Equality Agreement and the Constitution as being two very different documents, operating very differently with different effects. Implicit in the Equality Agreement is an instance of control and the possibility of sanctions. Neither control or sanctions are implicit in the Constitution. We see the constitution as something to strive for, to use as a guide line or an ideal to try to live up to, but not at all as a legally binding document.
Hope this helps! Please let us know if there is anything else you need before the AGM.
All the best,
The YES! Association
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Nomic at Transmission, November 29, 2008
Saturday 29th Nov. 2008, 11am – 5pm
With The Salford Restoration Office, and Tom Watson
James Hutchinson and Lesley Young, who work together as The Salford Restoration Office, were invited by Kajsa Dahlberg to get involved with her project The Name Of This Association Shall Be Transmission, as part of the project Moot Points, at Transmission, Glasgow in November 2008.
After some discussion with Dahlberg, some of which was around Transmission’s Constitution and such documents in general, we hit upon the idea of playing a game of Nomic with members of Transmission’s Committee and Membership. We were introduced to Nomic, when Tom Watson, an artist based in Manchester, invited, and The Reading Group we attend, to play. And so we have extended Dahlberg’s invitation to include Watson. To be clear we will not ‘Nomic Transmission’s constitution’. But instead play Nomic, with the aim of refining the Committee’s and Membership’s ability to articulate their ambitions for Transmission through the form of their written Constitution.
Nomic is a game, which mirrors the development of laws and rules, and provides a ‘space’ in which ideas, and their applications, implications and consequences can be played out. In a nutshell, Nomic is a game where a set of players take turns to amend two sets of rules, one set “mutable” (or changeable), the other set “immutable” (or unchangeable). The game always begins with the same sets of rules – which are basically rules about the rules. In sequence each player proposes a rule change or amendment, the other players then debate the proposal, and then vote on whether to accept it or not. This continues until there is a winner – either when a player reaches 100 points or when the rule-set becomes so paradoxical that it is impossible to take a turn. It is unlikely that in one afternoon we will have a winner.
For the game of Nomic on Saturday 29th November at Transmission, each player will need a notebook and a pen and an Initial Set of Rules (see below). For those who haven’t played before, read on for an introduction to the game. We recommended that you read the introduction and familiarise yourself with the Initial Set of Rules. The pages following the Initial Set of Rules contain a more expanded description of Nomic by Peter Suber, who invented the game. This is not required reading, but just for those who are interested.
And, just to say, we are also Nomic Novices – but all the same we thing Saturday will prove to be and interesting day all the same.
Looking forward to meeting you,
Best regards,
James Hutchinson, Lesley Young and Tom Watson
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Dear Members and Others
Dear Members of Transmission,
My name is Kajsa Dahlberg and I've been invited to develop a project/piece within the framework of an exhibition taking place in November at Transmission, Moot Points, that will discuss different interpretations and representations of self-organization in contemporary art practice. The exhibition project aims to discuss "the methodologies of participation and communication as means to dismantle hierarchies and the active use of an audience in challenging the integrity and authorship in a work of art."
For this exhibition I would like to collaborate with you around a project I'm calling: The Name Of This Association Shall Be Transmission.
There is this whole history of artist thinking about, and reacting to, institutions as well as their role in relation to the public sphere. The Art Workers Coalition formed in the US in 1969, the Artists’ Union formed in Britain in the 70s and The Artist's Reserved Rights Transfer and Sale Agreement developed by Seth Siegelaub in 1971 are just a few examples of artists and art workers responding to their contemporary political situation. The current privatization of culture, both in Scotland and elsewhere, might call for a rethinking around these issues today. However, while thinking in terms of a broader political scope there is possibly also a need to be specific in terms of ones own particular position. To think about issues of class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age etc, as well as how these definitions intersect, might be important in order to maintain a complex discussion about culture and representation.
I would like to look at how these negotiations around representation might be expressed and activated through the constitution of a given place. I asked to read the Transmission constitution and found it interesting that the "OBJECTIVES" contained the following formulation:
OBJECTIVES: To advance the education of the public generally and in particular the inhabitants of Glasgow and its environs by securing and maintaining premises for the purpose of presenting the arts in all their forms. In particular the works (in the widest meaning) of persons who under normal circumstances would be denied a platform for expressing their artistic ideas, so long as such ideas expressed through their work are not subversive of all religion and morality.
These OBJECTIVES, further, are what much of the rest of the document depends upon and refers back to. I decided to try and specify the OBJECTIVES of Transmission Gallery through collaborations with other associations, organizations and individuals. The aim for the project is to bring about a change in the Transmission constitution, based on these discussions and proposals. What does it mean to work within the frame of a public (exhibition) space? and how can the limits of such a place be formulated and renegotiated? By who? and on what grounds? Is there a need to be specific in the description of OBJECTIVES? What does it mean, for instance, to express the artistic ideas, so long as such ideas expressed through their work are not “subversive of all religion and morality”? What structures or scenarios lie behind specific formulations? How could the OBJECTIVES be formulated to suit the needs and ideas of those involved?
The Transmission constitution will offer a sort of case study for thinking about what would be changed in order to fit your specific ideas, aims and beliefs? I would be very happy to receive new proposals or formulations of the OBJECTIVES from you. Every one of these new proposals will be considered and discussed in a Transmission general meeting and might contribute to the change of the OBJECTIVES, and hence the Transmission constitution. This could be any small, large or personal change. All comments and/or suggestions are welcome.
I'm hoping for your contribution and look very much forward to being in dialogue with you.
All the very best
Kajsa
My name is Kajsa Dahlberg and I've been invited to develop a project/piece within the framework of an exhibition taking place in November at Transmission, Moot Points, that will discuss different interpretations and representations of self-organization in contemporary art practice. The exhibition project aims to discuss "the methodologies of participation and communication as means to dismantle hierarchies and the active use of an audience in challenging the integrity and authorship in a work of art."
For this exhibition I would like to collaborate with you around a project I'm calling: The Name Of This Association Shall Be Transmission.
There is this whole history of artist thinking about, and reacting to, institutions as well as their role in relation to the public sphere. The Art Workers Coalition formed in the US in 1969, the Artists’ Union formed in Britain in the 70s and The Artist's Reserved Rights Transfer and Sale Agreement developed by Seth Siegelaub in 1971 are just a few examples of artists and art workers responding to their contemporary political situation. The current privatization of culture, both in Scotland and elsewhere, might call for a rethinking around these issues today. However, while thinking in terms of a broader political scope there is possibly also a need to be specific in terms of ones own particular position. To think about issues of class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age etc, as well as how these definitions intersect, might be important in order to maintain a complex discussion about culture and representation.
I would like to look at how these negotiations around representation might be expressed and activated through the constitution of a given place. I asked to read the Transmission constitution and found it interesting that the "OBJECTIVES" contained the following formulation:
OBJECTIVES: To advance the education of the public generally and in particular the inhabitants of Glasgow and its environs by securing and maintaining premises for the purpose of presenting the arts in all their forms. In particular the works (in the widest meaning) of persons who under normal circumstances would be denied a platform for expressing their artistic ideas, so long as such ideas expressed through their work are not subversive of all religion and morality.
These OBJECTIVES, further, are what much of the rest of the document depends upon and refers back to. I decided to try and specify the OBJECTIVES of Transmission Gallery through collaborations with other associations, organizations and individuals. The aim for the project is to bring about a change in the Transmission constitution, based on these discussions and proposals. What does it mean to work within the frame of a public (exhibition) space? and how can the limits of such a place be formulated and renegotiated? By who? and on what grounds? Is there a need to be specific in the description of OBJECTIVES? What does it mean, for instance, to express the artistic ideas, so long as such ideas expressed through their work are not “subversive of all religion and morality”? What structures or scenarios lie behind specific formulations? How could the OBJECTIVES be formulated to suit the needs and ideas of those involved?
The Transmission constitution will offer a sort of case study for thinking about what would be changed in order to fit your specific ideas, aims and beliefs? I would be very happy to receive new proposals or formulations of the OBJECTIVES from you. Every one of these new proposals will be considered and discussed in a Transmission general meeting and might contribute to the change of the OBJECTIVES, and hence the Transmission constitution. This could be any small, large or personal change. All comments and/or suggestions are welcome.
I'm hoping for your contribution and look very much forward to being in dialogue with you.
All the very best
Kajsa
Response from Darren Rhymes
Dear Kajsa Dahlberg,
Thank you for the invitation to reply to your open letter to
Transmission members. I have been trying to think about how to reply
to it for a while. I find it hard to formulate any 'specific ideas,
aims and beliefs' positively in terms of what I would like to change.
I think (probably because I am not so pro-active) I generally have a
feeling of a reaction to a current situation- and in this case (of the
public space of Transmission) that there are things inadequate in
relation to my desires. I very much welcome this invitation to be a
bit less woolly about this, to clarify. I imagine that you hope for a
process of working out through the language of this public space of
Transmission that a process of identification, clarification and
movement to something different might occur. If you don't mind I will
try to write some thoughts below. Sorry but they're not direct
suggestions for amendments to the objectives-
I find Transmission, at least in part, to be a self-interest group. It
is a network for the accumulation and circulation of knowledge through
a group or number of small groups. I cant really imagine a situation
where this knowledge is aggregated ( I guess that is a general
condition for art). This circulation that takes place is also a
network of desire and one of professional development (or the
development of cultural capital that might one day be cashed in by the
individual for real capital). There is a draw to be involved in this.
People from outside the Glasgow art scene often refer to how nice it
is that everyone seems interconnected and friends with each other
here. (I moved up from London so have experienced this shift). This is
partly due to how small Glasgow is but also I think due to what
Transmission is- a network that most people involved in art in Glasgow
pass through a relationship with. Mostly this is what transmission has
been- a network that has allowed discussion and circulation of
knowledge and also a contact and interface with the wider (now global)
art world. There is still that hang over of when Douglas Gordon and
others were involved and hooked the place up with individuals doing
things in the world beyond Glasgow. This obviously had a beneficial
effect on their individual careers.
I do not think there is much thorough consideration or discussion here
of this relationship to this (now) global network and what this means
(perhaps I am wrong). A discussion of self-organisation obviously has
a relationship to this. I think that the only recent change to the
constitution has been about the amount of commission taken on the sale
of artists' work. This came up because of Transmission's participation
in art fairs- something which in itself brought up some discontent
among some members. But this never really turned into a discussion of
what this participation meant, beyond practical questions of whether
this was an appropriate use of Transmission's resources. When actually
it is perhaps just the most visible sign of what Transmission exists
in relation to- the accumulation and circulation of knowledge/
cultural capital/ real capital within the art market.
It seemed from your letter that at least partly you are interested in a
discussion of the symbolic language of the space of Transmission (and
through that discussion a progression or change in it). This language
being what inscribes it. In terms of what has become visible within the
language of the constitution I would say that the above example is an
indicator of what is fuzzily undercurrent in the public space of
Transmission.
I am not sure any of this is very relevant to your invitation. To more
directly reply - I am interested in the possibility of
art/institution, as an actor in public space, that confronts its real
limits. I guess this would be something that is self reflexive as well
as attempts to forge relationships with 'fields' beyond its own.
I am not sure I am capable of articulating by myself how this would
effect the objectives of the association.
In terms of the existing wording of the constitution- it seems largely
outdated and inadequate but also obviously expedient in relation to
the demands of funders and the imperatives of the Charities'
Commission. I would say this was language appearing as a result of
these outside forces rather than thoroughly self-developed.
Education of the public-
Education seems a loaded term- what kind of education and on what
terms (Paolo Freire?).
The public(s) being educated are a fairly small (as alluded to above)
and the education that is going on is probably more reciprocal one
than this slightly patriarchal sounding phrase suggests. If we make
reference to this in the objectives perhaps a more honest
self-appraisal is appropriate.
The works of those who would not normally be represented-
representation- In the late eighties I understand there was a gap in
terms of what was represented in terms of contemporary art in Glasgow.
Twenty odd years later this is no longer the case, although there
would be a big gap if Transmission wasn't here there are other things
happening. It seems a fairly directionless objective - one that falls
into ideas of the heritage of the Avant-garde and modernist innovation
or one that is easily co-opted by council regeneration policies. I
guess the suggestion is of the constantly self-reflexive which I would
approve of. But perhaps it could be more rigorously articulated.
From a mainstream cultural position I guess Transmission is still
showing what wouldn't normally be represented.
This objective also has a hint of the language of multi-culturalism
which I do not see much sign of either engagement or rejection of the
politics of.
Morality and religion. As you highlight in your letter this seems the
most obviously irrelevant- but it would seem equally weak to replace it
with a presumed secular objectivity. Certainly there should be no
necessity for placing these kind of limits in the objectives of the
association.
I have not put forward any actual suggestions but I would be keen
for a process of activation of the language of this space and would
like to take part. That sounds like a terrible disclaimer but at this
time I feel incapable of suggesting positive changes without other
voices as interlocutors.
Best wishes,
Darren Rhymes.
Present Constitution
TRANSMISSION GALLERY CONSTITUTION
NAME: The name of this association shall be Transmission.
OBJECTIVES: To advance the education of the public generally and in particular the inhabitants of Glasgow and its environs by securing and maintaining premises for the purpose of presenting the arts in all their forms. In particular the works (in the widest meaning) of persons who under normal circumstances would be denied a platform for expressing their artistic ideas, so long as such ideas expressed through their work are not subversive of all religion and morality.
MEMBERSHIP: Membership shall be open to anyone over 18 years of age who supports the Objectives. Transmission reserves the right to refuse membership by a majority vote of the Committee if there is reasonable doubt surrounding the applicant's support for the Objectives. The applicant in such cases will then have the right of appeal to a General meeting of members. A meeting called for this purpose will require at least 14 days' notice and the applicant must have the support of at least two thirds of the membership present. The decision of such a General Meeting would be final.
GENERAL MEETINGS: An Annual General Meeting (hereinafter AGM) shall be held in September each year. Office bearers will present their reports for the year ending March 31st, at the AGM, the financial reports having been audited. Special General meetings may be called at any time on the request of 10 members to the Secretary. Voting at all General Meetings will be taken on a show of hands and shall be on the basis of one vote per member, a simple majority deciding. The Chairperson of the meeting shall have a deliberative and casting vote.. Any member may attend General Meetings, provided they have paid their annual subscription.
COMMITTEE: At the AGM the association will approve a Committee to administer the day to day affairs of the association. This Committee shall comprise of a Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer and at least 2, but not more than 4 other ordinary members. The maximum period allotted to members of the Committee being two terms (2 years). Any casual vacancy arising may be filled by the Committee. The Chairperson will preside at all meetings of the association, and in the event of their absence the Committee or the association, as the case shall be, shall appoint one of their number.
QUORUM: The quorum for the meeting for the association shall be one third of the full members and all Committee Members.
COMMITTEE MEETINGS: The Committee will meet monthly to discuss all aspects of the Gallery's business.
COMMITTEE VOTING: Voting at all meetings of the Committee shall be on show of hands, a simple majority deciding; the Chairperson shall have a deliberative and casting vote.
NOTICES OF MEETINGS: All General Meetings require 14 days' notice. The Chairperson may call an emergency meeting of the Committee. In the event of any member of the Committee being unable to attend a meeting they forfeit their vote.
MINUTES: Minutes shall be kept of all meetings of the association and of the Committee meetings.
RECORDS: Proper books of accounts and copies of official correspondence shall be maintained by the appropriate office bearers and shall be open to inspection by any member at any reasonable time.
AUDITORS: One or two auditors, who shall not be office bearers, shall be appointed for the following year at the AGM and shall have the responsibility for auditing the annual income, expenditure account and balance sheet. They shall also check the books of account at such intervals as they deem appropriate.
CONTRACTS: Contracts shall be signed on behalf of the association by the Chairperson, the Secretary and the Treasurer.
LEGAL RIGHT: Nothing contained in this Constitution shall supersede the legal rights of any member.
AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION: Alterations of the Constitution shall receive the assent of not less than two thirds of those present and eligible to vote at a properly convened General Meeting at which 28 days' notice has been given, including the business to be discussed.
COMMISSION: The association shall charge a 15% commission on all works of art that are sold within the Gallery. Such moneys shall be accrued for the administration costs of the association.
EXHIBITION: The Committee shall make all decisions regarding the exhibition and presentation of works in the Gallery by both members and non-members. Non-members who are invited to use the gallery shall be encouraged to become members of the association. The entire Committee shall be responsible for the operation of the Gallery. Members have the right of appeal on the Committee's decisions.
FINANCE: Transmission shall have the power to raise money by any appropriate means other than those which would adversely affect its charitable status. The income and property of Transmission from whatever source derived shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the purposes of Transmission as set forth in the Constitution, and no portion thereof shall be paid or transferred directly or indirectly way of dividend, bonus or otherwise, nor by way of profit to any members of the Committee; provided that nothing therein shall prevent the payment in good faith of reasonable and proper remuneration to any officer or servant of Transmission, in return for any services requested by and rendered to Transmission, or the repayment of out-of-pocket expenses; such members shall have no voting rights in relation to these matters. No members of the Committee shall be appointed to any salaried office at Transmission or to any office of Transmission paid by fees and no remuneration or any other benefit in money or moneys worth shall be given by the Gallery to any member of such governing body except reimbursing out-of-pocket expenses. The Gallery's financial year shall run from April 1st to March 31st. The accounts shall be audited by one or more independent auditor(s) annually.
DISSOLUTION: Transmission may be dissolved by a resolution passed by a two-thirds majority by those present and voting at a properly convened General Meeting, of which 28 days' notice has been given, including the business to be discussed. Such resolution may give instruction for the disposal of any assets held by or in the name of Transmission, provided that if any property remains after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities, such property shall be given or transferred to such other charitable institution or institutions having objects similar to some or all of the OBJECTIVES of Transmission, as the General Meeting may determine.
NAME: The name of this association shall be Transmission.
OBJECTIVES: To advance the education of the public generally and in particular the inhabitants of Glasgow and its environs by securing and maintaining premises for the purpose of presenting the arts in all their forms. In particular the works (in the widest meaning) of persons who under normal circumstances would be denied a platform for expressing their artistic ideas, so long as such ideas expressed through their work are not subversive of all religion and morality.
MEMBERSHIP: Membership shall be open to anyone over 18 years of age who supports the Objectives. Transmission reserves the right to refuse membership by a majority vote of the Committee if there is reasonable doubt surrounding the applicant's support for the Objectives. The applicant in such cases will then have the right of appeal to a General meeting of members. A meeting called for this purpose will require at least 14 days' notice and the applicant must have the support of at least two thirds of the membership present. The decision of such a General Meeting would be final.
GENERAL MEETINGS: An Annual General Meeting (hereinafter AGM) shall be held in September each year. Office bearers will present their reports for the year ending March 31st, at the AGM, the financial reports having been audited. Special General meetings may be called at any time on the request of 10 members to the Secretary. Voting at all General Meetings will be taken on a show of hands and shall be on the basis of one vote per member, a simple majority deciding. The Chairperson of the meeting shall have a deliberative and casting vote.. Any member may attend General Meetings, provided they have paid their annual subscription.
COMMITTEE: At the AGM the association will approve a Committee to administer the day to day affairs of the association. This Committee shall comprise of a Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer and at least 2, but not more than 4 other ordinary members. The maximum period allotted to members of the Committee being two terms (2 years). Any casual vacancy arising may be filled by the Committee. The Chairperson will preside at all meetings of the association, and in the event of their absence the Committee or the association, as the case shall be, shall appoint one of their number.
QUORUM: The quorum for the meeting for the association shall be one third of the full members and all Committee Members.
COMMITTEE MEETINGS: The Committee will meet monthly to discuss all aspects of the Gallery's business.
COMMITTEE VOTING: Voting at all meetings of the Committee shall be on show of hands, a simple majority deciding; the Chairperson shall have a deliberative and casting vote.
NOTICES OF MEETINGS: All General Meetings require 14 days' notice. The Chairperson may call an emergency meeting of the Committee. In the event of any member of the Committee being unable to attend a meeting they forfeit their vote.
MINUTES: Minutes shall be kept of all meetings of the association and of the Committee meetings.
RECORDS: Proper books of accounts and copies of official correspondence shall be maintained by the appropriate office bearers and shall be open to inspection by any member at any reasonable time.
AUDITORS: One or two auditors, who shall not be office bearers, shall be appointed for the following year at the AGM and shall have the responsibility for auditing the annual income, expenditure account and balance sheet. They shall also check the books of account at such intervals as they deem appropriate.
CONTRACTS: Contracts shall be signed on behalf of the association by the Chairperson, the Secretary and the Treasurer.
LEGAL RIGHT: Nothing contained in this Constitution shall supersede the legal rights of any member.
AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION: Alterations of the Constitution shall receive the assent of not less than two thirds of those present and eligible to vote at a properly convened General Meeting at which 28 days' notice has been given, including the business to be discussed.
COMMISSION: The association shall charge a 15% commission on all works of art that are sold within the Gallery. Such moneys shall be accrued for the administration costs of the association.
EXHIBITION: The Committee shall make all decisions regarding the exhibition and presentation of works in the Gallery by both members and non-members. Non-members who are invited to use the gallery shall be encouraged to become members of the association. The entire Committee shall be responsible for the operation of the Gallery. Members have the right of appeal on the Committee's decisions.
FINANCE: Transmission shall have the power to raise money by any appropriate means other than those which would adversely affect its charitable status. The income and property of Transmission from whatever source derived shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the purposes of Transmission as set forth in the Constitution, and no portion thereof shall be paid or transferred directly or indirectly way of dividend, bonus or otherwise, nor by way of profit to any members of the Committee; provided that nothing therein shall prevent the payment in good faith of reasonable and proper remuneration to any officer or servant of Transmission, in return for any services requested by and rendered to Transmission, or the repayment of out-of-pocket expenses; such members shall have no voting rights in relation to these matters. No members of the Committee shall be appointed to any salaried office at Transmission or to any office of Transmission paid by fees and no remuneration or any other benefit in money or moneys worth shall be given by the Gallery to any member of such governing body except reimbursing out-of-pocket expenses. The Gallery's financial year shall run from April 1st to March 31st. The accounts shall be audited by one or more independent auditor(s) annually.
DISSOLUTION: Transmission may be dissolved by a resolution passed by a two-thirds majority by those present and voting at a properly convened General Meeting, of which 28 days' notice has been given, including the business to be discussed. Such resolution may give instruction for the disposal of any assets held by or in the name of Transmission, provided that if any property remains after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities, such property shall be given or transferred to such other charitable institution or institutions having objects similar to some or all of the OBJECTIVES of Transmission, as the General Meeting may determine.
From The YES! Association
Dear Transmission.
We would like to contribute to Moot Points and the project The Name Of This Association Shall Be Transmission by sending you our Equal Opportunities Agreement to be considered at one of your board meetings.
Below you can read this Agreement that the YES! Association proposed to set up between YES! and the institutions hosting the exhibition Art Feminism - Strategies and effects in Sweden from the 1970s up to the present day; Dunkers Kulturhus, Liljevalchs konsthall, Hälsinglands Museum, Gothenburg’s Museum and Riksutställningar (Swedish Travelling Exhibitions). The Agreement was made public at Dunkers Kulturhus in Helsingborg, 15th of October 2005. It was through the declaration of this agreement that the YES! Association was founded.
The YES! Association is an association that aims to create favorable conditions for art workers whose practices and activities contribute to the overthrowing of male supremacy, ethnic supremacy and of hierarchies connected to physical and mental ability, sexuality and class. Our goal is to overthrow the ruling system of patriarchal,racist and capitalist power structures by putting into practice a structural redistribution of the access to financial resources, space and time within the art scene.
The YES! Association
www.foreningenja.org
We would like to contribute to Moot Points and the project The Name Of This Association Shall Be Transmission by sending you our Equal Opportunities Agreement to be considered at one of your board meetings.
Below you can read this Agreement that the YES! Association proposed to set up between YES! and the institutions hosting the exhibition Art Feminism - Strategies and effects in Sweden from the 1970s up to the present day; Dunkers Kulturhus, Liljevalchs konsthall, Hälsinglands Museum, Gothenburg’s Museum and Riksutställningar (Swedish Travelling Exhibitions). The Agreement was made public at Dunkers Kulturhus in Helsingborg, 15th of October 2005. It was through the declaration of this agreement that the YES! Association was founded.
The YES! Association is an association that aims to create favorable conditions for art workers whose practices and activities contribute to the overthrowing of male supremacy, ethnic supremacy and of hierarchies connected to physical and mental ability, sexuality and class. Our goal is to overthrow the ruling system of patriarchal,racist and capitalist power structures by putting into practice a structural redistribution of the access to financial resources, space and time within the art scene.
The YES! Association
www.foreningenja.org
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
A Game of Nomic
A Game of Nomic
Saturday 29th Nov. 2008, 11am – 5pm
With The Salford Restoration Office, and Tom Watson
James Hutchinson and Lesley Young, who work together as The Salford Restoration Office, were invited by Kajsa Dahlberg to get involved with her project The Name Of This Association Shall Be Transmission, as part of the project Moot Points, at Transmission, Glasgow in November 2008.
After some discussion with Dahlberg, some of which was around Transmission’s Constitution and such documents in general, we hit upon the idea of playing a game of Nomic with members of Transmission’s Committee and Membership. We were introduced to Nomic, when Tom Watson, an artist based in Manchester, invited, and The Reading Group we attend, to play. And so we have extended Dahlberg’s invitation to include Watson. To be clear we will not ‘Nomic Transmission’s constitution’. But instead play Nomic, with the aim of refining the Committee’s and Membership’s ability to articulate their ambitions for Transmission through the form of their written Constitution.
Nomic is a game, which mirrors the development of laws and rules, and provides a ‘space’ in which ideas, and their applications, implications and consequences can be played out. In a nutshell, Nomic is a game where a set of players take turns to amend two sets of rules, one set “mutable” (or changeable), the other set “immutable” (or unchangeable). The game always begins with the same sets of rules – which are basically rules about the rules. In sequence each player proposes a rule change or amendment, the other players then debate the proposal, and then vote on whether to accept it or not. This continues until there is a winner – either when a player reaches 100 points or when the rule-set becomes so paradoxical that it is impossible to take a turn. It is unlikely that in one afternoon we will have a winner.
For the game of Nomic on Saturday 29th November at Transmission, each player will need a notebook and a pen and an Initial Set of Rules (see below). For those who haven’t played before, read on for an introduction to the game. We recommended that you read the introduction and familiarise yourself with the Initial Set of Rules. The pages following the Initial Set of Rules contain a more expanded description of Nomic by Peter Suber, who invented the game. This is not required reading, but just for those who are interested.
And, just to say, we are also Nomic Novices – but all the same we thing Saturday will prove to be and interesting day all the same.
Looking forward to meeting you,
Best regards,
James Hutchinson, Lesley Young and Tom Watson
Saturday 29th Nov. 2008, 11am – 5pm
With The Salford Restoration Office, and Tom Watson
James Hutchinson and Lesley Young, who work together as The Salford Restoration Office, were invited by Kajsa Dahlberg to get involved with her project The Name Of This Association Shall Be Transmission, as part of the project Moot Points, at Transmission, Glasgow in November 2008.
After some discussion with Dahlberg, some of which was around Transmission’s Constitution and such documents in general, we hit upon the idea of playing a game of Nomic with members of Transmission’s Committee and Membership. We were introduced to Nomic, when Tom Watson, an artist based in Manchester, invited, and The Reading Group we attend, to play. And so we have extended Dahlberg’s invitation to include Watson. To be clear we will not ‘Nomic Transmission’s constitution’. But instead play Nomic, with the aim of refining the Committee’s and Membership’s ability to articulate their ambitions for Transmission through the form of their written Constitution.
Nomic is a game, which mirrors the development of laws and rules, and provides a ‘space’ in which ideas, and their applications, implications and consequences can be played out. In a nutshell, Nomic is a game where a set of players take turns to amend two sets of rules, one set “mutable” (or changeable), the other set “immutable” (or unchangeable). The game always begins with the same sets of rules – which are basically rules about the rules. In sequence each player proposes a rule change or amendment, the other players then debate the proposal, and then vote on whether to accept it or not. This continues until there is a winner – either when a player reaches 100 points or when the rule-set becomes so paradoxical that it is impossible to take a turn. It is unlikely that in one afternoon we will have a winner.
For the game of Nomic on Saturday 29th November at Transmission, each player will need a notebook and a pen and an Initial Set of Rules (see below). For those who haven’t played before, read on for an introduction to the game. We recommended that you read the introduction and familiarise yourself with the Initial Set of Rules. The pages following the Initial Set of Rules contain a more expanded description of Nomic by Peter Suber, who invented the game. This is not required reading, but just for those who are interested.
And, just to say, we are also Nomic Novices – but all the same we thing Saturday will prove to be and interesting day all the same.
Looking forward to meeting you,
Best regards,
James Hutchinson, Lesley Young and Tom Watson
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