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
Friday, January 16, 2009
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
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