how to start and run your own art group

How To StartAnd RunYour OwnArt Group.

By John Dyhouse

Why should you want to andhow to make it successful.

How To Start And Run, Your Own Art

Group.Written by John Dyhouse

(Sunset behind trees)

The learning points from my experiences as an amateur artist, in helping to run a small local art group, are recorded here. It is hoped that they may help you to start and successfully run your own art group.

Table Of Contents

How To Start And Run Your Own Art Group.

Why Should You Consider Starting Your Own Art Group?

Deciding To Start Your Own Art Group

The Aims Of Your Art Group

A Venue For your New Art Group

Financing The Art Group

Administration

Building The Membership

Do You Feel Able To Start Your Own Group?

Why Should You Consider Starting Your

Own Art Group?Are you fed up painting on your own? Need to push yourself into starting a new painting, or maybe you need a little friendly inspiration? Then join an art group or local club. Sounds easy, I know but it can be a problem for a number of reasons. Maybe there isn't one in your area or it is not taking on new members; or maybe you just feel that they don't do what you want them to do. After all it is no good paying (and they will all want some sort of fee) for something that you don't want.

Why not start your own group?It could be easier than you might think.

I had to face this issue in the early 90's and I have been helping to run an art group since then. I think I have learned a little bit about the job over the past twenty-odd years. This book is a resume of how, what and why; if you feel that you would like to run your own art group. I shall be mainly concerned with the group as a not-for-profit venture, but if you are a practising artist there may well be something for you here.

(Abstract, Windows – 2)

All images (art and photography) in this publication, are the work of the author unless otherwise stated. The paintings are all in soft pastel, the titles are at the bottom of each piece.

Deciding To Start Your Own Art Group

My Own Story

(Spanish Sunset)

A few years ago, around 1991, I found myself in a situation like this. I had finished a third year of adult education classes and things were changing. The classes were up until then almost a social evening, but the then government decided to introduce some formality into the classes and require, whisper it softly, formal educational ideas and end of term EXAMINATIONS!

A number of the students, including myself were horrified. I have no problems with exams as such, after all I have two higher degrees, however this was not something I was doing for more qualifications. It was a hobby, something to relax with and enjoy. Anyway, the crux of the matter was that many local classes were cut and some of us went off looking for clubs or groups to join. There were a few groups in the area, mostly during the day for retirees, and obviously not workable for those of us with jobs to go to. A few did meet in the evenings but …

“Sorry we have a full complement, we are not taking new members just at the moment”.

They only met infrequently or just for demonstrations, whereas I wanted a place to paint.

They were of a professional standard and required assessment of work.

These were just some of the issues we faced when we enquired about membership. So what to do? The answer was obvious! We should start our own group.

However none of us had ever been involved in this sort of venture, so we were a little sceptical of making a success of it and approached it very gingerly. Yet a number of us agreed to try it. We found a local hall to use and agreed on a meeting

schedule and how to fund it. And then went about finding more members to make it viable.

It did not take long to become what is a now a successful small group, which allows us to paint regularly and hold occasional workshops and demonstrations and to support each other through those periods when we wonder if it is all worth it. We also hold regular exhibitions and even sell some of our work. I believe that I have learned enough to pass on some tips to anyone who may feel a need to start their own group.

I would mention at this point that there is nothing like seeing your work on display in a well- organised exhibition. Most of us however need help from a group to be able to organise this sort of function. It is a very important part of a group’s annual calendar and should be approached as such.

The Aims Of Your Art Group

What Sort of Group Do You Aim For?

The first step is to find other people who may be able to help with the task, this will obviously make things very much easier for the founder(s). You may be able to share the work load and making of any decisions. I was lucky really, in that there were several of us wanting to start a group, so this step was unnecessary. This could be from your social circle or a local art class, you may need to spread the word using flyers or adverts.

First priority: target your objectives

The next step is to decide what the aims and modus operandi of the group will be. Many art groups are run as classes but this is not the only way. Our aim was to provide a regular time and venue for simply painting, we only wanted to place a little discipline into our busy personal lives so that we would be painting regularly. This was our main aim but others were developed as the group grew and prospered.

Some objectives/aims might be:1. A venue for painting as a group2. A venue for individual painting (subtle

difference will become clear below)3. To develop the skills of the members4. To support / fund demonstrations /

workshops from professional tutors

5. To arrange self-supported workshops6. To fund group exhibitions (of art work)7. To arrange painting days as a group8. To arrange group trips to art galleries and

exhibitions (art supplies)9. To arrange discounts for members at local

or national suppliers of art materials10. A social group11. To have fun12. A self-help art group to help with the

exchange of skills

Of course, as stated above the group may want to list any combination of these in its aims. This is probably not an exhaustive list and other aims may depend on personal wants and preferences.

The founder members will probably need to discuss what aims should be included in a prospectus for the group, and what resources will be needed before opening the group to public membership. This will not be written in stone and may require to be addressed at regular intervals such as an annual general meeting (AGM) at which all members should be able to discuss the functioning of the group and vote on outcomes of the discussions. Being too rigid over the functioning of the group may lead to loss of members and therefore group income.

Conversely being flexible will also make for a much more loyal membership and a happier group environment.

(A flight of herons)

A Venue For your New Art Group

How To Decide

You will need a prediction, or "guesstimate", of the maximum size of the group in the medium term, at least. This number should then be used to assess potential venues. Large venues will of course probably cost more; be practical. Our first venue was in the local Women’s Institute Hall, it was local (of course) and large enough for more than our initial estimates of the size of the group.

But after a while we found that the lighting was not really satisfactory; and the furniture, tables

and chairs, were old and heavy to assemble prior to our meeting. As many of the group were female and getting on in years, this became a real issue. In the end, the decision to move was taken out of our hands as the hall was to be demolished as part of a modernisation.

We now had a much better idea of what we needed. Numbers had grown, up to 40 members in total, although not all attended every week. We were more aware of the need for good lighting and furniture that was easy to put out. We were lucky to have several alternatives available without having to pay very much-increased rental. The experience we had gained with the first venue enabled us to select a new home for the group, which we are still using some 20 years later.

Considerations for the venue would include:-

1. The size of the venue2. Whether it is available at the time

required.3. For an art group lighting is important4. Furniture, sufficient and of the right type5. Storage space for the group6. Toilets7. Kitchen facilities8. Parking

9. Sufficient power sockets10. Heating

You might find that church halls, community centres, village halls, school premises (evening) could all be appropriate venues. There will be ways of finding local venues, which you can explore depending upon where you live. Libraries can be useful in this respect.

Financing The Art Group

Sources Of Income

There are a number of ways of collecting income for the group, of which the main ones are likely to be :-

Membership fees1. Attendance fees2. Membership fees3. Fees for those special occasions,

demonstrations, trips, etc4. Hanging fees for exhibitions, etc

. We felt that a complementary mix of income streams would be most appropriate. In our case we charge a basic annual membership fee and an attendance fee collected at the weekly meeting of the group. The size of these fees should be carefully considered, they will need to cover the basic expenses of the group but not be too high to put off potential members.

We had two large expenses, namely our annual exhibition and the rental for the hall. The annual membership rate was chosen to provide a sufficient fund, which would pay for this exhibition. The weekly attendance fee (we called it a subscription) was set to pay the rental assuming an average weekly attendance. In fact the weekly subscription generated enough income to pay for other activities. At the moment we hire professional artists about 4 or 5 times during our year to provide demonstrations and workshops. Numbers do go up and down so we need to re-assess these fees at our AGM each year.

A bank account should be set up for the group, requiring at least two different signatures to keep the accounts properly (either/or signature to be required, rather than both for managing the account). Our group now has an average of 21-23 members over the year but a bank account is useful to keep cash, and clear records of transactions, even though we may not make an average of more that one transaction per month.

Two signatories make it easier to manage the account as members move away or leave the group. We learnt this when one of our treasurers passed away, if there is more than one signatory adding a replacement is much easier. As we tend

to make only one or two transactions as a monthly average over the year, we found that accounting skills were not necessary but someone should be able to keep the accounts for regular inspection by the group.

In the first instance, a venue and cash to run the group is all that is needed but as the group develops and grows the administration will need to be formalised. There will be a number of roles to be filled. Administration is the next topic to be considered.

(Road through the valley)

(A ray of sunlight)

AdministrationWho Does What?

(image: public domain)

Too many cooks ?

In order to share the work of running the group equitably and to make sure that jobs do get done on time, individual members will need to be given responsibilities even if several members are involved in doing the work.

The actual make-up of a managing group or committee will depend on size the of the art group and events that need to be arranged. However the roles most likely to be needed are as follows :-

1. Chairperson, to manage the committee and run meetings (e.g. the AGM). Also to act as a focus for any external links.

2. Secretary, unless the group is very large may be the same person as the chairperson, but will be responsible for administration.

3. Treasurer, to manage group funds, collect fees and pay expenses. And to prepare a statement of cash flows at the AGM.

4. Exhibition Secretary, responsible for all aspects of the exhibition.

5. Membership secretary, to manage membership records and membership requests.

6. Social Secretary, to manage any trips and possibly demonstrations, etc.

7. Publicity secretary8. Programme secretary9. Depending on the size of the group, a

small number of non-executive members may be required, helping out with specific tasks.

Although this seems very formal, it does mean that tasks are done on time and done properly. Our own small group is managed by a committee of four, which works very well. Tasks are assigned after the committee is voted in at our AGM, which roughly equate to:-

1. A (nominal) chairman2. A treasurer3. A membership secretary4. A demonstrations organiser

All tasks are shared out between these four roles. At the first meeting in each month, we decide if anything needs to be discussed and if so, we hold a short management meeting. These meeting are actually quite rare, as each member of the committee is responsible for their own tasks.

Because of the high level of skills required to arrange a succesful exhibition, we do have a specific manager for this task. This is because it can be very involved and is time consuming for a short part of the year only. Our current Exhibition Secretary has a lot of experience in that role, but due to personal issues at home does not want to be part of the group's main committee.

We are very flexible within our formal structure, so this is an approach that works very well for us. You will obviously make your own decisions possibly based on the people in the group.

(Forest Path)

Building The Membership

Who, How, Why?

One of the best ways of attracting new members is holding popular and successful exhibitions. Our exhibitions generate lots of interest from potential new members. The conversion rate from potential to actual member however depends very largely on what the individual person wants from a group and where and when the group meets.

The group should decide on a policy regarding new members, issues to consider may include :-

1. Will all mediums be allowed? 2. Will all competences be allowed?3. How much say will new members have in

running the group (or maybe there is a trial period)?

4. Is there a limit to the number of members, will a waiting list be necessary

Other ways of attracting new members will include:-

1. Adverts in local free newspapers2. Paid adverts in local newspapers3. Adverts in other local publications

4. Flyers posted in local libraries / art shops / community locations / etc

5. Local council lists of community activities

6. Newsletters / business cards7. Word of mouth (not to be dismissed

lightly)8. and of course a web page, see our

group web site at

http://www.freewebs.com/knowleartgroup

We are always pleased to see potential new members and invite them to attend two or three of our weekly meetings free of charge to see whether they think we can offer what they want. We think that most people will be looking for a group which defines success as :-

1. Having a friendly atmosphere 2. Is well organised 3. Holding a popular exhibition (at least

annually) 4. Has a yearly program which could

include demonstrations, criticism, workshops and outdoor painting and sketching days.

The crunch with our group for many people is that we do not have a professional tutor. The freedom to do what we want is held dear by

existing members but does put a number of potential members off. Despite this, the original members know what we expect to get out of the group. It is not for everybody but does suit us. When members have been with us for a very short time they are allowed a say in all decisions, so this could change but those who join usually do so agreeing with our objectives. So the intake is self-selecting and has kept the original aims of the group intact for almost 25 years.

Do You Feel Able To Start Your Own

Group?I hope that this short book has helped you to decide whether to start your own group and that it has also helped you to start your successful art group.

(evening sky through trees)

how to start and run your own art group

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