Dr. Theodore Feder and Janet Hicks of the Artists Rights Society, Maxwell Graham, Hans Haacke, Lauren van Haaften-Schick, R. H. Quaytman, and Justice Barbara Jaffe Presentations & Discussion Wednesday, July 22, 2015, In light of recent action at the congressional level concerning artists’ resale rights, this event will provide a public forum for discussion around the proposed legislation of secondary market art sales in the US, and will locate these developments in relation to historical and international precedents and alternative models. In 2014 and 2015 Congressman Jerrold Nadler (Democrat, 10th District of New York) introduced into congress the American Royalties Too Act, or ART Act, which would grant visual artists a resale right enabling them to collect a percentage of any works re-sold for a profit at public auctions over a value of $5000. While there have been many previous unsuccessful attempts to pass such legislation in the US, this current bill brings with it indications of a potentially different outcome: the Copyright Office recommended in a 2013 report that a federal resale royalty for visual artists should be adopted, this past May the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld portions of the California Resale Royalty Act concerning in-state sales of visual artworks, and this month the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) announced that they will discuss visual artists’ resale rights in December 2015. In order to stimulate discussion, and to ask what artists and the broader art community might want—or not want—from such legislation, this event brings together speakers from backgrounds in art, art history, and law for a series of presentations and discussions. Dr. Theodore Feder and Janet Hicks of the Artists Rights Society will outline the ART Act and the work they have done lobbying for the bill, followed by curator and art historian Lauren van Haaften-Schick, who will provide a historical perspective concerning artists’ contracts and the legal history of art in the US. These presentations will be followed by a discussion between art dealer Maxwell Graham, artists Hans Haacke and R. H. Quaytman, and Justice Barbara Jaffe, New York Supreme Court, New York County, moderated by van Haaften-Schick. The evening will conclude with an open floor debate, at which all present are welcome to share thoughts and experiences. Even if the 2015 congressional session does not vote on the bill, or if it fails to pass, the recurrent interest in the issue of resale rights for artists merits greater involvement and consideration of the issue from those who stand to be impacted most—artists. This event is the first in a series organized by the recently formed W.A.G.E. Artists’ Resale Rights Working Group: Richard Birkett April Britski Maxwell Graham Leah Pires Cameron Rowland Lise Soskolne Lauren van Haaften-Schick
“Wednesday, May 14, 2014 – Visual artists had a big victory
today at the Supreme Court in the fight for minimum artist fees at the
National Gallery of Canada. In a unanimous decision from the bench, the
court allowed an appeal on behalf of artist restoring an earlier
decision that found in their favour.
At issue was a perceived conflict between the Status of the Artist
Act and the Copyright Act. The associations that represent artists,
CARFAC and RAAV, had been trying to negotiate binding minimum fees for
the payment of artists at the gallery, similar to a minimum wage. The
gallery essentially argued CARFAC and RAAV, were taking away the right
of artists to be paid less if they chose. In allowing the appeal, the
court rejected this argument and, in an unusual move, ruled immediately
after oral arguments.
Artists from across Canada in attendance were delighted with the
results. “It’s a good day for artists,” said Grant McConnell, president
of CARFAC. “This is a major victory for all artists in Canada and
Quebec.”
“We are looking forward to resuming negotiations as we always wanted
to do since 2003,” said Karl Beveridge, co-chair of the negotiation
committee.
We would like to say a special thank you to everyone who has donated
to support this legal effort. You made this victory possible!
We would also like to thank our lawyers, David Yazbeck, Michael Fisher and Wassim Garzouzi.”
June 9th & 10th, Lord Elgin Hotel, Ottawa The Canadian Artists’ Representation / Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC) is pleased to invite visual artists from across Canada to attend our annual conference in Ottawa at the Lord Elgin Hotel. Register NowConference Schedule This year’s conference will include discussions about copyright, the relationships between artists and galleries, the campaign for the Artist’s Resale Right, and the presentation of the Visual Arts Advocacy Award. Participants will also get a chance to rub shoulders with art lawyers who will be in town for their own conference – the first of its kind in Canada. Details to come shortly. Contact us for more information. Registration Rates Early Bird Rates: Members: $75 Non-members: $95 Students: $50 After April 15th: Members: $95 Non-members: $115 Students: $70 Please note: Participants will be responsible for arranging their own travel, accommodations and food. Some options are listed below. Accommodations: The Lord Elgin is offering a discounted room rate for conference participants of $159. To book a room call 1-800-267-4298 and quote “CARFAC” or the “National Conference for Visual Artists”. If you are looking for a budget option, the HI-Ottawa Jail Hostel offers shared and private rooms at very reasonable rates and is a fifteen minute walk from the conference. How to Register
Ottawa, Thursday, February 16, 2011 – The Canadian Museums Association told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday they would like to see the Exhibition Right “abolished”. Jon Tupper, President of the CMA, also asked to be exempt from paying artist fees for things such as reproductions in catalogues, in slides for public lectures and online. Canadian museums are the main source of copyright income for visual artists. An amendment proposed by Bill C-32 to open fair dealing to education appears to have been perceived by the museum community as an invitation to stop paying the fees that artists such as Jack Chambers fought so hard for. Although they claim their budgets are too tight, for most public galleries artists’ fees represent a small portion of their budget. When faced with similar arguments back in the 1970’s, artist Tony Urquhart suggested to a Montreal museum director that instead of hosting twenty contemporary exhibits in a year, he host nineteen and use the last budget to pay the artists. READ COMPLETE ARTICLE >>Tiny URL for this post: http://tinyurl.com/4nv8mt3
