East Finchley Open (EFO) is a voluntary group of artists and crafts people based in East Finchley. Its general purpose is to encourage art by local artists in the local community. Specifically, it aims to carry out four areas of activity:
Set up in 2004 in order to organise an Open Studio exhibition that summer, the
EFO have since held monthly meetings and an AGM, run another Summer Open
Studios in 2005, run two winter Arts and Crafts fairs in autumn 2004 &
2005, initiated ongoing exhibition space at the Old White Lion pub in East
Finchley, held social events and initiated peer group discussions for Members.
There are other projects and events which the EFO have involvement with
throughout the year, including the East Finchley Festival and the Muswell Hill
Festival. EFO Members also exhibit independently throughout the year at various
venues.
EFO are also aiming
to make an educational and awareness raising contribution in East Finchley
through liaison with the Green Man, East Finchley Community Development Trust,
Arts Depot and Barnet Arts.
EFO is a
not-for-profit organisation, funded through Membership fees and charges (eg,
event ticket sales, entry fees, sales commission), sponsorship from local
businesses and charitable donations from the Millie Apthorpe Trust and
individuals. The main EFO expenditure is for EFO events: facilities and venue
hire; promotional materials, sales commission (to venues); and catering costs.
The committee will propose the charges annually and as required for unexpected items, and these will be agreed at a group meeting.
EFO have contributed
towards the Martin School PTA fund (in exchange for volunteer help with EFO
events) and the local charity for the elderly, “Contact”. EFO will contribute
to local good causes when possible.
EFO does not vet
work prior to an artist or crafts person joining the EFO but may vet work for
EFO events.
In order to join the
EFO, an artist or crafts person must meet these requirements: be living and/or
working in the East Finchley area (mostly N2); be creating their own art or craft
work; pay an annual Membership fee, set annually.
Members are also
required to give some of their time by volunteering to do tasks that enable EFO
events and projects to be successful. They may be co-opted to such tasks if
necessary.
Members are also
required to agree with and actively support the Purpose of the EFO as described
above.
Failure to continue
to meet these requirements may mean withdrawal of Membership and associated
benefits, either after the AGM and rejoining date or at any Committee meeting.
Members are entitled
to specific benefits in return: entry of at least one piece into the annual EFO
Summer Open; the opportunity to exhibit at Member-only events (including
opening their house as part of the Summer Open); corresponding entries in the
EFO brochure and event catalogues/flyers where they take part; lower entry fees
and ticket prices for events; priority booking/ticketing for limited-place
events; an EFO web page with contact details and a sample image of their work;
links from the EFO site to other web sites where they are represented.
If a person wishes
to join but cannot meet these requirements for good reason, they may be allowed
to join – by a majority vote of those Members present at a Committee meeting -
for the remainder of the year.
If an artist is
ineligible for Membership, they may be able to take part in events as a guest
of an EFO Member. Guests will be subject to similar rules to those of Members
(generally fees for guests will be higher than for Members) but will not gain Membership
benefits.
EFO cannot offer
Membership to other groups or commercial organisations, although Members can be
part of other commercial organisations – indeed the EFO encourages Members to
become successful commercially as well as artistically. EFO will foster links
with other organisations to the advantage of Members where possible.
Information about
Members is held by the EFO for the purposes of communication between Members
about EFO events and activities. It will not be given to third parties and should
not be divulged by Members without prior permission. Specifically, the EFO
Members contact list and EFO email circulation system is for EFO Members’ use
on EFO-related activity only.
The EFO is organised
by a committee of representatives, elected annually at the AGM from the
Membership, by Members. These posts are voluntary and unpaid. The committee has
externally required roles for Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. It has four coordinators who represent
Development, Publicity, Community and Networking - the areas of EFO activity
outlined at the beginning of the Constitution under Purpose. The committee may
also co-opt a vice chair and occasionally committee members without portfolio.
Monthly Committee
meetings serve as the mechanism for routine decision-making concerning EFO
business. A Committee meeting making decisions requires a quorum of Members and
Committee post holders as follows: the meeting should be notified to all
Members at least a week in advance; at least 25% of current Members should be
present; the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer posts must be represented as should
the other committee members. If a committee member cannot attend, they should
arrange for another Member to speak on their behalf.
At these meetings, the committee members will keep the Chair informed
about the current state of the areas for which they are responsible. The Committee will also seek the views of Members attending the meetings,
takes any vote by show of hands and is then empowered to take decisions on behalf
of the Membership as a whole based on the majority decision at the meeting,
with the Chair having the deciding vote. The Committee decides at these
meetings which events and projects the EFO will undertake each year.
The committee can
make decisions to approve expenditure from EFO funds up to a value of £800.
Items over this amount need to be approved in advance at a Committee meeting
and approved by the majority of those present, with the Chair having the
deciding vote.
The Committee
decides the terms and conditions for taking part in each EFO event. The
Committee co-opts Members as event or project coordinators, to be responsible
for planning and organising specific events and projects as they arise.
Coordinators in turn
seek volunteers and if necessary co-opt other Members to the various tasks that
make the events and projects successful, holding event planning meetings with
their team as required. Coordinators report on progress and approved
expenditure at the monthly meetings. Coordinators may be asked by the committee
to take responsibility for deciding which works can be shown at specific
events, thereby taking into account: the constraints of individual venues;
health and safety; public acceptability and artistic merit. Work submitted for
EFO events may be selected or rejected based on the event terms and conditions.
The committee may
alter the EFO constitution in the following way: by calling an extraordinary
general meeting; a months notice must be given to all members of this meeting;
to have a quorum, 40% of the current membership must be present at this meeting
together with representatives of the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer; any
decisions are carried by a majority of those present, with the Chair having the
deciding vote.
The committee has
taken out public liability cover for EFO events for 2D artworks for Members.
Details of this cover are available on request. No other insurance cover is
provided or implied by Membership of the EFO or by taking part as a guest.
Specifically, no artworks, equipment or any personal properties are covered in
the event of loss or damage however caused.
Any representations
of works in EFO publicity materials, press releases, newspaper & magazine
articles or the EFO web site remain copyright the artist concerned.
Unauthorised use of these representations is not permitted.
The committee
publishes contact details of Members from time to time, to aid communication
across the Membership, for circulation to the Membership, for publicity
purposes and on the web site. It is the individual Members’ responsibility to
ensure this information is up to date and appropriate by keeping the Membership
secretary informed of any changes or restrictions on information held by the
EFO.