Art Matters Constitution
Article 1 - Name
Section 1: The organization shall be called the Art Matters Festival for Concordia University, hereafter referred to as Art Matters.
Section 2: Art Matters is a festival of fine arts that celebrates and supports the developing talent housed at Concordia University.
Article 2 - Objectives
Section 1: To promote the art works of Concordia students by providing them with guidance, support, and publicity.
Section 2: To respect innovations and expressions of art in all disciplines, and to encourage diversity by being as inclusive and representative as possible of all genres, styles and forms of fine arts.
Section 3: To communicate and cooperate with community arts organizations having similar interests in promoting student art related activities
Section 4: To communicate and work with FASA, Concordia University and its students for funding and support.
Section 5: To unify the two Concordia campuses and to develop communication with all the departments within the Fine Art Faculty.
Section 6: To pursue sponsorship and funding only from organizations that do not affect the integrity of the artists.
Article 3 - Membership
Section 1: Membership shall be extended to all students who participate in the festival as Artists, Curators, Executive members or as Co-producers.
Article 4 - Membership Rights and Responsibilities
Section 1: All undergraduate Fine Arts Concordia students have the right to be a candidate for any Art Matters position and hold that position in accordance with the requirements as set out in this constitution. Students from departments outside of Fine Arts may also be considered as candidates for Art Matters positions.
Section 2: Every Art Matters member has the responsibility of reading and abiding by this constitution.
Section 3: Every Art Matters member has the right to be free from any prejudice and discrimination, whether it be based upon race, color, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation or any other form not mentioned above.
Article 5 – Art Matters Executive
Preamble: The Art Matters Executive shall consist of a team of three to four Co-producers, and an Executive Team consisting of approximately six additional members.
A –Co-producers
Section 1: The Art Matters Co-producers shall be the chief spokespersons of Art Matters.
Section 2: The governing authority of Art Matters shall be vested in the Art Matters Co-producers.
Section 3: All Art Matters Co-producers have the right to examine all records pertaining to Art Matters.
Section 4: The Co-producers shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration of Art Matters.
Section 5: The Co-producers shall oversee the hiring of the Executive members, the hiring of all festival employees, and the selection of Curators.
Section 6: The Co-producers, in collaboration with FASA, shall oversee the hiring of the Co-producers for the following year.
Section 7: The Co-producers are not eligible to apply as Curators or as Artists.
Section 8: The Co-producers shall work co-operatively with all members of Art Matters and respond to their needs to the best of their abilities.
Section 9: The Co-producers are responsible for organizing and facilitating a juried event at which Curators may view Artist submissions and select works to be included in festival shows.
Section 10: The Co-producers are bound to this constitution.
Section 11: The Co-producers are responsible for all festival venue bookings, for facilitating festival media coverage and publicity, and for providing Curators with technical and volunteer support.
Section 12: The Co-producers are responsible for submitting a budget to be approved by FASA.
B – The Executive Team
Section 1: The Executive Team shall consist of approximately six members in addition to the Co-producers, however the number of Executive Team members hired each year may be determined at the discretion of the Co-producers.
Section 2: Each member of the Executive Team shall have the authority and perform the duties incidental to their office and shall perform any further duties as may be required by the Co-producers or determined by regulations.
Section 3: Executive Team members are directly responsible to Co-producers, and are required to report to Co-producers and attend regular meetings.
C - Executive Meetings
Section 1: Regular meetings may be held every week as required.
Article 6 – Art Matters Curators
Section 1: Curators are responsible for organizing their individual shows, and are responsible for ensuring that any required permits or licenses are obtained before these shows take place.
Section 2: Curators shall work co-operatively with all members of Art Matters, and respond to artist and volunteer needs to the best of their abilities.
Section 3: Curators shall submit any promotional materials used to advertise their individual shows to the Art Matters Executive for approval.
Section 4: Curators are not eligible to apply as Artists.
Section 5: Curators shall respect the deadlines and regulations set out by the Co-producers.
Section 6: Curators may be required to contribute volunteer hours to assist with general festival activities and to attend Art Matters workshops.
Article 7- Art Matters Artists
Section 1: Artists shall respect deadlines and regulations set out by Curators and Executives.
Section 2: Artists may receive financial assistance from Art Matters in the form of reimbursements. Artists must submit an itemized budget with all original receipts in order to receive funding.
Section 3: Artists may be required to contribute volunteer hours to the festival.
Article 8 - Removal from Office
Section 1: Any member of Art Matters may be removed from office for misappropriation of fund, dereliction of duties, violation of these by-laws or of the Regulations adopted there after.
Section 2: Co-producers may be responsible for removing from office any members who are not fulfilling their responsibilities according to this constitution.
Section 3: A Co-producer may be removed from office by a majority vote held between all members of the Co-producer team and one member acting as a representative of FASA. Two week's written notice of the proposed removal must be given to the person subject to removal indicating the alleged cause(s) for removal, including the specifics of the charge(s), and the date, time and place of the meeting of the Art Matters meeting where the issue will be discussed.
Article 9 - Signing Officers and Purchases
Section 1: Two Art Matters Co-producers shall be signing officers.
Section 2: All proposed purchases of five hundred dollars (500$) or more must be approved by all Co-producers.
Article 10 - Amendments
Section 1: The Co-producers reserve the right to formulate, enact, amend and/or repeal policies, regulations and resolutions for Art Matters and for the purpose of its proper functioning; its officers and employees; and affiliated organizations.
Section 2: Any changes to the constitution of Art Matters must be approved by Art Matters
Co-procuders in consultation with FASA.