Statuten

STATUTES OF SECTION AICA THE NETHERLANDS

Article I Aims and activities

1. The name of the Section: de Nederlandse afdeling van de internationale vereniging van kunstcritici, AICA-Nederland (called The Netherlands Section of the Art Critics’ Association or the Association). The Netherlands Section of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA, Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art) is established under the terms of the present Statutes, in accordance with the Statutes and Regulations of its parent body, an international, non-governmental Association (NGO) recognized by UNESCO, with its Office in Paris.

 

2. As a Section of the International Association, The Netherlands Section has Statutes, which closely reflect those of the parent organisation. These must be kept up-to-date with those of AICA International and formally approved by AICA’s General Assembly.

 

3. The Netherlands Section brings together art critics, whose professional activity is criticism in all media, teaching, or curating exhibitions. Its function is to promote the understanding and critical interpretation of visual arts, in all their histories and manifestations. Its Members are primarily, but not exclusively, concerned with the modern and contemporary visual arts of all cultures.

 

4. The aims of The Netherlands Section of AICA are:
5. a) to promote art criticism as a discipline and contribute to its methodology
6. b) to promote the ethical and professional interests of its Members and defend their rights
7. c) to maintain an active national and international network for its Members, with the aid of digital and face-to-face encounters
8. d) to contribute to mutual understanding of visual arts and aesthetics in all cultures
9. e) to stimulate professional relationships across political, geographical, ethnic, economic and religious boundaries
10. f) to defend and promote freedom of expression and thought.

 

5. The Association may organise relevant events and activities for Members and others.

 

6. AICA The Netherlands Section is a non-profit making association.

 

7. The duration of the Section is unlimited.

 

 

Article II Membership

1. The Section is made up of Individual Members and, when appropriate, Honorary Members and Honorary Presidents. An applicant for Membership of the Association shall be either of Dutch nationality or be professionally active primarily in The Netherlands for at least one year. Members wishing to transfer from another Section must first apply for membership of The Netherlands Section.

 

2. Applicants for Membership must be able to provide evidence of sustained activity over at least the previous three years, in one or more of the following areas:
3. a) daily/periodical press, or broadcasting on radio, TV or video, or in the electronic media
4. b) publication of works of art history, aesthetics or criticism
5. c) teaching of art criticism, art history, aesthetics, curating, or art, at higher or tertiary level
6. d) curatorial work and analysis for educational or scholarly ends, including the production of scholarly or critical texts for museums or galleries, whose principal aim is not commercial.
7. An applicant for AICA Membership shall complete and deliver to the Board:

– a completed downloadable AICA International biographical form

– a separate more detailed curriculum vitae; and evidence of activity as defined in Article II:2, above, including online or print copies of a selection of texts by the applicant.

The downloadable AICA International biographical form shall be completed in English, French or Spanish, the three working languages of AICA.

4. Candidates are elected by the Board. After the meeting the President shall confirm the candidatures and send the newly elected Members’ AICA International biographical forms to AICA’s Office. Membership of the Section is necessarily provisional, until it can be ratified by the General Assembly of AICA International.
5. An AICA International Membership card is issued to a Member immediately after her/his election to the Section. The Member pays a regular annual fee to the Section from the beginning of the calendar year following that in which her/his election is endorsed by the General Assembly of AICA International.
6. Membership is forfeited:
7. a) by resignation before the 1st of November for the coming year
8. b) by non-payment of the Membership fee for two years
9. c) by expulsion at a General Assembly of AICA, if so recommended by the Board, on grounds of serious misconduct.

 

 

Article III Annual General Meeting (AGM)

1. The General Meeting is the supreme policy-making and legislative body of AICA The Netherlands.
2. The Members of the Section will be summoned to an AGM.
3. Any matter put to a vote at the General Meeting shall be decided by a simple majority unless otherwise prescribed.
4. Minutes shall be kept of each Annual and Extraordinary General Meeting, signed by the Chair and distributed to all Members. The minutes shall be archived.
5. Notice of any AGM, the Agenda, Board’s Reports shall be sent to each Member not less than fourteen days before the date of the meeting.
6. An Extraordinary General Meeting may be held at the request of the President, of the majority of the Board, or of ten percent of the Section’s paid-up Members. Notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting and the Agenda shall be sent to each Member not less than ten days before the date of the meeting.
7. The following business may be transacted and approved by vote at the AGM or when applicable by the Extraordinary General Meeting:

• election of Chair, Secretary and vote tellers,
• minutes of the last meeting and matters arising,
• adoption of the annual reports of the Board and the Auditor,
• election and possible re-election of Board Members by secret votes,
• election of Honorary Members and Honorary Presidents, when applicable, by secret vote of two-thirds majority of those voting Members present. The International membership fees of Honorary Members and Honorary Presidents are paid by the Section,,
• determination of the following calendar year’s Membership fee which includes the remittance payable to the AICA International Office,
• other matters that the Board may wish to submit to the meeting,

8. Votes in the General Meeting are decided by the Members eligible to vote by a show of hands unless secret votes are prescribed, or if a Member present requests a secret vote.
9. In the event that votes given by show of hands at the Annual or the Extraordinary General Meeting are equal, the Chair of the meeting shall cast a deciding vote. In the event that votes given in writing are equal, the question shall be decided by lot.

 

 

Article IV Board

3. The Netherlands Section is headed by a Board, comprising: a President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, who collects dues and is responsible for remittances to the AICA International Office, and two or more Officers responsible for general issues.
4. The Officers of the Board are elected by secret vote, by an absolute majority of those voting members who are present at the AGM. All Officers are elected for a period of three years, renewable twice only. They may then only be re-elected to the same office for one more term, after an interruption of at least two years. In exceptional circumstances, and with the agreement of the International AICA Board an Officer’s term may be extended beyond twelve years at the same appointment or may disregard the lapse of two years between the third and the fourth election.
5. A meeting of the Board may be called by the President or on the request of two or more of the other Officers. The necessary quorum shall comprise a majority of the Board.
6. Minutes shall be taken of Board meetings, signed by the Chair, distributed to each Officer and approved at the next Board meeting. The minutes shall be archived.
7. Not later than one month in advance of the AGM the Board shall call for candidates from the Membership for vacant positions on the Board.
8. The President must play an active part in the life of the Section and ensure its smooth operation. S/he sends an Annual Report of the Section to the AICA International Office.
9. The President of the Section is ex officio a Member of AICA International’s Board with voting rights. In the event that the President cannot attend a meeting of the Board s/he may nominate another Member of the Section to attend as proxy to vote on behalf of the Section. The President shall send in advance the AICA International Proxy form, with her/his apologies, to the AICA International Office.
10.  In the event of a Member of the Board resigning during her or his mandate the President may call for candidates and convene an Extraordinary General Meeting to replace the Member who stepped down. The mandate of the by-election should last until the next AGM and should not be included in the total number of years at the office, see Article IV.3, above.

Article V Resources

1. The resources of the Section are made up of:
2. a) the Membership dues,
3. b) all legally authorised resources,
4. c) all subsidies which the Section is entitled to receive.

 

Article VI Statutes

1. The Board and any Member may propose modifications to the National Statutes. All such proposals must be forwarded, in writing, to all paid-up Members of the Section at least one month prior to the AGM at which they are to be discussed and voted upon. All modifications to the Statutes proposed in this way must be approved by a two-thirds majority of those voting Members who are present at the meeting.
2. All modifications to the Section’s Statutes decided by the AGM must be approved by AICA International’s General Assembly on the recommendation of the International Electoral and Membership Committee and Board.

 

Article VII Dissolution

1. If three-quarters of the Members present at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting of the Section vote in favour of a motion to dissolve the Section this may be considered at the next AGM provided that a copy of the motion is sent to each Member not less than thirty days before the date of the meeting at which it will be considered. In the event that three-quarters of those voting Members present at the second meeting approve the motion the Board may proceed to dissolve the Section.
2. In case of dissolution, the assets of the Section will be distributed, in accordance with the law, to an organisation whose aims are allied to, or compatible with, those of AICA.