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Thank you to all who braved the bad weather and joined us at the AGM on Tuesday evening. Here are the minutes from the meeting and we are looking forward to an exciting and successful 2024.
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North Bristol Artists 2024 AGM
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12th Match 2024 7.00 – 9.00pm
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Bishopston Library, Bristol North Baths, Gloucester Rd, Bristol BS7 8BN
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Present: Michelle Hinshelwood, Lee Cox, Liz Dymond, Laurel Smart, Angie Kenber, Denise Lonsdale, Simon Millican, Jenny Urquart, Candida Lonsdale, Natalie Butlin, John Waldron, Margrit Waldron, Fiona Grace, William Stewart, Linda Brogan, Debby Bird, John Collet, Dawn Thompson, Sandie Creighton, Andy Mosse, Jenny Claxton, Andrea Santangelo, Dawn Beedle, Robin Page
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Apologies: Jane Speedy, Louella Frankel Jones, Mary Kelly, Hal Camplin, Una Breathnach Hlfe, Kathy Luders, Clare Flemming,
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Lyn Harradine, Mary Bishop, Terry Burke, Jane Willis, Olga van Rijswijck, Jane Boot, Sarah Thorpe, Monica Cuellar, Sue Rees, Jane Goulden, Cate Davey, Laura Hawthorne, Toni Burrows, Harriet St Leger, Liam Smale
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Welcome and Introduction. Lee Cox
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Chair’s Report. Lee welcomed everyone, it was delightful to have so many new faces. 2023 was a great year, we had 98 exhibitors in 54 venues, including a new multi venue for 10 artists in Henleaze. It was great to see our established members as well as many new faces, pleased with their sales.
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Several venues offered extras like music, poetry, tea and cakes
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Weather was very cold and frosty on the Saturday and rained all day on Sunday, but still the customers came. Despite the cost of living crisis, footfall was very good overall and people said they felt welcome, even when they just wanted to look.
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We distributed 1800 leaflets and they received very positive reactions everywhere, thanks to the distinctive cover design.
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We produced several new banners with the same design, some so popular that they were removed unexpectedly into ‘private collections’.
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Virtual gallery was back and was impressive. Visitors mentioned window shopping before coming to view the real things and often to buy.
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In the past couple of years we’ve organised ourselves within mini groups once all the venues have been settled. This system improves each year for admin, artist mutual support and communication. Last year it worked particularly well.
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We feel we are getting much better at communications with WhatsApp working well for short and fast messages and email for longer, more detailed messages.
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Social media continues to be strong and we had a great campaign highlighting the trail on Instagram and Facebook.
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It was Lee’s third year as chair - much of which she says she enjoyed, due in large part to the artists’ community and collaboration, a great leadership team and steering group.
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Last year we decided to trial a new leadership structure with four equal leadership roles: Lee, Liz, Monica and Michelle. This year we are returning to one chair with Vice Chair and Treasurer. We would like to adopt a flexible approach and, dependent on the personnel, adapt the leadership structure accordingly each year.
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Election of Officers. Nominations:
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Treasurer. Elizabeth Dymond. Passed
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Vice Chair. Laurel Smart. Passed
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Chair. Michelle Hinshelwood. Passed
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Lee said she feels very confident to hand over to the safe hands of a new team – Michelle, Laurel and Liz, with a very strong steering group.
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Michelle took over the meeting.
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Thanks to Lee, Liz and Monica who formed the leadership team last year. Michelle is looking forward to the year ahead, feeling well supported by Laurel as vice chair and with Lee, Monica and Liz, staying on as part of our very strong steering group.
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This year, we have 110 artists consisting of 82 full members, 13 returning temporary members and 15 new temporary members.
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New Members. Laurel Smart
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Laurel is the New Members’ Support person and first port of call if they have a question. All new members will be invited to a meeting to share information about how the trail works, how it will support them and what their obligations are. It is also an opportunity to socialise with other new members.
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Financial Report. Liz Dymond
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Liz took over as Treasurer in July 2023 from Sue Lutkenhouse who had the role for 5 years or so. Liz thanked Sue for her hard work as the previous treasurer and for her helpful and efficient handover. Michelle is 2nd signatory.
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Liz presented the financial report below.
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The budget was based on previous year. Donations came from actual from cash in Treasurer’s paperwork & goodwill payment from Lloyds Bank after complaint over transfer time to new Treasurer. Printing: was actually lower than budget due to refund from printer negotiated by Michelle as leaflets were wrongly folded. Meeting venues: were higher than budget. Previously, many venues with large rooms would let these out for free if attendees bought drinks. Now there are room hire charges. We’re looking for cheaper venues. Insurance: Our previous insurer could not offer us public liability insurance in 2023 unless a member of Steering Group was actively managing each venue. We have researched various insurance options and will be taking out Public Liability Insurance again. More info to follow. Membership fees: Steering Group agreed to keep these at £70 & £35 after considering various options. Despite a healthy reserve it was felt it was better to have a consistent fee rather than it fluctuating every year. Taking a long term view the reserve will gradually reduce over the years as things become more expensive but we will be able to keep the membership fees constant for a few years to come.
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Website Report & Members Web Page. Jenny Claxton
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The website is active all year round and offers members an opportunity to promote themselves through the information on their personal profiles and by advertising their exhibitions and events.
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The website was redesigned last year, it is now much more user friendly and easier for the team who manage it. There are more people trained to manage the website, add and edit material.
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On the weekend of the trail – 2000 visitors
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Throughout November – 6000 visitors
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Jenny has improved the key word search resulting in 3000 referrals from the search engine.
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We are building our Google reputation. This is aided by the popularity of articles about the arts on the website. Jenny is keen to build on this so if any artists have anything of interest they can write about, please contact her.
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We have an events page. It is very easy to add an event by completing a form in the members area. Please populate this with as much as possible: workshops, exhibitions, community events, etc... all things art related. This page is moderated.
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The website has a newsletter mailing list. We have permission to send out to the general public through out the year.
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Membership profile page. Please log on and see what you need to do. To access the members area of the website use the email address that NBA uses to communicates with you and your password. It is easy to create, or renew your password. There is a guide in the membership area to explain how to complete your profile. Any incomplete profiles will be removed.
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In the membership section there is a Who’sWho, membership directory, blog posts, advice, guides and events page. There is also your account page with your account details. This is where you can make any changes if you change your phone, email or home address. It is very important we have an up to date email address.
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Venues Denise Lonsdale, Simon Melican
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Denise told us that after an initial review of the 2024 NBA database it looks like there is about the same number of spaces as there are artists looking for a venue. The next stage in the process will be to check the information on the database, and compile a list of venues looking for artists (plus details of the space /type of work which would be appropriate and a list of artists looking for venues (plus type of work, contact details and any information about the type of space sought) This information will be sent out to those members who need it. If artists have already advised that they have a venue they will not be bothered with these emails.
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Denise and Simon emphasised that it is really important that if there are any changes to your plans (e.g. you find a new venue, you decide to open your own home or studio, you decide to withdraw from the trail this year, etc.) you let them know via [email protected] so that they can make sure that all the information is as up to date and accurate as possible.
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The lists will be sent out in April after the end of the Easter school holidays.
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Once everything is complete, Simon compiles all this information to pass on to the leaflet designer.
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Both Simon and Denise stressed that they are happy to hear from you so make sure they have all your up to date information.
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Opportunities. Laurel Smart
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We have teams of artists who organise exhibitions for NB artists at Southmead Hospital, Westbury – on – Trym Health Centre and Horfield Health Centre throughout the year. These are selling exhibitions, but mainly to show our work to a different audience and enhance the work space of NHS staff and users. This maintains the profile of North Bristol Artists and we hope will lead to new visitors to the trail. We are keen to have more opportunities for artists to show their work during the year. Any artist who knows of an opportunity and who would be willing to lead on the organisation of an exhibition, please contact Laurel.
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Planning Ahead and Timeline. Michelle Hinshelwood
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- April/May. Next time you’ll hear from us will be about the venues. Simon and Denise will be in touch if you are looking for or offering venue space. This will be after the Easter holidays.
- May/June Once we know where you will be showing we can position you on the map. Mini groups will be set up at this stage and you will have a mini group leader. Mini groups have been useful to improve our organisation, communication and to help smaller groups of artists to work effectively together. Make sure you’re on WhatsApp as this is when we start using it a lot.
- May/June Images will be next, Jane Cooper will be in touch to ask for an image for the leaflet. She will email you with instructions about size/ pixels etc. Please send them promptly so she doesn’t have to chase you. Please don’t assume she will use last year’s image, send her the one you want to use for this year’s leaflet.
- June Before all the info goes to the graphic designer you will get an email to check your venue address, contact details, blurb. Please check carefully before we send it off to the leaflet designer.
- August When all this is sorted, you will see a proof of the leaflet, again please check your details are correct as it will now go off to the printer. Please note this is so you can check the info you gave us on your forms is correct, it is not an opportunity to rewrite the whole thing and change images. 100 artist changing things is lot of work after the design has been done!
- October. Jane Boot will be in touch about distribution of leaflets, probably though your mini group leader. Leaflets usually are ready the week before October half term.
Art Collectors’ Trail. This year we plan to have an Art Collectors’ Trail to encourage the public to visit more venues. Art Collectors’ cards can be picked up at each venue. Each card has space for two multi venues and 6-9(tbd) smaller venues which can be stamped to record their visit. When the card is complete it can be handed in at designated points to be entered in the Art Collectors’ prize draw two weeks later. Art Collectors can fill as many cards as they like as long as they do not duplicate venues. Artists are invited to donate an artwork, pot, vase, drawing, earrings etc – there is no obligation to do this! The prizes could be on display on the website the month or two before the trail and in the virtual gallery. This is a new initiative and we’re looking for 2-3 people to help Michelle set this up.
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We are a volunteer organisation and rely on everyone making a contribution. Lee will approach members to match their skills to jobs, based on info given in application forms.
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Social Media. Monica Cuellar / Laurel Smart
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Monica could not be with us. Laurel explained that Monica will be creating a social media team. She will be in touch with artists soon to explain how everyone can contribute to the effective use of Instagram. In the meantime continue to post on your own accounts and tag @northbristolartists. By doing so you will alert the NBA social media team to repost your posts. We try to share attention across all artists and art forms. If you are posting and we are not reposting, let us know. We may not recognise you. Be active on Instagram and share, like and comment on @northbristolartists posts to keep the account as active, far reaching and lively as possible. If anyone needs advice or training using Instagram let us know, we can help.
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Virtual Gallery. Candida Lonsdale
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The Virtual Gallery last year was incredibly well received by both artists and public. This is a different way to browse. The public use it as an opportunity to find artists and artworks before the trail. Several artists reported selling work directly as a result of the virtual gallery, and many artists said people had visited their venue having seen work in the Virtual Gallery. It is a great opportunity for anyone unable to visit on the weekend to see what we are doing and many of the North Bristol artists love to get the chance to see each other’s work and get a sense of the scale and diversity of the work we offer.
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Last year we showed approximately 250 images, including images of jewellery and 3D work. Kunstmatrix can accommodate image files as big as 5mb. Your work in the VG will be linked to your profile on the NBA website. All work is shown to scale. Next year we will have one large multi-roomed gallery. We are looking for people to join the VG team, you need to be good with computers and ideally have some experience of inputting data, but don’t worry we can show you how. It is quite an intuitive process.
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Leaflet Distribution. Jane Boot/ Laurel Smart
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Jane could not be with us. Laurel explained everyone has to deliver leaflets in addition to any other job they undertake. We take leaflets to key distribution points around the city (rather than post them through letter boxes). Jane needs a team to work with. She will be in touch later in the year via WhatsApp to let everyone know what they need to do. Leaflet distribution is managed through the WhatsApp mini groups.
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Andy Moss asked if we can offer advice on framing and hanging work. Laurel answered this can be discussed in the New Members’ group.
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The meeting ended at 2030.
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