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7/17/10

Greetings All,

The end of the Legislative session is July 31st. There is a very short time frame to pass corrective legislation to fix the unintended consequences from the 2004 Independent Contractor law impacting freelancers and artists of all disciplines.

(7/17/10) Saturday’s Boston Globe Editorial is a great call to action:

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2010/07/17/amend_law_to_aid_freelancers/

Please take the time to contact the Governor, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House and your state representative and state senator on this issue. I would say to email them over the weekend if you can and to call them on Monday/Tuesday.

Link to background information on the issue, key talking points, example text, how to contact the key MA elected officials, and more:

http://www.artistsunderthedome.org/MAindependent_contractor.html

It is important to stress the following: HB4748 needs to be amended to fix the issues impacting freelancers and artists of all disciplines and it needs to be done this legislative session. Urge them to work with the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Artists Leaders Coalition to craft corrective legislative language (note MALC already gave legislative language options that would fix the issue!).

Please also forward this call to action to as many MA residents as you can. We need to keep the pressure on.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Bitetti

Artist
Co-founder of www.artistsunderthedome.org
Co-founder of the Massachusetts Artists Leaders Coalition

PS: Please help us build our listserv- ask other artists of all disciplines and those who care about us to join the artistsunderthedome.org’s listserve!
http://www.artistsunderthedome.org/contact.html

Just click on the image to begin the survey!

Click on the image to begin!

Our state’s arts and cultural life has never been so important. Arts and cultural organizations educate our children, fuel our economy and give us precious moments of beauty, insight and community. To assure that our arts and cultural life remains vibrant and productive, the Boston Foundation and the board of MAASH (Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Science and Humanities) have joined with cultural leaders and interested residents across our state to describe and develop a strong and sustainable advocacy organization. Your views about what statewide arts and cultural advocacy should look like in Massachusetts is very important to the future vitality of the state’s arts and cultural life.

Thank you for your time and attention to this brief survey. We look forward to your response. We will release our findings in the fall.

Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO, The Boston Foundation
Celeste Wilson, Chair of the Board, MAASH

Artists Under the Dome

Anyone who creates intellectual property in Massachusetts, whether they be traditional artists, photographers, game and software creators, sculptors, etc., need to be aware that the right to protect this property is greatly at risk. Right now at the State House, advocates to protect copyright are working to amend the 2004 Independent Contractor law that placed most content creators in the W-2 tax category, making them work-for-hire.

All W-2 creative output (copyright and all other kinds of intellectual property such as trademark rights, patten rights, etc.) automatically goes to the employer.

You can watch a brief, informative video about the Independent Contractor problem here.

Please read and participate in this recent call to action by Kathleen Bitetti, artist and co-founder of artistsunderthedome.org. It could save your livelihood.

June 18, 2010

Greetings,

I have posted  how members of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development voted on the redraft of HB1844  (now known as HB4748):
http://www.artistsunderthedome.org/vote_HB1844.html

The new draft, HB4748,  DOES NOT fix the problems caused by the 2004 law change:
http://www.artistsunderthedome.org/HB4748.html

I also posted is a link to a very helpful article:
http://www.mbbp.com/resources/employment/independent_contractor.html

I now need you to contact the Governor and both your State Representative and Senator to let them know that the redraft version HB4748 does not fix the unintended consequences from the 2004 independent contractor law change that are impacting artists of all disciplines. Also urge them to attend the Cultural Caucus’s informational briefing on issues affecting the artists labor market on Wednesday, June 30th.  An email will be sent to every member of legislature inviting them to attend this important briefing by the Cultural Caucus.

How to contact the Governor and your State Senator and Representative:

Contact the Governor on this issue
Phone: 617.725.4005
888.870.7770 (in state)
TTY: 617.727.3666
To send him an email http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3utilities&sid=Agov3&U=Agov3_contact_us

How to find your state representative (on the form it says Rep in General Court) and your state senator (on the form it says Senate in the General Court): http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php

Please pass this email on to anyone else who will take the time to contact their legislators and the governor.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Bitetti
Artist
Co-founder of www.artistsunderthedome.org
Co-founder of the Massachusetts Artists Leaders Coalition

PS: Please help us build our listserv- ask other artists of all disciplines and those who care about us to join the artistsunderthedome.org’s listsev!

http://www.artistsunderthedome.org/contact.html

The New York Times reported Sunday that Google’s YouTube and the Guggenheim curatorial staff are calling for submissions to review for inclusion in their October exhibition.

Guggenheim and YouTube Seek Budding Video Artists

Beginning Monday anyone with access to a video camera and a computer will have an opportunity to catch the eye of a Guggenheim curator and vie for a place in a video-art exhibition in October at all of the foundation’s museums: the Solomon R. Guggenheim in New York, the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin, the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.

The project, called YouTube Play and conceived as a biennial event, is intended to discover innovative work from unexpected sources. It is open even to entrants who don’t consider themselves artists, and actively encourages the participation of people with little or no experience in video. “People who may not have access to the art world will have a chance to have their work recognized,” said Nancy Spector, deputy director and chief curator of the Guggenheim Foundation. “We’re looking for things we haven’t seen before.”

This unique collaboration offers anyone the chance to be exhibited on merit, not reputation. We look forward to seeing more innovative opportunities for artists in the future.

Called “the Sundance of video games” for “socially-responsible game-makers” G4C is promoting a new genre of video game – games to change the world – for the better.

The Annual Games for Change Festival brings together the world’s leading foundations, NGOs, game-makers, academics, and journalists to explore how best to harness this incredibly powerful medium to help address the most critical issues of our day, from poverty, climate change, global con?icts, to human rights. Every year, the festival doubles in size and brings in new, high-impact partners.

The festival includes 4 exciting days of panels, keynotes and brainstorming sessions, as well as funders’ meetings, press briefings, a private journalists dinner, birds-of-a-feather gatherings and the usual excellent networking opportunities. This year also features the always popular Expo and reception where attendees can play these new games ?rst-hand.

See the festival schedule and list of speakers here.

Jason Schupbach

The National Endowment for the Arts announced today that Jason Schupbach will join the NEA as Director of Design at the end of May.

“I am incredibly excited to be working with the National Endowment for the Arts as they embark on important new smart design initiatives and continue to provide invaluable support for design projects through the NEA’s core grant programs,” says Mr. Schupbach. “From the Mayors’ Institute for City Design 25th Anniversary Grants to the new Our Town program, the new leadership of the Endowment is embracing innovative creative placemaking policies. I’m honored to be part of the team which will implement these strategies to revitalize our communities and put Americans back to work.”

“Jason brings to the NEA an incredible knowledge of the design world and the many ways that art can transform communities,” says NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. “His experience working with design professionals and members of the government has prepared him to direct the NEA as a leader in smart design.”

Download the full press release. (PDF, 33k)

Connecting artists working in any media with entrepreneurial resources and networks.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010
5:30pm to 7:00pm
Mills Gallery at the Boston Center for the Arts
551 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02116

Promoting your work is an important component of building support for it. This month’s roundtable features Jessica Burko, artist, independent curator, and arts marketer, who will share her tips and lead a conversation about building support and awareness for your work, marketing and community building.

Using new media, artists can reach wider audiences, build a supporter base, and self-promote more successfully than ever before.” Jessica Burko has been an exhibiting artist since 1985, an independent curator since 1997, and believes that artists can make the most of their careers by taking charge of their own public image. Burko holds a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design, and an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology. For more information about Jessica, see
http://www.jessicaburko.com/FANews.html

This event is free but please rsvp and bring any food item of your choice to share.

RSVP and Q: Liora Beer, 617.456.1131

ARTmorpheus is an artists’ service organization that was launched in 2009 to grant artists working in any discipline in Massachusetts with access to entrepreneurial resources and guidance. We provide artists and creative entrepreneurs with a gateway to individual counseling and services, creative roundtables/networks, training and conferences.

Through its own resources and working in collaboration with organizations and individual artists, ARTmorpheus taps leading experts from diverse communities to promote knowledge sharing and community building across sectors in support of financial sustainability, creative freedom and cultural economic development.

Find ARTmorpheus and the Artists Roundtable on:
www.bcaonline.org/calendar.html
http://bostonhandmade.blogspot.com/2010/04/artists-roundtable-at-bca.html
http://artsake.massculturalcouncil.org/blog/artsake/index.php/2010/04/
http://artistspaceboston.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/artist-roundtable-artmorpheus-invites-you/
http://massmouth.ning.com/events/artists-potluck-gathering
http://www.matchbook.org/eventscalendar.aspx
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/ats/1684566294.html

http://www.bigredandshiny.com/

Keynote talk: Yvonne Rainer in conversation with John Greyson. Wednesday 7 April 2010, 7 PM at the Ontario College of Art & Design.

2010 Images Festival website with program details, schedules and ticketing:
http://www.imagesfestival.com

Congress Registration now online
http://www.experimentalcongress.org
Registration required, please sign up early via our website. Space is limited.
Registration includes FREE access to Images Festival events!

For Congress information, please contact Chris Kennedy, Coordinator:
congress@experimentalcongress.org

Confirmed Congress guests include: Ainsley Walton, Ali Kazimi, Andréa Picard, Anne Balsamo, Ayisha Abraham, Barbara Hammer, Bart Testa, Benj Gerdes, Chamber of Public Secrets, Cheryl L’Hirondelle, Christopher Eamon, Daïchi Saïto, David Rokeby, David Teh, Donghyun Park, Dont Rhine (Ultra-red), Dot Tuer, Ed Halter, Hangjun Lee, Henriette Huldisch, Hito Steyerl, Irina Leimbacher, James Holcombe, Jean Gagnon, John Greyson, Jorge La Ferla, Kathy High, Kevin Jerome Everson, Khaled Ramadan, Konrad Becker, Michael Snow, Ming-Yuen S. Ma, Nicky Hamlyn, Nicole Gingras, Ou Ning, Paige Sarlin, Peggy Gale, Pelle Snickars, Peter Ride, Pip Chodorov, Ross Lipman, Shai Heredia, Sobhi Al-Zobaidi, Stefanie Schulte Strathaus, Steve Anker, Steve Loft, Susan Oxtoby, Tamar Guimarães, Tom Sherman, Ursula Biemann, Vera Frenkel, Wafaa Bilal, Wendelien van Oldenborgh and Yvonne Rainer.

Established in 1987, Toronto’s Images Festival is the largest festival in North America for experimental and independent moving image culture, showcasing the innovative edge of international contemporary media art both on and off the screen. Alongside film and video screenings, the festival presents groundbreaking live performances, media art installations in local galleries and new media projects by many renowned Canadian and international artists in our three exhibition platforms: Images On Screen (Film/Video screenings), Images Off Screen (installation exhibitions, online projects) and Live Images (multidisciplinary performances).

The 2010 Images Festival showcases over 140 artworks in film, video, gallery installation, live performance and online projects in addition to artist talks, parties and free walking tours. Located in 25 venues across the city, this years Images Off Screen presents 32 exhibitions in 15 art galleries across Toronto by Sobhi al-Zobaidi, Khadim Ali, Daniel Barrow, Matthew Biederman, Ursula Biemann, Wang Bing, Shary Boyle, Peter Campus, Andrea Cooper, Franziska Cordes, Tacita Dean, Leah Decter, Brenda Goldstein, Sarah Jane Gorlitz + Wojciech Olejnik, Tamar Guimarães, Emma Hart + Benedict Drew, Joachim Koester, Sharon Lockhart, Jayce Salloum, Michael Snow, Ryan Trecartin, Wendelien van Oldenborgh, Emily Wardill and Anna Wignell.

The Images Festival crosses international boundaries again this year with artworks representing 25 countries, including spotlight programs on contemporary Mexican films, projects from North Africa and the Middle East courtesy Chamber of Public Secrets and a special restoration program of films by Tom Chomont. The Images Festival presents a wide range of work and disciplines – from formal experiments to innovative documentary, from film with live performance to works which address a range of political, feminist and a multitude of social and cultural issues including works this year by Kamal Aljafari, Cecilia Araneda, Johanna Billing, Joshua Bonnetta, Shary Boyle, Thirza Cuthand, Keren Cytter, Manon de Boer, Barry Doupé, Franci Duran, Köken Ergun, Kevin Jerome Everson, Christine Fellows, Robert Fenz, Benj Gerdes, John Greyson, Oliver Husain, Luo Li, Annie MacDonnell, Babette Mangolte, Ross McLaren, Barbara Meter, Shirin Neshat, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Andrew James Paterson, Nicolás Pereda, Jenny Perlin, John Porter, Yvonne Rainer, Steve Reinke, Ben Rivers, robbinschilds, Emily Roysdon, Jon Sasaki, Ichiro Sueoka, Benjamin Tong, Naomi Uman, Emily Wardill and Lulu Wei.

2010 International Experimental Media Congress is supported by grants from The Canada Council for the Arts, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.

Venue Sponsor: Ontario College of Art & Design

Additional support from: The Canada Council for the Arts Visiting Curator’s Program, The Goethe-Institut Toronto, Prefix Photo’s Urban Field Speakers Series, Public Access and Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre, Ryerson University.

2010 Images Festival made possible thanks to generous public operating funds from The Canada Council for the Arts, The Department of Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council and Telefilm Canada.

Special thanks to the Ontario Ministry of Tourism.

Program Speaker: Nicholas Paleologos, Executive Director, Massachusetts Film Office
Sunday 3/28, 10:30AM, Spiegel Auditorium, 56 Brattle Street, Cambridge (Harvard Square)
Program is Free, Public Welcome, Coffee and Discussion to follow.

Mr. Paleologos will share his experience marketing MA as a filmmaking location and marketing filmmaking as a revenue-producing enterprise. Mr. Paleologos is a movie producer (Mississippi Burning), and a former state legislator. While in office he chaired the Joint Committee on Education and the Arts.

Raising Money to Support Your Creative Endeavors
…..a workshop for emerging individual artists and arts organizations

FRIDAY, MARCH 19th from 5:30 to 7:00 PM
Arts Resource Room, Calderwood Pavilion
BOSTON CENTER FOR THE ARTS
527 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End

Details available at http://www.bcaonline.org/calendar.html