Arts Group

Rereading Milburn’s report “Unleashing Aspiration” it’s interesting to note some key points that remain outstanding, and particularly relevant as we head into a year of political change, whenever and whatever the results of the General Election.

The first graph that drew my particular attention concerns the % difference between different professions compared to the family income individuals came from. This seems to be a good indicator of social mobility as much as any can be. The report makes much of the distressingly rising numbers “top tier” of professionals from well off backgrounds but the figures around the Arts is of further interest. We sit as arguably the best of the professions on this graph in terms of a drop in those from well off backgrounds, but it would be interesting to query for how many the Arts actually represents social mobility, especially in a fiscal sense.

Not Arts-specific, but also shocking is the news in chapter 2 that ‘one in six children today grows up in a workless household’ – hard to believe in a supposedly developed country…

The report is well worth a read if you haven’t already, and the summary is excellent…

Download the pdfs here

Our friends at BECTU have fantastic guidelines up on their site, spelling out exactly what makes a good work experience placement, and what employers should do to avoid violating National Minimum Wage (NMW) legislation.

It’s really good to have this stuff spelled out. Recently dealing with a student who’d been denied expenses, it turned out she was probably liable to retrospectively claim NMW too. If you are aware of anyone in a similar situation make sure to give the HMRC helpline a call for advice on minimum wage claims on 0800 917 2368, and for advice on expenses contact contact ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) for advice on 0845 747 4747.

In the absence of any increased legislation on the horizon, it’s vital none of us are hesitant in making use of what’s already there. With enough people claiming back the money they’re owed it will make company’s think twice about exploiting unpaid workers under the guise of internships/work experience.

Take a look at BECTU’s guidelines here

Image by Ildar Sagdejev (Specious)

Dialogue, discussion dissemination, diatribe about the use of technology within art & design teaching. a sprightly forum of discussion and a sharing of good practice. A space for representative studies on the use of digital tools and environments within studio-based learning. a lively, engaging and individual site presenting ideas and resources. A inspirational resource  that will help to nurture creativity and innovation. An inclusive resource of academics, practitioners and students.

It’s new. Please contribute.

www.squinting.org

The Arts Group’s first meeting of 2010 will be held on 11th-12th February in Lincoln.

Please register your details below and we will contact you with joining instructions/accomodation info.

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Melissa Henderson, from 10 Park Signs

So, what is IPR? Well, put simply it is legal property in original work. But unlike your house, your car or your MP3 player, IPR is intangible. This means that it isn’t the type of property you can hold and pass around. Rather, it is the type of property which bestows on the owner certain legal rights – the right not to be copied for example. If anyone reproduces or copies someone’s original work without their permission they will breach or infringe that person’s IPR. So, it is important for creative people to understand IPR, particularly if they are using their creative works commercially. There are various different types of IPR which exist depending on the type of creative work you might produce. The main types are copyright, design right, trade marks and patents, and very briefly: Copyright exists automatically in creative works such as artistic works (paintings, illustrations, photographs etc.), literary works (writing, songs, music, software code etc.), dramatic works (plays, structured dance choreography etc.). More information about copyright may be found here [link to copyright article]; Design right exists both automatically and also if the owner chooses to register via a form of Government registration in illustrated design drawings (line drawings, CAD drawings etc.) from which a 3D product can be made. More information about design right may be found here [link to design right article]; Trade marks exist both through their use over time and also if the owner chooses to register via a form of Government registration of trade marks in names (e.g. an artist’s name) or other marks (e.g. a logo) under by which a business is identified. More information about trade marks may be found here [link to trade marks article]; Patents exist only if the owner chooses to register via a form of Government registration of patents in inventions (i.e. new ideas which improve technology). This is less relevant to artists and designers and so is just mentioned here for completeness. As you will be able to tell from the above, this IPR is valuable property because if you create something original, be it a piece of artwork, a graphic illustration or a photograph, if it is good, others may wish to use it commercially (e.g. to use as an album cover or to sell as a collection) and because the creator owns IPR in their work, anyone who does want to reproduce that work commercially must obtain the owner’s permission (for which the owner may charge). This is called licensing of IPR.

Following the release of UCCA Vice-Chancellor Elaine Thomas’s excellent piece calling for design to be moved into the STEM subject cluster (though the online anagram scramblers inform me this doesn’t generate nearly as neat an anagram – see the incredibly laboured NINJA) it’s imperative that the economic value of design is recognized, and thoroughout our sectors we should seek to push for increased funding support for creative subjects.

In particular, the logic behind the STEM allocation (prioritizing money towards science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) seems increasingly quesitonable as the creative industries productivity and contribution to the country’s finances has been repeatedly cited over the past few years. In emerging from the recession and looking towards globalized enterprise activity, it is essential that our creative institutions are funded properly, and not just by shovelling in international students. The future of the UKs ability to compete in the global marketplace will depend upon a balanced portfolio of service offerings, and if a core strength of domestic creatives is not in our armoury we will undoubtebly lose out to countries including China, who are openly prioritizing this sector in their strategies.

The UK government must wake up to our art schools and other institutions requiring a degree of resource that reflects the requirements of our intensive education. Learning to design, make, perform, produce and the full range of disciplines encompassed in our practices requires larges amounts of space, contact time with our staff, and a constantly evolving array of facilities and tools. It cannot and must not be reduced to a shoestring budget area, an approach that seems to be worryingly proliferated and pandering to the obselete perception of creative subjects as “soft”.

jotta is an online and offline community of practising artists and designers borne from the University of the Arts London.

We are currently looking for talented journalism and/or arts graduates, or people with a strong interest in journalism and the creative industries, who are enthusiastic and would like to gain experience in online publishing.

We are also looking for journalism students with a strong interest in politics, and government policy within the creative industries. This writer would work with both jotta and Arts Group.

Placements within the jotta editorial team offer the opportunity to contribute to the online magazine with an audience of 10,000 unique hits/week.
This will allow you to:

- GAIN EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE, Researching, writing articles on a weekly basis, creating a calendar of events, liasing with jotta community to find suitable subjects, liasing with external arts community and pr agencies.

- CONTRIBUTE TO AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES using search engine optimisation
- DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF DESIGN AND CONTENT MANAGEMENT Image sourcing and editing, content management systems

If successful you will work closely with the jotta.com editor to devise a programme of practical work experience to facilitate your personal professional development. This will be monitored for a period of no more than 160 hours.

All jotta placements take place for no more than 12 hours a week, in our office on Newburgh St W1F7RP.

There is the option to work remotely if travel expenses are an issue.

If you are interested in gaining experience in the team detailed above please email millie@jotta.com with a statement of interest, and a recent C.V.

“The Employment Tribunals, sitting in Reading, have ruled that workers engaged on an expenses-only basis are entitled to payment at least in line with the national minimum wage, in addition to payment for the holiday they accrue.”

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