Friday, 18 of May of 2012
Representation and action for students of the arts
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.
cforms contact form by delicious:days
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.
On 14th October, Arts Group Chair, Kit Friend, attended the Interns Summit in Portcullis House.
Touted by many attendees as the start of a cohesive movement, there sounds like positive movement will come as a result of this activity. However current discussion from those attending was still focussing around parliamentary interns, quality provision etc – we anticipate a fight for the legisla
Here follows the report from the Office of Phil Willis MP:
Last night around 100 interns, MPs and lobbyists gathered in parliament to demand an end to the abuse of ‘generation intern’.
The event was hosted by Liberal Democrat MP Phil Willis, and featured rousing speeches from The Speaker Rt. Hon John Bercow MP, the Rt Hon. Charles Clarke MP, David Willets MP, NUS President Wes Streeting and president of the parliamentary branch of Unite, Dan Whittle.
The most eagerly anticipated contribution came from Speaker Bercow, who chairs the Members’ Estimates Committee. The Committee will be looking at MPs expenses and pay, including staffing allowances and hopefully the question of interns pay too.
Whilst shying away from directly committing himself to putting the issue on the agenda for the Committee, The Speaker stated that he was very happy to raise it ‘through the appropriate channels’ although ‘this will take time’. He acknowledged that ‘This will not go away, it cannot be brushed under the carpet… I am listening’.
Following The Speaker, David Willets faced the packed room stating ‘I can sense this is the start of a movement, it feels like an uprising!’. Willets made reference to Alan Milburn’s Social Mobility Report published this summer, stating that only 3-4% of interns apply for their positions following careers advice, and called for a ‘revolution’ in careers advice.
With all the talk of revolution and uprising, Wes Streeting and Dan Whittle issued a rallying cry to the interns in the room. Wes Streeting accused many politicians of talking to themselves, and thanked Willis, Willets, Clarke and The Speaker for taking the time to listen. Dan Whittle called for an end to ‘generation intern’, and ended by challenging The Speaker to put this issue on the agenda for the Committee’s first meeting next week, stating that he was ‘disappointed’ by the absence of such a promise.
Phil Willis has confirmed that he will be writing to The Speaker to formalise the request.
Phil Willis said ‘Interns are now an integral part in the staffing structure of our Parliament, it’s essential to kick-on and ensure that they not only receive the appropriate recognition for their contribution, but that the authorities develop a kite mark or minimum standard for internships to ensure that they get a really first class experience and appropriate reward’.
Please visit our Registration page here to sign up to attend our October meeting in Liverpool on 19th/20th! now in London on the 19th/20th October!
The Next Meeting of the Arts Group will currenly be on October 19th/20th in Liverpool, overlapping with the NUS’ Town Takeover, watch this space for more updates soon.
Please click here to download instructions for delegates attending the meeting on the 10th/11th July.
If you want to attend the meeting but haven’t registered yet, please do so via www.lufbra.net/artsgroupconference
It’s time for the next meeting of the Arts Group!
Click here to register to attend
Topics currently planned for discussion include:
- Bursaries in Higher Education – 6 out of 10 of the bottom spenders in the recent Bursaries tables are Arts-specialist institutions. What can we do to make sure the additional income from our fees is being spent to enable access?
- Emerging Workers in the Creative Industries – Unpaid work experience, internships, and working for free for months or years are common place in parts of the Creative Industries and Cultural Sector – what is our stance, and where is the line drawn on unfair employment practice?
- FE Funding – The Learning Skills Council’s dispersion, and the future of Foundation courses and other areas of the Arts in FE, has been a topic at previous meetings. What’s going on and what can we do to preserve the core elements of Creative Education?
- The Future of the Arts Group – We’re here. We’ve got attention and a voice. What do we want from our collective and what are the key issues for the committee to act on for the next year?
We’re planning activity at NUS Annual conference, watch this space for more news soon.
