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Richmond Art Society

Constitution

Title

The Society shall be known as the “Richmond Art Society”.

Objects

The objects of the Society shall be to foster and promote local interest in the practice and appreciation of the visual arts.

Conduct

The Society shall be non-profit making and non-political in nature and its activities shall be free from all sectarian bias. No member of the Society shall claim to express the views of the Society on any subject unless so authorised by the Committee. The Society will not discriminate on the grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, sexuality, disability, religious or political belief, marital status or age.

Membership

Membership of the Society is open to all persons aged eighteen or over by submission of a completed application form and the payment of the Annual Subscription.

Members may take part in all Society activities except that any Member wishing to exhibit with the Society must first submit examples of their work to a Selection Committee appointed by the Committee from time to time. If the Selection Committee is satisfied that the Member's work is of an appropriate standard, the Member will be entitled to submit work to any future Society exhibition.

The Committee may offer Honorary Memberships in recognition of exceptional service to the Society and to external invitees.

The Committee may create new classes of membership.

Subscriptions

Members shall pay an Annual Subscription, the rate of which shall be determined by the Committee from time to time and reported to the following Annual General Meeting.

Any member whose subscription is more than four months in arrears shall cease to be entitled to the benefits of membership.

The Society's Year

The Society's Year shall commence on the 1st April each year and expire on 31st March of the following year. All subscriptions shall be paid in advance and be due on 1st April each year.

Officers & Committee

  1. The management of the Society shall be carried out by a Committee elected at the Annual General Meeting. The Committee shall meet as necessary and not less than three times a year.
  2. The Committee shall consist of a maximum of fifteen members and comprise four Officers and up to eleven committee members. The Committee may if required, co-opt non Committee members to carry out specific roles.
  3. The Officers' roles shall be as follows:
    1. Chair who shall chair both general and committee meetings.
    2. Secretary who shall be responsible for the taking of minutes at meetings and the distribution of all papers.
    3. Treasurer who shall be responsible for maintaining accounts.
    4. Deputy Chair who shall in the absence of the Chair, chair at any such meeting (in the absence of both Chair and Deputy Chair another Officer shall chair).
  4. In the event of an officer standing down during the year a replacement will be elected at the next General Meeting of members and in the interim another member of the Committee will be appointed by the Committee to fulfil the role.

Meetings

Annual General Meeting

  1. An Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Society shall be held within fifteen months of the last AGM.
  2. Notice of the AGM shall be sent to all members at least one month prior to the date of such AGM together with an Agenda for such meeting and any other documents.
  3. Nominations for the committee must be made to the Secretary not more than one month prior to the meeting or at the meeting in writing.
  4. Any member wishing to raise a matter for discussion at an AGM shall give notice thereof to the Secretary at least one week prior to the date of the AGM.
  5. The quorum for the AGM shall be ten.
  6. At the AGM:
    1. the Chair shall report on the activities of the Society for the past year
    2. the Treasurer shall present the statement of accounts of the year
    3. the Officers and Committee for the next year shall be elected
    4. any other matter of which the Secretary has had one week's notice shall be discussed.

Special General Meeting

  1. The Secretary shall call a Special General Meeting at the request of the majority of the Committee or at least twenty other members giving a written request to the Chair or the Secretary stating their reason for such request. Such Special General Meeting shall take place within twenty-one days of the request and members shall be given at least seven days notice of such meeting with the venue, date, time and agenda..
  2. The quorum for such meeting shall be ten.

Committee Meetings

  1. Committee Meetings shall be called by the Chair or Secretary. Committee members must receive at least seven days notice of such meeting. In the event of a Committee Meeting being held with less than seven days notice being given the Committee shall be entitled to waive such failure.
  2. The quorum for Committee Meetings is 5 members.

Rules for Meetings

  1. In the event of a vote being taken at any meeting of the Society a decision will be made by simple majority of members present. In the event of an equality of voting on each side the Chair of the meeting shall have an additional casting vote.

Finances

  1. An account/s in the name of the Society shall be maintained at a bank or banks agreed by the Committee.
  2. The Treasurer shall have authority to sign cheques, and make or authorise payments by or on behalf of the Society. Such authority may be granted to any other member of the Committee by resolution of the Committee.
  3. Records of income and expenditure will be maintained by the Treasurer and a financial statement given to the Committee if the Chair or Treasurer deem such to be necessary.
  4. The Treasurer shall prepare an annual statement of account to be presented to the AGM
  5. The such statement of account shall be checked by a member of the Committee or external individual or company as approved by resolution at the AGM.

Amendments to the Constitution

  1. An amendment to the constitution may only be made at the AGM or a Special General Meeting.
  2. Any proposal for the amendment to the constitution must be given to the
  3. Secretary in writing and circulated with the notice of such meeting.
  4. A proposal to amend the constitution may be passed by a simple majority.

Dissolution

  1. If a meeting by a simple majority shall decide to close down the Society it may call a Special General Meeting to do so and the sole business at such meeting shall be the dissolution of the Society.
  2. In the event that it is agreed that the Society be dissolved then all remaining money and other assets, once outstanding debts have been paid, shall be donated to such local charitable organisations as are selected by the Meeting at which the dissolution is agreed.

Activities of the Society

  1. The Committee will set out the rules and regulations, including charges for members’ exhibitions, lectures and any other activity held by the Society
  2. The Society will not be liable for damage or loss of any item bought by members to any of its activities and members should arrange their own insurance. The Society will comply with Health and Safety regulations as required.

Communication

  1. All communications and giving of notices will be made by such means as the Committee deem most efficient and appropriate. Communications will be accepted in writing by electronic means or post.
Constitution as approved at the Society’s Annual General Meeting held on 5th April 2017.