Earlier this year we announced that we had restructured the NZ Art Guild into a charitable trust with a governing board. We had submitted an application to the charities commission so that we could achieve charitable status and therefore we would be eligible to apply for funding and grants in order to sustain the NZ Art Guild financially and grow it into the future.
After 7 months of discussions with the Charities Commission, last week we had our application for charitable status declined. This required an emergency board meeting and resulted in us re-examining the future of the NZ Art Guild. It has been decided with great sadness that the Guild is not a financially sustainable organisation and therefore the only option left to us is to close.
We realise that this will come as a shock to you all and we want you to understand that this decision was not made lightly. Some of you will know that the NZ Art Guild has been a true labour of love for me personally over the last 7 ½ years since it was first founded. I have made many sacrifices over this time in order to grow the Art Guild and deliver opportunities and services to artists. It was always something I believed in passionately and was determined to make it a success for artists all around NZ.
The strategic plan this year was to create a trust, appoint a board, gain donee status and apply for funding so that we could employ someone to take over from me as Executive Director in February as I am no longer able to continue in this role for personal reasons. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to achieve these goals.
This means that the NZ Art Guild will close it doors permanently at Christmas (Dec 23rd) The NZ Art Guild website will be live until the New Year and the NZ Art Guild Facebook Page, blog and twitter will remain in the interim but will not be updated.
We understand that artists who have subscribed to our database have done so for a variety of reasons and we make some suggestions below on alternative ways they can receive those services.
- Mentoring and Coaching – I will personally be available for business mentoring and life coaching under my own company Creative Business Consultants. NZ Art Guild members will get a much reduced rate for next year. These sessions will initially only be available in person in the Auckland area but later next year will be expanded to include skype and phone coaching. You can contact me directly via sophia@sophiaelise.co.nz or phone 027 630 1810
- Website – for artists wanting online promotion, webpages or websites we recommend www.artfind.co.nz. Alternatively Fine Art America offer a great option for only $30 USD a year (I have one of these myself – which you can check out here – http://www.sophia-elise.artistwebsites.com/)
- Support – for professional support Artists Alliance – http://www.artistsalliance.org.nz/
- Online Community – There are numerous different groups on Facebook where New Zealand artists chat about their art and share advice and experiences. One is www.facebook.com/groups/255635297785674/
- Information – We recommend all artists subscribe to the Big Idea Navigator Bulletin. This is packed full of great articles, opportunities, art awards, residencies, jobs and much more. http://www.thebigidea.co.nz/
- Exhibition opportunities – Various community Art Centres and the NZ Academy of Fine Arts are great places to be members and then you have the opportunities to participate in their exhibitions.
The Last Word
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful volunteers who have offered their time, energy and support to the NZ Art Guild over the years. With any organization it is a team effort and I feel very blessed to have had some wonderful team members helping us over the past 7 years.
Whatever your interest in the NZ Art Guild over the years has been; Whether you are an art lover, a business, a discounter/supplier, a past member, a current member I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support of the NZ Art Guild, my vision, our charity events and of course the talented New Zealand Artists.
We wish you all the best with your future.
Kind Regards
Sophia Elise
Executive Director,
NZ Art Guild
Web: http://www.nzartguild.co.nz/
Ph: 027 630 1810 Fax: 09 478 2586
Email: admin@nzartguild.co.nz
Postal: PO Box 35098, Browns Bay, Auckland
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment