In times which are stressful, artists are apt to form groups to support one another - including unions.

​There are some interesting examples from the past where this has happened in relation to once in a lifetime events, such as the Irish Potato Famine and World War 2.

Art Business Info for Artists has a new page about Artists Unions.

The page includes brief information organised according to geographical area

• name of the union
• brief extract from what they are about
• membership subscription details
• information about what they do and packages of support information are available via their website

It includes unions from both the past and present

Those current unions recognised by the new page include:

• Artists Union England
• Scottish Artists Union
• Artists Equity Association (a.k.a. New York Artists Equity Association)
• Philadelphia/Tri-State Artists Equity Association, Inc.
• Art Workers Union (Seattle)

Past Unions include:

• The Artists Union or Artists' Union 
• ​Artists Equity Association (1947 - ??)
• ​The Art Workers' Coalition 
• The Royal Irish Art Union

​Do let me know if there are more in your part of the world.

You can find out more on https://www.artbusinessinfo.com/artists-unions.html

NOTE: I'm still having a think about how to list other organisations which provide support for artists.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in the UK has produced a new checklist about data protection law for small business owners and sole traders.

INFORMATION FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND SMALL TRADERS

In the recent past, ICO has tended to share information about rules and guidelines on  data protection and privacy in such a way that it suggested a general lack of awareness by the ICO of the special needs of those who are small businesses or small traders - such as artists.  I suspect they received a lot of cries for help from this quarter when GDPR was implemented earlier this year - as all guidance at one point was constructed assuming organisations had people who did this for them!

The main problem for those who are running EVERY aspect of their business is to find out the answers to "what they don't know they don't know " i.e. it's difficult to know you should be doing something about some new aspect of law if you don't even know it exists!

Hence the checklist is a welcome way in which the ICO is becoming a bit more attuned to the needs of sole traders - and people like artists.

This is the link to How well do you comply with data protection law: an assessment for small business owners and sole traders

This is what ICO have to say about what happens when you use the checklist.

The checklist is part of the overall set of checklists which have been developed by ICO as part of the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation which became operative in May 2o18.

Do let me know how you get on if you use it.

What's the best way of an artist creating a good impression with a business card?
​What size should it be and what do you need on a business card?

The Business Cards for Artists page on this website provides a summary of:

• why you need a business card as an artist
• what are the essential items of information for an artist's business card
• what are the optional extras
• why the look and feel really matters for an artist
• the options around size of a business card - which vary by country!

I've also includes links to articles which make suggestions around design
Plus some options for suppliers of business cards.

As an artist, do you have any recommendations about:

• content and design
  
• a recommended supplier where you live? (Note: only recommendations by artists will be published)

My credentials for creating this page are that I've probably inspected and reviewed information on over 10,000 art websites while blogging about art on my main art blog Making A Mark. I've often got the impression that artists managed to get their images online and write something brief about themselves and then rather ran out of steam - or were not too sure what to do next.

As you know this website is about the art business side of art. I've also noted that some artists have a number of different ways they interact with others - but lack the relevant business pages that really need to be present as well. 

So this page aims to provide a resource and get people thinking about how they can improve their website. It also maybe highlights some issues some artists have never thought about.

The new page Web Content for Artists covers and provides brief guides to and TIPS about:

• essential pages
• website menus and navigation
• content for home pages
• content for image galleries
• content for news
• content for "about the artist"
• content for a contact page
• Terms and Conditions Content
• Privacy Page

The Privacy Page is especially relevant to all those artists who have dealings with anybody living in the European Union - given we are now just over a month away from the new General Data Protection Regulation coming into force (see Data Protection for Art and Artists).

The reason for emphasis on the Terms and Conditions pages is that I see far too many websites which neglect the fact that any business interaction with customers via the website involves explicit or implied contracts and all the relevant legislation and regulations relevant to such business. In particular, I see far too few which really get to grips with their terms and conditions of business.

This is intended to complement other pages in my Website for Artists sub-section of MARKETING which are (at present):

• Website for Artists  (general advice)
• Why websites matter
• Options for websites
• Web design for artists
• Writing for the web

In the interests of updating and improving content, I'd be interested to have your FEEDBACK about the new page. You can either comment on this post or use the feedback form on my "contact" page

On the 25th May 2018 - in less than 60 days - The General Data Protection Regulation comes into effect. It affects everyone and every organisation having data transactions with individuals who live/work in the European Union.

This blog post is about resources I've been trying to pull together about GDPR - for artists and art organisations - societies, charities, schools, galleries etc.

This means it INCLUDES:

• ART SUPPLIERS - all those artists / art organisations - wherever they are located - aiming to market art and art-related services to people located in the EU
• SUPPLIES FOR ARTISTS - all those organisations - wherever they are located - aiming to market their goods and services (eg art materials, websites) to artists and art organisations located in the EU.

NEW PAGE Today I'm launching my new resource page about General Data Protection Regulation ​for Artists and Art Organisations. - which is very much a work in progress.  You can find it in the Office Practices section of the website. The art organisations include: art societies, art galleries, art dealers and art schools.

Previously, I've written two long blog posts on Making A Mark: 

• Got the GDPR Jitters? 10 things you need to know as an artist / art society / art gallery
• Is your art organisation or business ready for GDPR - the replacement of the Data Protection Act? ​

The NEW PAGE includes links to useful resources not included in the blog post and builds upon what I've previously written. I'm still looking and still finding new resources which might be helpful - but you may have to do a lot of reading.

RECOMMENDATION: Besides the links to the publications and resources produced by the Information Commission (first section), the section I'd suggest people take a look at is that relating to Issues for Art Organisations. It includes a very useful document written by The Arts Society providing guidance to its branch societies.

I'm also hoping to develop a section for "Artists as Sole Traders".

The one thing I have discovered is that more and more information is being published the closer we get to 25th May - and it's likely that a lot more will emerge as issues are tested in the courts thereafter.

​Bottom line - this is a live issue for anybody who is creating transactions involving the personal data of anybody living in the EU.

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