"Ignorance is no defence" is a very basic legal principle and an age old 'law'.

It basically means that you cannot use your ignorance of the law as an excuse for why you ignored it or flouted it.  It also prevents people from avoiding prosecution for things they have done wrong.

As an artist you can neither ignore the law nor try to excuse things you have done by saying you didn't know.

If you go into business, it's a basic principle that you must find out all the things you "need to know" to conduct your business affairs properly,

I'm no lawyer - and therefore not an expert. However I do know enough to be periodically horrified when I realise the ignorance of some artists about the law that relates to their various activities.

​Ignorance may be bliss - but it is very definitely no defence and some artists leave themselves open to various liabilities as a result!

I've created a NEW page, called ​Legal Matters for Artists, which provides a brief summary of matters which can have legal consequences for artists and what you "need to know" about. You can find it

• in the Office Practices section
• of the PRACTICE Section
• of my website Art Business Info for Artists

In essence it's a combination of a checklist of legal issues relevant to artists PLUS  a compendium of other legal resources ​

​It's also relevant to those arts and artists' organisations which conduct activities covered by law relating to art business.

The "headlines" of legal matters cover the following. Under each heading I highlight and suggest the type of issues you may well "need to know" about or be aware of.

• Artists Rights
• Art Sales - Auctions, Galleries and Dealers
• Artist Contracts with Galleries and Dealers
• Online Sales: art / commissions / tuition
• Art Sales / Tuition: At Home / Open Studios
• Art Insurance and Safeguarding
• Moving and Shipping Art - including over international borders
• Money and Art - and Tax
• Art Estates and Legacies
• Personal data collection and data protection

Each of these provides links to other pages on my website which provide some of the answers - or links to places which can.

Pages are in development for the following sections - although legal issues which need to be considered are highlighted on the Legal Matters page.

• Art Competitions and Open Exhibitions
• Patrons and Commissions
• Artist as Author / Publisher
• Artist as employer / employee. 

It also contains links to:

• various sources of expertise and commentary on art law
• various articles and online sites providing information about art law
• a book about art law
• lawyers specialising in art - including pro bono and fixed price lawyers
• courses providing professional development for museum and gallery professionals 
• tuition in law relevant to art - including a Distance Learning Diploma in Art Law

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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I'm currently developing a new section on Art Business Information for Artists to make room for all the tips I've developed and collected about

• being an artist and
• how to be a successful artist!​

The name keeps changing but it's essentially about stepping up to the reality of what it takes to become a successful artist. It's about:

• habits
• practices for real life
• learning - and continued professional development.

Below are a sample of some of the topics it will cover
plus two topics I've recently posted about on Making A Mark.

This is essentially about being an artist and

• what are the things which make an artist different,
• what are the challenges they will face,
• what are the habits they need to develop if they want to be successful

Topics will include

• Starting out as an Artist - moving on from being an amateur to becoming a professional artist
• Being a Professional Artist - this will include coverage of the nature of an artist's career. This section will include a page devoted to examples of the working lives of professional artists. Yesterday I wrote about A Portfolio Career as an Artist
• Teach Art - this might be a seperate section, but will cover the various ways you can teach art and what the requirements are if you do. 

This is about real life and professional business practices for artists. 
Art is not all about making art. There's a lot of routine which you need to make time for and which need to be followed if you aren't going to be wasting your time and living and working  and storing your art in a complete mess. Plus professional practices which can make a difference between being a successful artist and an "also ran".

Topics will include:

• Studio Practices - what needs to happen to if you want to e.g. how to be safe in your studio; how to store your art; how to inventory your art
• Office Practices - things that need to be done to keep on top of the paperwork - and the art! Examples include: How to back up your images; how to comply with legislation relating to data protection - see below. 
• Time management - how to differentiate between the important and the urgent
• I'll also be adding in book-keeping, budgeting and business planning into  the Money & Tax section

I've just written a blog post on Making A Mark about Is your art organisation or business ready for GDPR - the replacement of the Data Protection Act? - which is about the new mandatory legislation which will be introduced and become effective on 25th May 2018. It applies to all artists maintaining a contacts database for marketing and/or sales.

Topics will include

• The Best Business Books for Artists
• Art Schools in the UK - for those wanting to develop further by taking a degree in fine art at undergraduate or postgraduate level
• Art Business Courses Online - for those wanting to develop their knowledge, skills and competences relating to the business of art. I'll be giving particular emphasis to those where I've had positive feedback
• Mentoring - opportunities to consult with me in relation to different aspects of your development or conundrums to face.

I'm always very interested to hear about people's priorities as to things they want to know about. So let me know what you think. ​You can

• leave a comment on this blog post
• or, if you'd prefer to be more private write to me via the feedback form on my Contact Page.

​Step Up #1 Photo by Daniel von Appen on Unsplash
Step Up #2 Photo by Mikito Tateisi on Unsplash

Subscribe to Art Business Info. for Artists - NEWS by Email
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(Note: subscriptions are only activated once you verify the link in the email you will receive)