2021 Version 1:2
As amended at the LSA Annual General Meeting on 9 November 2021
1. The Society shall be called the ‘Leicester Society of Artists’ (hereafter referred to as the Society) and shall consist of a President, Past Presidents, Honorary Members, and Members. The aims of the Society are to encourage in particular the practice and appreciation of original art and to hold at least one public exhibition each year.
2. The Annual Subscription and Entrance Fee will be set by the Annual General Meeting. All subscriptions are due by 1st September each year. Any Member, whose subscription is in arrears after one year, after notification has been given by the Secretary, shall automatically cease to be a member. Any Member resigning from the Society shall inform the Secretary by letter or email.
3. The President shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and their office may be confirmed at subsequent Annual General Meetings. From October 2006 the Office of Vice President shall cease to exist. A Chair shall be elected by the Council from the ordinary Council members and will hold office for one year or such period over one year as will include an exhibition.
4. Persons by reason of their eminence or special services to the society may be elected Honorary Members by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting at an Annual General Meeting. Honorary Members will hold office for three years and may be eligible for re-election at subsequent Annual General Meetings. Honorary Members shall not have the power to vote unless holding an office in the Society. Otherwise no person shall be elected to the Society except as a Member.
5. The Council shall normally consist of five Officers and nine ordinary Council Members. The Officers, comprising Treasurer, Council Secretary, Membership Secretary, Exhibitions Officer and Events Officer, shall be elected each year at the Annual General Meeting. The ordinary Council Members shall be elected for a fixed term of three years at the Annual General Meeting and will retire annually by rotation and not be eligible for re-election for one year. The Chair and the five Officers shall be part of any other committee or sub-committee decided upon by the AGM or the Council. Should a vacancy for an ordinary Council Member, or Council Officer, occur between AGMs the Council may fill the vacancy with a current Member of the society, to be officially elected at the next AGM. The Council may appoint further officers on an ex-officio basis from time to time to undertake specific functions for the society. Such officers will have the right to attend Council meetings when business related to their function is being transacted. They will not be paid an honorarium and will not be entitled to vote at Council meetings. A Financial Examiner shall be elected at the AGM but shall not be a Member of the Council.
6. The Council shall transact all the ordinary business of the Society, six Members being a quorum.
7. The Council shall be empowered to appoint small groups from within its membership to administer and arrange specific projects for the Society. The Council, in unusual circumstances, shall have the power to co-opt a Member of the Society to a sub- committee if that Member has specific expertise relevant to a particular project.
8. From September 2019 the following types of Membership and subscription rates apply.
1. Ordinary Membership - Full subscription rate
2. Reduced Rate Membership – Members who completed 40 years of membership by 1 September 2014 – reduced subscription rate
3. Life Membership -. Members who have completed 50 years of membership – no fee
4. Honorary Membership - no fee.
9. Applications for membership of the Society are welcomed from artists living, working or studying in Leicestershire or Rutland or with strong connections to the area. Applicants for membership must apply using the online form on the website and must submit four works for the consideration of the Council. No applicants will be elected unless there is a majority of those in favour of the applicant and until the entrance fee and first annual subscription has been paid. The Secretary shall inform applicants of the date of the Council meeting at which the applications will be considered, and where and when to send works and also inform them of the decision of the Council. Such meetings shall be held at the discretion of the Council.
10. Each Member shall be entitled, on payment of an appropriate submission fee to be set by the Council, to submit up to three works as space permits for each exhibition. The Council shall be responsible for selecting a representative exhibition of high standard and will ensure, as circumstances permit, that each submitting Member is represented by at least one work. No work may be removed before the close of the exhibition.
11. Artists who are not Members of the Society may exhibit work at the Annual Exhibition only by invitation from the Council.
12. All works for sale must be bona fide the production and property of the exhibitor, but by permission of the exhibition Council, works which have been purchased from a Member, may be included.
13. A Commission shall be charged by the Museum and the society on all works sold at the Annual Exhibition. Purchases may be made outright or a deposit of at least 10% placed on the work, the balance to be paid before the end of the exhibition. (Please note that at the date of these rule amendments the society does not charge the artist a commission on sales).
14. A General Meeting of the Society shall be held in the months of October or November in each year to transact all such business appertaining to such General Meeting. An extraordinary General Meeting may be called by the Council, or on a requisition, stating the purpose of such meeting, and such resolutions to be determined, signed by twenty Members.
15. Only elected members of the Society shall be entitled to vote at the Annual General Meeting or Council Meetings.
16. Three Trustees shall be appointed to act in connection with the trust funds and in accordance with the provisions of the Trust Deed.
17. Notice of resolutions or amendments to the rules of the Society, for consideration at the Annual General Meeting, must be given to the Secretary no later than 1st September in any year.
[ENDS]