As amended following the LSA Annual General Meeting 2026
RULE 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, Fellows, Honorary Members and Members. The Society aims to encourage the practice and appreciation of original art in particular and to hold at least one public exhibition each year.
RULE 2. The Annual General Meeting shall set the Annual Subscription and Entrance Fee. All subscriptions are due by 1 September each year. Members of Council shall continue to pay the annual subscription in the usual way. On completion of a year of service on Council, an amount equivalent to the annual subscription shall be credited to them in recognition of expenses incurred in carrying out their duties for the Society (this provision has applied from 2025). Any Member liable to pay a subscription whose subscription remains in arrears for one year, after notice from the Secretary, shall automatically cease to be a Member. Any Member or Fellow resigning from the Society shall inform the Secretary by letter or email.
RULE 3. The President shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting for a term of four years. The Council shall select a Chair from the ordinary Council Members, who shall hold office for one year or for such period over one year as will include an exhibition.
RULE 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 shall 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 or Fellow.
RULE 5. The Council shall generally consist of three Officers and six ordinary Council Members. The Officers, comprising the Treasurer, LSA Secretary and Exhibitions Officer, shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting. The ordinary Council Members shall be elected for a fixed term of three years at the Annual General Meeting. Two shall retire annually by rotation and shall not be eligible for re-election for one year. The Chair and the Secretary shall be members of any other committee or sub-committee which the Annual General Meeting or the Council decides to appoint. Should a vacancy for an ordinary Council Member occur between Annual General Meetings, the Council may fill the vacancy with a current Member or Fellow of the Society, to be formally elected at the next Annual General Meeting. The Council may appoint further officers, on an ex-officio basis, to undertake specific functions for the Society. Ex-officio officers shall have the right to attend Council meetings when business related to their function is being transacted. They shall not be paid an honorarium and shall not be entitled to vote at Council meetings. A Financial Examiner shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting but shall not be a Member of the Council.
RULE 6. The Council shall transact all the ordinary business of the Society. Four Council Members shall constitute a quorum.
RULE 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 shall have the power to co-opt a Member or Fellow of the Society to a sub-committee where that person has specific expertise relevant to a particular project.
RULE 8. The following categories of membership shall apply:
1. Ordinary Membership – Members paying the full annual subscription.
2. Fellowship – Fellowship of the Leicester Society of Artists may be conferred at the Annual General Meeting upon:
a. Members who have completed at least thirty years of membership of the Society; and
b. individuals recognised by the Society for their distinguished contribution to, advocacy for, or support of the visual arts, or for exceptional service to the Leicester Society of Artists.
Thirty years of membership shall make a Member eligible for Fellowship; Fellowship shall not arise automatically and shall be formally conferred at the Annual General Meeting. Fellows shall be entitled to use the designation FLSA (Fellow of the Leicester Society of Artists) and shall pay no annual subscription.
3. Honorary Membership – no annual subscription.
Transitional provision: Members holding Reduced Rate Membership or Life Membership immediately before the adoption of these Rules shall become Fellows of the Society and shall pay no annual subscription.
RULE 9. Applications for Ordinary 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 Ordinary Membership must apply using the online form on the website and must submit four works for consideration by the Council. No applicant shall be elected unless a majority of those voting are in favour of the applicant and until the entrance fee and first annual subscription have been paid. The Secretary shall inform applicants of the date of the Council meeting at which applications will be considered, where and when to send works, and the decision of the Council. Such meetings shall be held at the discretion of the Council. Fellowship may also be conferred in accordance with Rule 8 and shall not require application under this Rule.
RULE 10. Each Member and Fellow 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 or Fellow is represented by at least one work. No work may be removed before the close of the exhibition.
RULE 11. Artists who are neither Members nor Fellows of the Society may exhibit work at the Annual Exhibition only by invitation from the Council.
RULE 12. All works for sale must be bona fide the production and property of the exhibitor. By permission of the Exhibitions Officer, works which have been purchased from a Member or Fellow may be included.
RULE 13. A commission may be charged on works sold at the Annual Exhibition. Purchases may be made outright, or a deposit of at least 10% placed on the work, with the balance to be paid before the end of the exhibition.
RULE 14. A General Meeting of the Society shall be held in 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 the resolutions to be determined, signed by twenty Members or Fellows.
RULE 15. Members and Fellows of the Society shall be entitled to vote at the Annual General Meeting. Honorary Members shall not have the power to vote unless they hold an office in the Society, in which case they shall have the voting rights attached to that office. At Council meetings, voting rights shall be limited to elected Council Members and Officers entitled to vote under these Rules.
RULE 16. Three Trustees shall be appointed to act in connection with the trust funds and in accordance with the provisions of the Trust Deed.
RULE 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 1 September in any year.
[ENDS]