Visual ArtistsIreland is an advocacy, support, publishing, and information organisation representing professional visual artists on the island of Ireland.
History
Founded in 1980 as the Sculptors’ Society of Ireland, the name was changed in 2005 as they began to include visual artists of all disciplines. Their current slogan describes VAI as "The Representative Body for Visual Artists in Ireland supporting artists at all stages of their careers". Noel Kelly has been the CEO/Director of the non-profitsince 2007.
Organisation
The VAI is a Limited Company with Guarantee run by paid staff under a voluntary board of professional artists, and primarily receives its funding from Arts Council grant money. It also maintains a paid membership base of around 1500 and raises money through side projects. Their income amounted to a little more than €500,000 in 2018.
Activities
VAI publishes a free newspaper, Visual Artists' Newssheet, six times a year, as well as a twice weekly 'e-bulletin' advertising opportunities and exhibitions. They published a curated journal titled Printed Project multiple times a year until its final issue, #15, was published in April 2012. They have also published reports on artists's incomes, payment guidelines, and the use of interns in the arts. The VAI regularly holds professional development workshops and network building events throughout the island, including a 'speed-curating' programme. They have also tried their hand at app development – Art Connect – and an artists's social network, the Common Room Social Network for the Visual Arts. The VAI offers residencies such as the Valerie Earley Residency Award and the Suki Tea Art Prize; has previously administered arts studios grants on behalf of the Arts Council of Ireland; and started granting a 'Hardship Award' in 2011.
Campaigns
In 2015 the VAI researched and surveyed artists and galleries to discover that "in almost 80 per cent of cases artists received no fee for their participation" in exhibitions. They led a campaign titled: "Ask! Has the Artist Been Paid?" which led to the Arts Council requiring artists fees to all funded organisations. The organisation has been an active whistleblower on this issue, recently naming the National Gallery of Ireland as a culprit in not paying artists, even though the exhibition requires a paid ticket. Launched in 2017 as part of an Irish governmentpilot scheme, and now a permanent one, artists can receive jobseeker's allowance as artists, with the VAI and the Irish Writers Centre officially determining eligibility. The VAI welcomed this move and reported that an important additional gain was that "it grants professional status, which in turn recognizes the special circumstances that artists encounter in their search for commissions and employment."
