SOS Committee

Suffolk Open Studios Committee

Suffolk Open Studios (SOS) is an artist collective.

By joining SOS each member commits to playing an active part in keeping the organisation running (see Member Responsibilities).

Each year, at the AGM, a number of SOS members volunteer and are elected to act as a management team – known as the Suffolk Open Studios Committee. This team works in with the membership as a whole to:

• Publish the annual SOS Art Directory
• Organise a number of group exhibitions for members
• Promote and publicise the June Open Studios event, the exhibitions and the organisation as a whole
• Ensure all financial obligations are met both responsibly and transparently
• Ensure all legal obligations are met, notably through adhering to GDPR regulations and obtaining the necessary insurance cover
• Facilitate and maintain active communication with and between members, so that SOS continues to reflect the values, interests and ambitions of the membership as a whole
• Recruit new members to the organisation

These activities are in service to the stated aims of Suffolk Open Studios to support and help to promote the work of Suffolk artists.

Without a management team there would be:

• NO Open Studios event
• NO Art Directory
• NO Member Exhibitions

In fact, Suffolk Open Studios would cease to exist.

It is essential, therefore, that every SOS member takes a turn on on the Committee at some point during their membership.

Committee members may take on a designated role, share a designated role with another SOS member, or simply volunteer in a support capacity as needed.

Little Time Required

Volunteering for the SOS Committee does not take up a lot of time. This is a common misconception.

• The Committee meets around nine times a year via Zoom for around an hour, maybe slightly more during the more active times of the year. In between meetings, business is conducted via an SOS Committee WhatsApp group.
• Committee members with designated roles may spend between 10 minutes to 1 hour a week working on SOS business depending on the specific role and whether or not it is being shared (see role descriptions below). Some roles are only active for part of the year e.g. Art Directory and App Coordinator between 1st February and 30th April or Exhibition Coordinators in the weeks before and during an exhibition.

Lack of time is often put forward as a reason for not volunteering to help with the SOS Committee, however, even the busiest among us will be able to find 10 minutes a week somewhere. Obviously, a small Committee, where a few members are forced to assume multiple roles within the team, will spend more time volunteering than a medium- or large-sized Committee where the work is shared between many members. It is vital, therefore, that the membership team is made up of at least a dozen members each year.

The Committee works in three teams: Admin, Comms and Exhibitions which means the workload and responsibility are shared, plus this ensures ample cover should life get in the way.

Non-Committee Volunteers

We often find that members are willing, even eager, to volunteer their help at various times during the year, but do not want to become Committee members. Non-Committee volunteers are a valuable resource e.g. acting as Directory Distribution Hubs (DDHs) or to help hang an exhibition.

If you are interested in helping out in a small way you can find a list of micro-tasks (small tasks which typically take less than 10 minutes to complete) and sign up for one or more of them HERE.

No Skills Required

The Committee role descriptions demonstrate that there is no position on the management team that requires any specialist knowledge or skills beyond being able to send an email.

For example, the Directory Coordinator does NOT need to understand graphic design, know how to use specialist software or have a background in publishing or printing – all of this is outsourced to professionals in each field. The Directory Coordinator does NOT even need to select the contractors – that is done by the Committee as a team. As with most of the roles on the SOS Committee, it is predominantly a supervisory role – if you can send an email, use a calendar or diary, and have the ability to ‘keep an eye on’ things you could very easily carry out the role of Directory Coordinator in very little time.

Timetable: There is a set timetable (with some built-in flexibility of course) for when things should happen throughout the year.

Instructions: There are clear sets of instructions for every step of every task that Committee members can work to until they feel confident enough to do things ‘their way’.

Support: Outgoing Committee members will always be on hand to offer help, advice and guidance if asked for.

Continuity: We try, as much as possible, to have at least 50% of the Committee stand for re-election each year. This ensures that in-depth knowledge of ‘how things have been done in the past’ can be balanced with the ideas and innovations of new Committee members.

Responsibility

Responsibility for Suffolk Open Studios as an organisation, and for the individual roles within the management team, is SHARED. No big decisions rest on a single pair of shoulders. Small decisions may be made by the Committee, working together. Big decisions are put to the membership as a whole.  There is no need to stress or lose sleep.

Here is an illustration of how SOS is organised.

 

Please click on the link below to read the role descriptions and volunteer to be a member of the SOS Committee at the next AGM.

SOS Committee Role Descriptions