CARFAC brings together diverse voices across our sector to fight for change that benefits the working lives of visual artists. Through research, advocacy, and education, we faced challenges, celebrated achievements, and helped artists navigate many complex issues over the last year.
The Artist’s Resale Right continues to be a top priority. Last August, we submitted a brief to the Finance Committee, calling for the federal government to add ARR to the Copyright Act. We attended an international meeting of visual arts copyright management organizations in Paris to learn how royalties are collected and distributed in other countries. We met with the Minister of Canadian Heritage in October, and Canadian Heritage conducted a public opinion poll in December that studied the impact of ARR on the Canadian art market. We hosted two webinars during this process and encouraged our members to express their support for ARR to their MPs. While we were disappointed that ARR was absent in the 2024 Federal Budget, we believe the government will introduce legislation in the Fall Economic Statement. Now is not the time to slow down. We ask all artists to call for copyright reform now. At the same time, we are preparing a national campaign to inform artists and other stakeholders about how to collect and report royalties when ARR finally becomes a reality.
In 2022, we proudly unveiled the Indigenous Protocols for the Visual Arts digital toolkit. This invaluable resource was showcased at webinars and conferences with our community partners last year. We hosted 10 workshops for artists and organizations from October to March, and we plan to present another workshop series this winter. The Indigenous Advisory Circle that led the project met last June to form a strategic plan to solidify their mandate and key priorities as a newly formed Indigenous Protocols Collective.
The CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule specifies payment guidelines for exhibitions, reproductions, and other services artists provide. In 2023, we continued to share our weekly Fee Fridays campaign on Instagram and Facebook, and a biweekly newsletter. Last spring, we surveyed hundreds of artists and organizations, which led to changes to the Fee Schedule for 2024 to 2027. The changes included a cost-of-living increase and new payment categories. We presented it last June, and our members approved it at our AGM in September. We provided further presentations on the changes for community stakeholders in December and January, and we monitor challenges with compliance, especially with some of the new rates introduced for the first time this year.
In December, we began a consultation to establish new payment standards and contract terms for public art commissions. It is vitally important that we develop consistent and fair guidelines agreed to by those working directly in public art. A new fee schedule for public art is now available. It will be presented to our members in September and public art commissioners at the Creative City Summit in October. Other items, including a glossary of terms and contract templates, will be added to our toolkit in the coming months.
Five years ago, we partnered with Prescient Innovations to develop Imprimo, a blockchain platform for visual artists. They developed several exciting features over the last year, but Imprimo has always struggled to gain traction among artists and find sustainable revenue streams to keep its virtual doors open. We were deeply saddened by their announcement to close operations on September 1st. Imprimo’s closure is a significant loss for many CARFAC members who have dedicated time and effort to building their artist profiles and artwork records on the platform. The platform offered invaluable tools for artists to showcase their work and creative processes, and its discontinuation marks the end of an era.
Throughout the year, we gave many presentations within the arts community. Last fall, we surveyed our members on the impact of AI, participated in webinars, and submitted a brief about AI to the government. Last winter, we partnered with the Canadian Artists Network on a webinar series on legacy planning. In January, we gave presentations and workshops about the business of art for participants in the Early Career Artist in Residence program at Banff Centre. In March, we presented a Members Forum to gain feedback from our members about our current and future priorities, and to hear about the issues and concerns shared by our members from coast to coast to coast. In July, we partnered with ‘The Gift Shop,’ a Pop-Up Shop and Business Incubator for QTBIPOC Artists, to offer copyright information to artists in Ottawa. Our board and staff met in St. John’s in June to review our goals for the year. We also attended the Excellence in Visual Arts Awards, which celebrates the achievements of Newfoundland and Labrador artists, and we met with a delegation of arts advisors from the Government of Nunavut to discuss possibilities for collaboration.
These experiences inspired us to think about new partnerships and services we may offer to enhance the shared knowledge and entrepreneurial skills of visual artists across Canada. With this in mind, we are excited about new opportunities for the coming year and energized by the incredible community of artists that we serve.