Protecting your Art in the Digital Age
by Robin Markowitz
"Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."
- United States Copyright Office
In the September Art Festival Newsletter we discussed how the world has changed in regards to image ownership and the basics of copyright law and how it applies to artists. This article details the concrete steps you can take to help protect your art images.
Recently, artist Richard Prince sold a series of other peoples' Instagram photographs and made out with around $100,000. Though this seems like an outright copyright infringement, the issue is actually in a legal gray-area. One thing we know for sure - these images would have been protected if they had been registered federally with a copyright.
Before you post on line, think ahead of how to protect your artwork and what you need or expect from the online experience; for example:
- can people buy it online?
- can people download it?
- is it available for private use only, or can it be used in public?
The sad truth is that it is impossible to prevent others from copying your online images. Anything which is displayed can in principal be copied since the image information has already been transmitted. What you can do is make sure that people know you are the copyright owner of your work and what they can do with your work. You must ensure your usage terms are clear and be proactive to protect your art.
Click the read more button for concrete actions to protect your art online.
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Application Closes: 11/22/19
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Risk Management and Safety at an Art Festival
Last month, the Art Festival Directors Conference (sponsored by Art-Linx) opened with the topic of Event Risk Management and Safety with speakers from Homeland Security. The discussion centered on what the event planning community must do to minimize the damage someone bent on destruction or inclement weather can do. Both art festival directors and public safety officials are wrestling with how to create and effectively implement public safety plans. While we talked about a number of ideas, the three most effective and easiest to implement are detailed below.
#1 Create an evacuation/shelter-in-place plan.
This is the plan that can be used in any circumstance that impacts your event - extreme weather, active shooter or other types of emergencies. You have to ask yourself, whether you have more resources than the patrons do to protect themselves? If that's the case, then you shelter them. If they're better off outside of your venue, then they're going to need to be evacuated. Either scenario requires planning in advance in conjunction with local authorities and disseminated to all the key personnel at the Festival.
#2 Site Logistics.
The first step is to take inventory of existing risks on the site and what risks the event brings to the area.
How many people do you estimate will be at your event?
Will there be moving vehicles near the event site and could this pose a risk to pedestrians?
Is there anything on the site that could become dangerous if there is inclemant weather? B
y idenfiying the risks and having a proactive plan in place, you can
ensure all responsibilities are properly delegated and clearly understood.
#3 Create a Command Center.
We are not talking about a huge room with cameras everywhere but a place where information can be given to the right individual or team. If you have a few thousand patrons, you need to have the ability to effectively communiate with representatives from different groups (Fire, EMS, Police, Private Security, etc.) either through radios, phones or a text service where everyone gets the same information at the same time and create a central command structure.
A check list for every event to consider is:
- Site survey before event
- A review of maps, terminology and key areas
- Incident management gudelines that are written down
- A clear leadership structure and contact list
- A review of evacuation plans and key contacts with all staff members including porters, contract labor and on-site personnel before the event opens
- Know where the closest hospital or trauma center is located
The image at the top of this article was in the artist packet at the Saint Louis Art Fair this year. It was given as a reminder that active shooter incidents are often unpredictable and evolve quickly. In the midst of the chaos, anyone can play an integral role in mitigating the impacts.
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This Issue's Quote: "The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls." -Pablo Picasso
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What Does the Judge Look For?
By Robin Markowitz
I just had the pleasure of being a judge at the Halifax Art Festival in Daytona Beach this month. This festival presents
37 artists with $31,200 in cash awards. We were asked to score in four categories: Originality, Execution, Presentation and Artistic Expression.
Both Leslie Madigan (the other judge) and myself took this very seriously and talked for over an hour on what the criteria meant and how to best score each artist.
We discussed at length the whole body of work vs. one excellent piece of art. The decision to look at the whole frankly made our decision making much easier because artistic expression that is conveyed throughout a body of work does elevate that artist to an award winning status.
My co-judge and I visited every booth separately, speaking to each artist and asking them about their work. We both made notes that we could refer back to when discussing our choices. It took 6 hours to go through all 170 artists. We met in a quiet, private area to discuss what we had seen and our thoughts on the overall show. There were some really amazing artists that had made big impressions on us both - that made some of the choices quite easy. In some categories there were some harder choices to make, so we discussed from our notes, what we had seen about the artisans' technique, presentation, and artistic expression - basically the WOW factor that sets artists apart.
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WHAT CAN ART-LINX DO FOR YOU?
Show Directors
Attract qualified fine art and fine crafters to your event with out multi-platform marketing. We reach the artist community on seven unique platforms.
Artists
You can access open Calls to Artists, search for show details, find an link to festivals in your preferred geographic area using the Art-Linx Directory, read about industry developments and professional development ideas. All at no cost to you!
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