Introduction
ACS (Artists’ Collecting Society) is the UK’s premier collecting society. It was established in June 2006 and is dedicated to the collection of the Artist’s Resale Right (ARR) or droit de suite royalties.
As well as being not for profit, ACS is a Community Interest Company which means that its assets are locked into the company, and surplus income must be used for the benefit of the artistic community which the company was set up to serve.
The ACS board is split between ACS members who are visual artists and non-ACS members who are appointed for the contribution they make to the board. These are all individuals who are closely involved with artists, either in their capacity as trustees for estates of important twentieth-century artists, art dealers or in a variety of positions closely related to the contemporary art world.
Represented Artists
ACS currently represents over 800 visual artists including painters, sculptors, photographers, street artists, cartoonists and artists working in glass and ceramics.
We are delighted to work in conjunction with a number of European collecting societies who collect for ACS artists outside the UK. These include ADAGP, SIAE, SABAM, BILDKUNST, TBVK and BILDKONST.
Collections
In the last financial year ACS distributed £1,144,895.69 in royalties to its members, all of which was collected by ACS.
Membership of Organisations
ACS is a full member of CISAC and ICOM. Harriet Bridgeman sits on the board of the British Copyright Council as a representative of ACS and was instrumental in the establishment of the UK collecting societies’ code of conduct.
Charitable giving & benefits to artistic community
ACS takes its status as a Community Interest Company very seriously. This year we were pleased to support a number of worthwhile causes and continued to work towards our goal of being a force for good in the lives of artists, both those whom we represent and those who are just beginning their careers.
We renewed our bursary to a Royal Academy 3rd year student, assisting them with financing their crucial final show. In addition to this, ACS sponsored a prize for the Koestler Trust, made donations to the Artists’ General Benevolent Institution, was an official sponsor of the National Open Art Competition and provided the runner up prize for the Young Masters Competition.
Highlights
Harriet Bridgeman (CEO) was awarded a CBE for her contribution to the arts. ACS entered into a unilateral contract with SAIF, the premier representative of photographers in France. ACS also made a concentrated effort to extend our membership to include photographers, ceramists and artists working in glass
Challenges
ACS faced similar challenges to previous years. Art dealers who refuse to submit sales information continues to be a problem, particularly as the legislation does not provide a system by which they can be forced to disclose information.
Discrepancies between different countries’ interpretation and implementation of the legislation can often cause confusion with art dealers, artists and auction houses.