Annual General
Meeting 2014 – Chairman’s review
Overall this
was another good year as far as membership numbers and financial stability are
concerned.
Numbers
and attendance kept up well although there have been thin periods at some of
the classes.
A major
success this year was completing work in the studio to get more space, which
has made the life session easier. It is
important that we retain that and not fill the studio with clutter. The monthly
presentations have been another ongoing success, with excellent attendances and
very stimulating topics discussed. The
Tuesday life group have also continued their presentations. Ian Davison has
organised the whole programme and
speakers for 2015. Another innovation
was tying the competition programme into the presentation themes, and once
again an imaginative programme has been worked out for next year, thanks to Ian
and Tony Harrison. The Committee have
also decided to award an additional prize for persistence, to anyone who
submits a painting for every topic and can prove it by showing all five
paintings in August. (This programme will run from August to August).
Two
successful workshops were run, one with Tony Montague the other, a tutored life
class, with Adrian Swales and Joe Buggy.
We hope to run another if they are willing. The first workshop in 2015
will be Narbi Price on painting creatively from photographs.
There
have also been disappointments this year.
The Annual Dinner did not run for lack of support for the first
time. We will try again this time, and I
hope members will support the main social occasion that we run, when we also
award our prizes. The annual club exhibition
took place over a weekend to coincide with the Late Shows, but we felt we could
not do that again unless we had a longer period in the downstairs gallery. After some discussion Mike Tilley has agreed
to give us two weeks over that period, which is quite a coup as this is a
respected public gallery. However there
is a price – he will select the theme (which is Coal), and there will be an independent selection
committee, with no one from the club represented. We can’t therefore make this the Annual Club
exhibition when everyone has a right to submit two paintings, and voting for
the awards takes place. However there will be a talk in January from a Phd.
Student who is researching the whole subject of Coal and the Coal Industry,
which should give us some inspiration for the exhibition.
As
the dinner did not take place this year the Christison and Kirsopp awards for
2013 could not be presented either. These
went to Ian Hancock and Tim Griffiths, who unfortunately could not be present
today.
The
December exhibition, which we had hoped to make our public voting exhibition
for the 2014 Christison award, did not take place for want of a venue. Ten were actively pursued by Ian and other
Committee members, but to no avail.
There is the possibility of a summer exhibition at the new Low Lights
gallery in North Shields in summer, and we will pursue all other options. Two
en plein air events did take place, at Corbridge and the Allendale estate at Bywell,
which were well attended and enjoyable.
Finally
I would like to thank all the people who make this Club a success: members of
the Committee who have been a great team;
Maureen and Isobel who see to supplies; Jean, Elizabeth, Adrian and John
who manage the life classes and models; and Judy for maintaining the website so
well.
Let’s
hope 2015 will be equally successful for the club.
Wendy
Ranade
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