Jeffrey was interviewed on npr (Neighborhood Public Radio) during the artist rally at
Artists' Television Access.

Preserving America's Cultural Heritage hosted a Town Hall Meeting on March 29th
to discuss Jeffrey's proposal.

At UCLA Jeffrey and curators from CCA presented the latest survey results.

Aislinn Race discusses the proposal with a student at UC Davis on April 6th.

The Roving Campaign visited Los Angeles, Davis, San Francisco and Sacramento.
Aislinn sets up our information kiosk in front of the State Capitol.

The Artists Reserved Rights Transfer and Sale Agreement is a legal instrument that artists may use to contract for royalty payments. The contract is not widely used because artists who have attempted to use it claim that such agreements cannot be made to work without enforcement of national legislation.

Conceived by Seth Seigelaub and drafted by New York City lawyer Bob Projansky, the contract gives the artist, for life plus 21 years, a right to be paid 15% of the profit on any re-sale of the work and 50% of the fees from any hiring of the work. Furthermore, it binds subsequent buyers of the work to the terms of the agreement, as well as binding the artist's heirs. This bold document was signed by very few buyers.

The lack of enforcement of such a contract and resistance on the part of the buyers to sign are the main reason for its failure. This being so, the most appropriate way of introducing it would appear to be through legislation - a much more satisfactory method of creating, enforcing and collecting a royalty or tax on a national level (possibly one day international.) This is discussed more fully, in issue 5, in the light of California's Resale Royalty Act.

Forms:
Cover and Description: Click Here (pdf)

The Agreement: Click Here (pdf)

The Agreement 2nd Edition (a shorter, more user-friendly version): Click Here (pdf)

For more about the Jurrist Contract, an adapted version of The Projansky Agreement: Click Here (pdf)

from Wikipedia

"Preserving America's Cultural Heritage" held a focus group meeting to hear input from art professionals regarding the core ideas and structure of the proposed bill project. The focus group consisted of 22 respected artists, art dealers, collectors, art lawyers, auction house representatives, and professors from the Bay Area, Los Angeles and New York. Following a presentation of the ideas behind the project and our research on related bills and statistics, the participants filled out the project survey and reconvened for a moderated discussion. The discussion was punctuated by heated debates surrounding issues of federal art funding, how to define eligibility to receive monies from the proposed fund, the role of art in political movements, and collaborations between artists and curators.

To add to these important discussions critical to the development of the proposed bill, please post your comments below.

“Preserving America’s Cultural Heritage” Roving Campaign Headquarters came to downtown San Francisco. We parked outside of SFMoMA where people were lined up to visit the museum for First Free Tuesday. Three curators were stationed at different points along Third Street, also canvassing the visitors of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and general passer-bys. We handed out informational flyers and pins, telling people “We’re proposing a bill that will support working artists in America!” That sparked peoples’ curiosity and many people engaged us in conversation about the idea of the bill. Whether they were for or against it, we urged people to go onto our website and fill out the survey as we need a wide range of opinions. The people who were most interested included tourists (largely Europeans), artists, teenagers, senior citizens, a janitor and a Parking and Transit officer.

The mobile headquarters visited many Los Angeles galleries including those in Chinatown, Bergamot Station, 6150 Wilshire and Culver City. The four curators dropped off fliers, buttons and pens at the various galleries, briefly describing the project and gauging initial responses from gallerists. While the expectation might be that galleries would dislike such a proposal for an additional tax on the sale of art, people’s reactions ranged enormously--from general curiosity to total support for the project to complete dismissal of the idea. One major gallery director said that while she felt like artists in LA were already very well off financially, she would support the bill since it helps conceptual artists not creating marketable objects. The curators encourage those in agreement as well as those with dissenting opinions to add their comments to the website and survey.

Supporters at the Frank Pictures gallery in Bergamot Station

Presentation of survey results

Artist Coco Fusco, UCLA faculty member and Jeffrey Vallance

UCLA art students

Attendees talking informally with Jeffrey Vallance and curators after the presentation.

Artist Sam Durant stayed after the talk to discuss the project further with Jeffrey Vallance and the curators.

Curator Joyce Grimm and surveys, pamphlets, pins and buttons on display for attendees.

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"Senate Bill Lets Artists Claim Price for Gifts"

New York Times article by Robin Pogrebin
Published: November 22, 2005

Living writers, musicians, artists and scholars who donate their work
to a museum or other charitable cause would earn a tax deduction based
on full fair market value under a bill just passed by the Senate.

Currently such work receives only a deduction based on the cost of
materials unless it is donated posthumously by the estates.

The measure was approved as an amendment to a broader $59.6 billion
tax relief bill passed by the Senate early Friday. It now goes to a
House-Senate conference committee. The House version of the tax relief
bill does not include the arts provision, but the senators who
introduced the amendment - Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York,
and Pete V. Domenici, a New Mexico Republican - said they were hopeful
that the committee would support it.

Under the bill, artists could donate their work during their lifetimes at
full market value provided that it is properly appraised and handed over
at least 18 months after it is created.

The provision seems likely to open the way for more acquisitions by
cash-strapped museums. “It’s very important for cultural institutions
and libraries to be able to be the recipient of these works of art that
otherwise might go into private hands,” said Mimi Gaudieri, the
executive director of the Association of Art Museum Directors.

“Especially for small to midsize institutions with modest acquisition
funds, as a gift from the artists, it’s a great opportunity to enhance
their collections,” Ms. Gaudieri said.

The donated work must be related to the purpose or function of the
museum or charitable organization receiving the donation.

Mr. Schumer, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said the measure
would even the playing field for arts donors. “Right now, artists are
better off waiting until after they die to donate their works to a
charity or a museum,” he said, adding that the amendment “fixes that
problem and treats artists the same as anyone else who works hard and
wants to donate something to charity at the fair market or appraised
value.”

Arts professionals described the measure as long overdue. “Artists
donate to cultural nonprofits or other nonprofits, and all they get is
the cost of their materials,” said Tom Healy, president of the Lower
Manhattan Cultural Council, which represents arts groups downtown. “If
you have a painting that’s worth $5,000, you may be able to deduct $20
for the canvas.”

As long as the work is physically tangible, it can be contributed as a
deduction, said Robert L. Lynch, president and chief executive of
Americans for the Arts, an advocacy group. “A score has value just like
a painting,” he said.

Applying the provision may present challenges for the Internal Revenue
Service, given that appraising a work of creativity is often a highly
subjective process. “It’s a pretty new day in tax policy,” said Dean A.
Zerbe, a senior tax lawyer and investigator for the Senate Finance
Committee. “It has the potential for people to want to go back and
expand it.”

He suggested that some professionals might seek a deduction for a
product like a legal brief or a medical operation. “It’s something the
house will have to look at closely,” Mr. Zerbe said.

The bill also comes with stricter rules for the qualifications of
appraisers. “The public is now going to be made aware of what a
qualified appraiser is,” said Fran Zeman, the former chairwoman of the
personal property committee of the American Society of Appraisers.
“It’s important for everyone to understand the importance of using
someone who is qualified.”

Ms. Zeman said that noncash contributions to charitable groups are
often overvalued. The Internal Revenue Service has grappled with the
valuation of donations ranging from automobiles to frequent-flier
miles.

Mark W. Everson, the I.R.S. commissioner, raised that issue in
testimony last spring before the Senate Finance Committee. “Valuation
issues are often difficult,” he said. “Overvaluations may arise from
taxpayer error or abuse as well as from aggressive taxpayer positions.”

We want to hear from you. CLICK HERE to participate in our online survey.

"Preserving America's Cultural Heritage" was officially unveiled on the evening of March 29th during a town hall meeting, which was held on the San Francisco campus of California College of the Arts. The meeting began with a series of quick introductions by the curators, which served to acquaint the audience with the project and its creator, Jeffrey Vallance. Then Vallance--in response to questions posed by curator Alex Burke--elaborated further on the impetus for "Preserving America's Cultural Heritage" and the details of its proposed artist support structure. Two short presentations by special guests, John Killacky (on the state of arts funding in the US) and Ted Purves (on alternative support models), moved the evening into open discussion. The crowd in attendance put forth a wealth of interesting and relevant opinions. They also put the project through its paces--testing and questioning its main tenets, presentation methods, and relevance. The meeting came to a close around 9pm but several people lingered, engaged in discussion with each other, the curators, and Jeffrey Vallance.

The Curatorial Practice class and Jeffrey Vallance presenting the project; left to right:
Kalia Brooks, Jessica Martin, Roopesh Sitharan, Aislinn Race, Alex Burke, Jeffrey Vallance,
Nancy Meyer, Joyce Grimm, Audrey Marrs, Kathleen Brennan, Dina Pugh

Aislinn Race, Alex Burke and Jeffrey Vallance

John Killacky of the San Francisco Foundation

The roving campaign visited UC Davis on Thursday to discuss the merits of the proposed bill with the student body and faculty.

Artist Pension Trust is a product designed to meet the specific needs of artists, a group whose career trajectories and employment patterns make existing pension programs inaccessible. APT helps by providing artists with long-term financial planning, accessible through the exchange of their work. This allows artists to focus on their work and take risks that are critical to their creative development.

Trust Benefits
As artists are selected to participate in an Artist Pension Trust, they will receive the following benefits:

A long term financial planning opportunity based on two sources of payments - one based on their own individual market success and the other built on the collective success of 250 artists in the specific Artist Pension Trust. These artists have been chosen by our site-specific selection committee. Museum-quality care and presentation of the works that the artists invest will be provided by APT.

How the Trust Works

Each Artist Pension Trust has a selection committee comprised of individuals deeply experienced in working with emerging artists. Each member of this committee identifies artists who are then invited to participate in the Artist Pension Trust. Artists can also apply online to be considered by the selection committee for participation in APT. Finally, the committee reviews each applicant's work and selects those who will participate in the partnership.

APT is a barter-based program. Over a 20-year period, each artist exchanges 20 works of art - rather than cash for an interest in APT. The artist then can contribute either all of his/her partnership interests or the “Pooled Unit” component of that interest to a personal investment account maintained by the artist. It is expected that income will start at some point approximately 10 years after the inception of his/her Artist Pension Trust participation.

The income for the payments will come from the sale of works held by the Artist Pension Trust of which 40% of the sale is directed to the pool and is distributed pro rata among all the artists (after the payment of the APT costs and expenses as described below) and 40% is directed to the account of the artist whose work was sold. Each artist receives an equal share of the pooled funds generated by the sale of the works held in the Artist Pension Trust, thereby benefiting from the collective success of all of the artists in his/her Trust. Each artist is additionally rewarded according to their individual market success, since 40% of the proceeds of the sale of his/her work can be invested in the artist's individual account. The remaining 20% will be, subject to certain holdback, distributed as a management fee to a subsidiary of MutualArt.

20% of the APT costs and expenses will be paid by a subsidiary of MutualArt, who is responsible for the management and operation of APT in consideration for a management fee. The remaining 80% will be paid out of the pooled funds. To the extent there are any pooled funds remaining after the payment of 80% of the APT costs and expenses, such funds will be paid to the artists’ pro-rata determined by the number of pooled units of APT they hold.

Contact:
Mutual Art, Inc.
156 Fifth Avenue, Suite 323
New York, NY 10010
Tel: 212.871.1012
info@mutualart.com