Hello all, Here we are with another update from the committee and apologies from myself for the delay in getting this to you. The committee met on the evening of 24th May 2010 at 7:00pm Rudolf Steiner House. We had ten committee members with five unable to make it – here is a brief summary of that meeting, which I hope you will find interesting and should also help keep you all better informed.
Chairmans report
The focus of my report concerned my desire to open up LIP to its members; making it more assessable, transparent and hopefully even more representative of your wishes. In order to do this I’m starting with on re-writing the LIP constitution (yes for those of you that were unaware of such a thing, it does exist), I plan to produce a first draft which will then circulate around the committee, finally being opened up for members feedback – to be ratified at our next AGM. Also I have made a start on defining the committee structure and their roles, from this I hope to be in a better position to promote vacant roles and to encourage more help and support, in the long-term to create a stronger community spirt across the whole group.
Treasurer’s report
Len reported that the membership continues to grow (currently around 535), approximately a net increase of 10 members per month. Our finances remain stable, with a lot of work being done by all organisers to make sure they break even on LIP activities. Future plans: Len intends to trial new data management software shortly and will be in a postion to report on this at our next meeting in two month’s time. This is the first step in preparing for a future split of the current combined roles of Treasurer and a Membership Secretary. It is envisaged that the Treasurer would be responsible for the overall financial health of LIP, it’s financial security, and bill paying, while the Membership Secretary would oversee and maintain the membership database and the routine collection of funds.
Exhibition report
John reported that this year’s Annual Exhibition is going well, with two selectors confirmed (both non-LIP), gallery confirmed and new web pages on track. Also suggested, the idea of a ‘Blue tack’ event to be held after the main exhibition – the general feeling was to find new ways to see more of the work submitted for the exhibition.
Magazine report
Tiffany updated us on the new-format magazine (fLIP). More than 40 contributors were in the Spring issue with a total of 64 interior pages plus covers, she is hoping to continue with this size (feedback has been very positive). Stockists for the issue included Claire de Rouen Books, Eastside Books (Brick Lane), Whitechapel Gallery Bookshop, Magma Books (Covent Garden), Koenig Books (Charing X), Prospero’s Books (Crouch End) as well as Photographers Gallery. The magazine team are planning to shift print dates forward slightly for the next 2 issues with the goal for next year being to have the magazines launch last week February, June and October. These dates will coincide better with the start of summer, a break during winter holidays, and the LIP Annual Exhibition & Photomonth in Oct/Nov. Tiffany is also looking at different opportunities for the sale of past issues; one of these being the Photomonth Photofair at Spitalfields in October.
Programme report
Elizabeth reported that all workshops for this year have been full and the recently publicised Paul Hill workshop was full within a day with a waiting list of 10. St James Piccadilly is proving to be a popular event space with both the participants and the workshop leaders. Future Plans: The autumn programme will be completed to go into the next edition of Flip along with a review of the events and comments from participants. Because talks are not so well attended we discussed the possibility of moving some of them into satellite group areas and /or setting them up in advance so that their work can be written about in the magazine. Alongside this Lizzie is hoping to set-up events which will be in support the London Village Project. Importantly she does need to recruit another member to help support her team – so please if you have the time, get involved.
Website report
There isn’t much new to report here. Currently the website is functioning well and continues to be updated with new exhibitions and events on approximately a weekly basis. The Showcase interviews are now often produced by Corin Brown. The addition of details and promotion of submissions for the Annual Exhibition is in progress as info is received from John. Programme details are added as received by Lizzie. PayPal payments have been working smoothly.
LIP Project report
The LIP Villages project is progressing well with a team now in place, we look forward to hearing more detail very soon.
I hope this has given you some insight into the work going on. Any feedback or offer of time would be most welcome, and if you have viewpoints or suggestions on these topics or something new please feel free to email me at:
chairman@londonphotography.org.uk
Adrian Capps
Chair