International Association of Art (IAA) News

Leonardo, Vol. 12, pp. 327-328 Pergamon Press 1979. Printed in Great Britain INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ART (IAA) NEWS Dunbar Marshall-Malagola, Secretary-General 1 , 4 1 1 Readers interested infurther information on the topics in this section should write to Mr. Dunbar Marshall-Malagola, See.-Gen..IAA. Unesco. 1 Rue Miollis. 75015 Paris, France. 1. Origins of the IAA The origins of the International Association of Art (IAA) (in French, Association Internationale des Arts Plastiques (AIAP)) can be traced back tothe Third General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organization (Unesco )held at Beirut, Lebanon, in 1948.The Director-General was charged with enquiring into ‘waysin whichartists might servethe aims of Unesco’ and to discover what obstacles of a social, economic or political order lay in the path of artists in the practice of their art. He was charged, too, with recommending measures by which artists’ working conditions could be improved and their freedom assured. The Unesco Conference, at its Sixth Session in 1951, empowered the Director-General to organize an International Conference of Artists to study the actual conditions of artists’ freedom in various countries and to enquire into the means to associate them more closely with Unesco’s work. Accordingly, in 1952,at a conference of artists held in Venice, 23 governments and 48 associations of artists in 19 countries, declared themselves in favour of the formation of an international association of painters, sculptors and engravers. A provisional council was formed under the chairmanship of Gino Severini(Italy),and a secretariat was opened in Unesco House in Paris. In 1954, at Venice, the General Assembly of the fully constituted Association was summoned for the first time and declared the following basic aims of the IAA: 1. To stimulate international co-operation free from any aesthetic, political or other bias, among artists of all countries; 2. To improve the economic and social position of artists at the international level and to defend their material and moral rights. At this First Assembly, 18 countries (with National Committees already formed) took part, with observers from another 22 countries. In 1979there are 71 affiliatedNational Committees. The IAA has had consultative status since 1954 and of the highest category since 1962. This facilitates contacts with qualified persons throughout the world. 11. Aims and Purposes of the IAA These are the following: 1. To contribute to the artistic development of each country and to make art available to sections of populations that have lived outside its influenceup to the present. 2. Tosustain permanent contacts among artists of allcountries and to serve as a clearing house of recent art information by publicizing developments and discoveries made by artists in aesthetic, technical and sociological aspects of their work and findingsof important international meetings affectingtheir lives. To this end the IAA publishes an annual review (‘Art’-The Journal o f the Professional Artist) in English and French and, occasionally, in Spanish. An Arabic edition was published in 1976. 3. To defend the moral and material interests of artists everywhere.To achieve these aims the IAA strives: (a) To secure free access to museums for artists and to encourage the respect by governments and institutions of international agreements in favour of the free circulation of works by living artists. (b)To obtain payments to artists of a percentage of the profits made on second and subsequent resales of their works during their life-time. This requires the provision of means for the registration of artworks for purposes of identification and of keeping track of their exchange in the commerce of art. The IAA gives professional visual artists their first opportunity in history to be heard as a single influential voice at an international non-governmental level. 1 1 1 . Organizational Structureand Financing of the IAA A. Governing, executive and advisory structure The IAA is governed by a General Assembly and is administered by an ExecutiveCommittee, composed of artists from up to 13 countries, by a Bureau of its officers and by its SecretaryGeneral . Occasionally, Honorary Counsellors are appointed by the General Assembly in recognition of services to the IAA and are called upon to advise on matters of general policy. The Bureau consists of the...