How to become a member

This form is to be filled in by new applicants wishing to join the Croatian section of AICA, and sent to aica@hsaica.hr e-mail by December 1st of each year. All applications must be accompanied by a short curriculum vitae on a standard biographical form, written in one of the three official languages of the Association (English, French and Spanish).

All applicants must produce evidence of sustained activity over the previous three years, in one or more of the following areas:
a) Daily/periodical press, or broadcasting on radio, TV or video, or in the electronic media
b) Publication of works of art history, aesthetics or criticism
c) Teaching of art criticism, art history, aesthetics, curating, or art, at higher or tertiary level
d) Curatorial work and analysis for educational or scholarly ends, including the production of scholarly or critical texts for museums or galleries, whose principal aim is not essentially commercial.

Pursuant to Article 13 of the Associations Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia no. 74/14), the Croatian Section of the International Association of Art Critics – AICA has adopted at the Yearly Assembly held on 9 December 2014 the following

STATUTE

of the Croatian Section of the International Association of Art Critics – AICA

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

This Statute regulates the matters of status, name, head office, objectives, fields of operation and activity, seal and sign, legal status, representation and presentation, internal organisation, resolving disputes and conflicts of interest, administration, professional secrecy, process of membership, funding, and other matters relevant for the work of the Croatian Section of the International Association of Art Critics – AICA (hereinafter referred to as “Croatian Section AICA” or “Association”).

The Croatian Section AICA is a professional association that brings together fine arts critics, who through membership in the Association also become members of the international non-governmental organisation AICA (Association internationale des critiques d´art – International Association of Art Critics).

The Croatian Section AICA is a legal entity and has been entered in the Associations Register of the Republic of Croatia.

II. NAME, FIELD OF ACTIVITY, AND HEAD OFFICE

The name of the Association is as follows:

Hrvatska sekcija Međunarodnog udruženja likovnih kritičara – AICA

The abbreviated name of the Association is as follows: Hrvatska sekcija AICA.

Alongside the name in Croatian, the Association also uses the following name in English: International Association of Art Critics – Croatian Section,

and the following name in French: Association Internationale des Critiques d´Art – Séction Croate.

The Croatian Section AICA operates in the territory of the Republic of Croatia.

The Association is represented and presented by the President of the Association.

The head office of the Croatian Section AICA is in Zagreb. The decision on the change of address of the Association within its place of establishment is taken by the Executive Committee of the Association.

III. INSIGNIA OF THE ASSOCIATION

The Croatian Section AICA has its own sign and seal.

The sign of the Croatian Section AICA consists of a square with the abbreviation AICA inscribed along its lower edge.

The seal of the Croatian Section AICA is of rectangular shape with dimensions 27 x 37 mm, and contains the sign of the Croatian Section AICA. “Hrvatska sekcija” (“Croatian Section”) is inscribed along its outer left side, and “Međunarodno udruženje likovnih kritičara” (“International Association of Art Critics”) along its upper and right side.

The seal is held and authorised to be used only by the President of the Association, and other members of the Croatian Section AICA authorised by the President.

IV. THE PUBLIC AND THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION

The work of the Croatian Section AICA is public.

The bodies of the Croatian Section AICA implement the publicness of their work by making the sessions public and by providing information on their activities.

The public may be excluded from the sessions of the bodies of the Croatian Section AICA upon decision of the Executive Committee and/or President of the Association, with the aim of protecting the members’ personal data or maintaining professional secrecy of the Croatian Section AICA.

4.4. Members of the Croatian Section AICA have the right to be informed on the overall activity and on the decisions taken by the bodies of the Association, and to attend all sessions of the bodies of the Croatian Section AICA.

V. OBJECTIVES, FIELD OF OPERATION, AND ACTIVITIES

The aim of the Croatian Section AICA is to bring together fine arts critics who are actively engaged in Croatian art criticism and who seek to develop international collaboration in the field of fine arts, the representation of professional interests of its members, and the promotion of fine arts activities in the Republic of Croatia.

Its fields of operation, pursuant to the objectives of the Association, are culture and the arts.

For the purpose of achieving the objective stipulated by the preceding paragraph of this Article, the Croatian Section AICA will perform the following activities:
organise colloquia, seminars, lectures, discussions, roundtables and expert meetings of fine arts critics whose work is in the interest of enhancement of the critical profession and the arts
organise exhibitions
form temporary or permanent work groups for specific topics, issues, and activities
support all forms of professional training of its members, international exchange programmes, and visits of experts from abroad
issue publications and propaganda material, as well as undertake other publishing activities of interest for the work of the Croatian Section AICA
encourage fine arts critics to become members of AICA
participate in the work of international sections and in projects initiated by AICA International
award prizes and recognitions to distinguished art critics.

The Association may accept an activity decided upon by the AICA Congress pursuant to Article II, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Statute of AICA International, if the undertaking of such activity is in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Croatia.

The Croatian Section AICA will take all necessary steps to establish and maintain consultative and collaborative relations with the main office of the International Association AICA in Paris.

The Croatian Section AICA will establish relations with other national sections if deemed necessary, on the basis of the Assembly’s decision and in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Croatia. The Assembly will also take all other prospective decisions on joining association alliances, communities, networks, and international associations.

VI. ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP

Members of the Croatian Section AICA can be
full
honorary
patron.

Any citizen of the Republic of Croatia, as well as a citizen of another country who meets the requirements laid down in this Statute and upon decision of the Assembly of the Croatian Section AICA, which is to be taken by a simple majority of votes of members present at the Assembly, may become a full member of the Croatian Section AICA.

Criteria for admission to full membership

formal education attested by a diploma obtained at a faculty of humanities and social sciences.

Only in exceptional circumstances may a person with a diploma obtained at another faculty or without completed higher education become a full member of the Croatian Section AICA, if they actively work in the field of fine arts for a minimum of 3 (three) years at the moment of applying for membership, and their published texts – critiques, essays, studies – from the field of fine arts and art history are of an exceptionally high quality, stimulating, and have pronounced influence on the fine arts scene of the environment in which they operate, or if their curatorial competences significantly contribute to the quality of the fine arts scene.

any activity that includes the following:
1. continuous engagement in critical, theoretic, scientific or curatorial work in the field of fine arts, i.e., art history, for a minimum duration of three years at the moment of applying for membership

regular publishing, at home or abroad, of reviews, critiques, essays, forewords, studies, both in daily publications, journals and expert periodicals, and in electronic media, radio and/or television, whereby the criterion is not the quantity of published works, but rather a high level of literacy, critical judgement, as well as the author’s professional ethics

organising high-quality exhibitions of non-commercial nature

lecturing activity in the field of fine arts, art history, new media and aesthetics at university level.

b.) Membership in the International Association AICA

Only full members of the Croatian Section AICA may become full members of the International Association AICA, the decision on which is taken by the Yearly Assembly of the International Section AICA upon proposal of the Croatian Section AICA.

c.) Process of admission to full membership of the Croatian Section AICA

A person who seeks to become a full member of the Croatian Section AICA submits a written request to the President of the Association, together with a curriculum vitae and corresponding evidence of fulfilled requirements specified under 6.1.1.a.) of this Article. Requests for admission to membership are to be submitted no later than two months prior to the Yearly Assembly.

Following the admission to membership, a full member will receive a copy of the Statute of the Croatian Section AICA and will be presented with a list of its members. A copy of the Statute of the Croatian Section AICA is available for review at the head office of the Croatian Section AICA.

A person becomes a member of the Association upon registry in the list of members managed by the Secretary of the Association. The list of members is maintained electronically and contains data on personal name (title), personal identification number (OIB), date of birth, date of joining the Association, membership category, and date of termination of membership in the Association. The Secretary must ensure that the list of members is accessible at any moment to all members of the Association and to competent authorities.

A distinguished person, citizen of the Republic of Croatia or a foreigner, who encourages development of Croatian fine arts and fine arts criticism, who has earned international reputation and seeks to participate in the work of the Croatian Section AICA, may become an honorary member of the Croatian Section AICA.

The status of an honorary member is decided upon by the Assembly, upon proposal of the Association’s Executive Committee.

Patrons are persons who support the operation of the Croatian Section AICA and provide specified services oriented at achieving the Association’s objectives at the highest possible quality.

Pursuant to provisions of the Statute of the Croatian Section AICA, any member of the Croatian Section AICA may also submit a request for admission to another national section of AICA, in the country in which they are professionally active no less than one year, while bearing in mind that no person may be a member of more than one national section of AICA (including the so-called Free Section).

Such member is obliged to first submit the request for admission to membership in another national section and, upon admission to the latter, to immediately notify the Executive Committee of the Association for registering the termination of membership in the Croatian Section AICA.

Members who cannot participate for specific reasons in the work of the Association for a certain period of time may request all information on the activity of the Croatian Section from the Secretary of the Association, as well as all information on the activity of the International Section.

A member who cannot participate in the work of the Association for a certain period of time is obliged to notify the Secretary of the Association in written form of reasons preventing them from participation in the work, as well as of the estimated duration of incapacity.

Each full member of the Croatian Section AICA is obliged to pay an annual membership fee in the amount specified by the Executive Committee. The fee is paid for the following year, no later than until 31 December of the current year.

As proof of paid membership fee, the Croatian Section AICA issues to a member a certificate – a sticker which the member must affix to the international press pass.

A member who does not pay the fee within the period prescribed by provisions in paragraph 6.4 of this Statute loses all rights and is terminated from membership in the Croatian Section AICA.

Patrons and honorary members do not pay a membership fee.

The Executive Committee of the Croatian Section AICA may decide that every member is to pay an increased membership fee alongside regular membership fee. The increased fee may amount up to 10% more than the regular annual membership fee.

The aforementioned increased funds are to be used solely for the purpose of work of the Croatian Section AICA.

Full and honorary members participate in the work of the management bodies, while patrons do not have the right to participate in the work of the management bodies of the Croatian Section AICA.

Members of the Croatian Section AICA have the right to
obtain AICA’s international press pass
participate in the activities of the Croatian Section AICA
participate in the work of the bodies of the Croatian Section AICA
elect and be elected to the bodies of the Croatian Section AICA
make suggestions, opinions and remarks to the bodies of the Croatian Section AICA concerning their activities
participate as representatives of the Croatian Section AICA in the work of the bodies of AICA International.

The obligations of members of the Croatian Section AICA are as follows:
to participate in the work of the bodies of the Croatian Section AICA
to comply with the Statute and other acts of general application of the Croatian Section AICA, and with the decisions of its bodies
to regularly pay membership fee
to present, support and promote the Croatian Section AICA and its members.

Membership in the Croatian Section AICA is terminated
by resignation, on the basis of a member’s written statement submitted to the Executive Committee
by termination, if a member did not pay membership fee for two years. A terminated member cannot be readmitted to membership for a period of one year following the termination
upon cessation of fulfilment of the requirements specified by the Statute
by exclusion, if they violate the provisions of the Statute, act against the objectives of the Croatian Section AICA, or if they infringe on professional ethics
by death.

The decision on termination and exclusion is taken by the Executive Committee.

Any member of the Assembly may initiate proceedings for determination of conflicts of interest within the Association. A conflict of interest exists when private interests of members are contrary to the interests of the Association, and particularly when a member’s private interest affects or may affect their bias in performing their duties in the Association. In this event, a temporary commission is formed upon decision of the Assembly, which has authority and decision-making mandate only in the present dispute. The Assembly adopts rules of procedure for the work of the temporary commission for settling disputes and conflicts of interest. Upon completion of the proceedings, the commission proposes to the Assembly a sanction against the person who is found to be in a conflict of interest, which is accepted or rejected by the Assembly with a simple majority. Members of the commission may not be members who have initiated proceedings for determination of conflict of interest, or members against whom proceedings for determination of conflict of interest have been instituted.

The member of the Association may bring an appeal to the Assembly of the Association against the decision of the Executive Committee on termination or exclusion within 15 (fifteen) days from the day of receiving the decision. The appeal does not have suspensive effect on the decision. The Assembly will decide on the appeal at its next session. The decision of the Assembly is final.

VII. BODIES OF THE CROATIAN SECTION AICA

The bodies and officials of the Croatian Section AICA are the following:
Assembly
Executive Committee
President
Secretary
Treasurer
Supervisory Committee
Court of Honour

a.) Assembly

The Assembly is the highest management body of the Croatian Section AICA and is comprised of all honorary and full members of the Croatian Section AICA, i.e., only those full members who have duly paid their membership fee. The members who did not pay their membership fee and have not been erased from the list of members may attend the Assembly, but without the right to vote.

The Assembly is presided by the President of the Association, and in the event of their absence, by the person appointed by the Executive Committee of the Association.

Alongside the Croatian language, the Assembly may hold their session in one of the three official foreign languages of the International Section AICA (English, French, Spanish).

The Assembly takes decisions by public voting, unless they decide at the very session that particular matters are to be voted by secret ballot.

The Assembly of the Croatian Section AICA performs the following functions:
adopts the Statute, its amendments and supplements, and other general acts
selects and dismisses the President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer
selects members of the Executive Committee, the Supervisory Committee, and the Court of Honour
adopts the work plan and financial plan for the following calendar year, and the activity report for the previous calendar year
adopts the annual financial report and balance sheet
announces honorary members and patron members upon proposal of the Executive Committee
decides on appeals and complaints of members
discusses and decides on annual reports of the Executive Committee and the President
decides on the status of full members
makes other decisions that are not under the competence of the Executive Committee or the President.

The Assembly meets no less than once a year.

The Assembly is convened by the President of the Association within no later than two weeks prior to holding the session. In the decision to convene the Assembly, the President establishes the agenda, and the time and place of holding the Assembly. Should any member have a proposal to amend and/or supplement the proposed agenda, they are obliged to submit these proposals in written form to the President of the Association no later than 10 (10) days prior to holding the session.

In exceptional circumstances, the Assembly may also take decisions on matters not proposed in the agenda, but only if the President of the Association, together with all members of the Executive Committee, believes that the Assembly should take such a decision.

In the event of expiry of the term of office of the bodies of the Association, the Assembly is convened by the last person authorised for representation entered in the Associations Register.

Upon request of no fewer than ten members of the Assembly of the Croatian Section AICA, the President is obliged to convene an extraordinary session of the Assembly. In their request for convening an Extraordinary Assembly, the proposers are obliged to propose the Agenda of the Assembly. The President must convene the extraordinary session of the Assembly within no later than fifteen days from the day of the receipt of the request, and the session must be held within no later than thirty days from the day of the receipt of the request. At the extraordinary session, the Assembly may only discuss matters for which the former has been convened.

If the President does not convene a session of the Assembly pursuant to the previous point of this paragraph, the session may be convened by the proposers.

The Assembly validly decides if more than half of the total number of members are present at the Assembly of the Croatian Section AICA.

If the Assembly does not have a quorum at the announced time, the beginning of the session is postponed for an hour. After that, the Assembly validly decides if one third of members are present, but no fewer than ten members.

The Assembly takes decisions by a simple majority of votes of attending members, unless prescribed otherwise by this Statute for taking a decision on a particular matter.

Minutes are kept on the work of the Assembly. The Assembly will select a recording secretary for this session. The President and the Secretary of the Association are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the minutes of the Assembly session, which is to be published in its full or abbreviated form on the website of the Association, i.e., submitted for review by all members of the Association.

Apart from the aforementioned bodies of the Association, the Assembly may also establish particular committees and/or commissions, and that for a specific purpose.

b.) Executive Committee

The Executive Committee of the Association is the highest management body between two sessions of the Assembly, which operates on the basis of guidelines, recommendations and decisions of the Assembly, and is accountable to the Assembly.

The Executive Committee has seven members, and is made up of the President, the Secretary, and five members.

The term of office for members of the Executive Committee is three years. No person may be a member of the Executive Committee for longer than six consecutive years.

If a member of the Executive Committee ceases to perform their duty for any reason, the vacancy may be filled by co-opting another member. The term of office of the co-opted member lasts until the end of the term in which they have been elected.

The sessions of the Executive Committee are held as needed, and no fewer than four times a year.

The Executive Committee validly decides if no fewer than four members are present at the session.

The Executive Committee takes decisions by a simple majority of votes of attending members.

Minutes are kept on the work of the Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee has the right and authority to
manage the Croatian Section AICA between two sessions of the Assembly
execute decisions of the Assembly
propose amendments and supplements to the Statute and other acts, and draft proposals of these acts
propose the balance sheet and the financial plan, and discuss the financial report
take care of regular payment of the membership fee and the overall financial operations
establish connections with national sections of other countries
execute and organise the annual work programme
draft and review reports on the work of the Croatian Section AICA
propose full members
propose candidates for honorary membership to the Assembly
take decisions on the termination and exclusion from membership
specify the amount of the membership fee
decide on the change of address within the place of establishment.

c.) President

The President of the Croatian Section AICA convenes and presides the sessions of the Assembly and of the Executive Committee.

The President presents and represents the Croatian Section AICA.

The term of office of the President is three years.

If necessary, the President may propose to the Executive Committee that some of the presidential duties and rights be entrusted to a member of the Executive Committee.

No person may be President for more than six consecutive years. Upon expiry of the term of office, the Assembly may decide by a two-thirds majority at a session that a President whose term of office expired may be elected Honorary President of the Association.

The President submits to the Assembly a written annual report on the work of the Croatian Section AICA.

d.) Secretary and Treasurer

The Secretary and the Treasurer are elected by the Assembly for a term of office of three years, and both may be re-elected.

The Secretary performs the following duties:
organises meetings and keeps minutes of the Assembly, the Executive Committee, and the Supervisory Committee
collects membership fees and takes care of the procurement and delivery of membership stamps
organises meetings of various committees and work groups, drafts programmes, and keeps minutes
also performs other administrative tasks.

The Treasurer of the Association takes care of timely payment of membership fees, as well as of all other financial operations of the Association. The Treasurer keeps all necessary financial records of the Association’s work.

e.) Supervisory Committee

The Supervisory Committee exercises supervision over financial operations of the Croatian Section AICA, assesses the implementation of provisions of the Statute and other general acts, and also performs other tasks determined by the Statute and decisions of the bodies of the Croatian Section AICA.

The Supervisory Committee has three members elected by the Assembly for a term of three years. The term of office of members of the Supervisory Committee cannot be repeated.

The decisions of the Supervisory Committee are valid if they are voted by no fewer than two members.

The Supervisory Committee submits a written annual report on its work to the Assembly.

f.) Court of Honour

7.35. The Court of Honour is the body of the Croatian Section AICA which mediates in disputes between members of the Association upon their request, warns of potential instances of professionally unacceptable actions by members of the Association, and proposes measures of their remediation in consultation and with all forms of support by the Executive Committee.

7.37. The Court of Honour is made up of three members elected at the Electoral Annual Assembly. The term of office of the Court of Honour is three years. The candidacy and election of the Court of Honour is conducted in the same manner as that for members of the Executive Committee.

VIII. FUNDING FOR WORK AND THE MEANS FOR SECURING FUNDING FOR WORK

Revenues of the Croatian Section AICA are the following:
resources collected from memberships
revenues from permitted activities (publishing activity, etc.)
gifts, donations, grants, and bequests from any source approved by the Executive Committee
revenues from own assets, and
other revenues in accordance with the Statute and the law.

The profit made by the Croatian Section AICA may only be spent for the purpose of achieving its objectives.

All financial documentation is drafted by the Treasurer, and signed and certified by the President of the Association. If the latter is prevented from attending, the documentation is certified and signed by a member of the Executive Committee appointed for this by the President of the Association.

The sole principal in financial operations is the President of the Association and/or the person appointed for this by the President.

IX. DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS

Disciplinary proceedings are initiated either ex officio or upon proposal of any other body of the Association, and in the event of violation of provisions of the Statute of the Association, as well as in the event of possible actions of a member of the Association contrary to the objectives of the Association, to dignity of the profession, and to general common interests of all members of the Association.

No disciplinary measure, as well as the decision on the exclusion of a member from the Association, may be adopted without a corresponding written statement by the member against whom disciplinary proceedings are conducted. The President of the Association will notify this member in writing on the reasons for initiating disciplinary proceedings, and will request their written statement. The member of the Association is obliged to submit to the President of the Association their statement in written form within no later than 15 (fifteen) days from the day of the receipt of the notification in question. If the latter does not respond, the Executive Committee is authorised to autonomously take their decision.

In the event of extremely gross violation of the provisions of the Statute, of the objectives of the Association, or of general common interests of all members of the Association, the Executive Committee is authorised, upon consultation with the Court of Honour, to take their decision even without a written statement of the member against whom disciplinary proceedings have been initiated.

The disciplinary measures which may be imposed by the Executive Committee are the following:
written warning
reprimand
severe reprimand
exclusion of the member from the Association.

X. CESSATION OF WORK

The Croatian Section AICA ceases to operate upon decision of the Assembly or for reasons prescribed by law.

The decision on the cessation of work of the Croatian Section AICA is taken by the Assembly with a three-quarter majority of votes from all of its members.

The Association may dispose of its assets solely to achieve objectives and perform activities specified by the Statute of the Association, in accordance with the law. In the event of cessation of work, the assets of the Croatian Section AICA are decided upon by the Assembly, so that they are assigned to an association or associations with the same objectives.

A Liquidator represents the Association in the process of liquidation. Upon initiating the process of liquidation, the Liquidator is entered in the Associations Register as the person authorised to represent the Association until the end of the process of liquidation and the erasure of the Association from the Associations Register.

The Liquidator of the Association is appointed and revoked by the Executive Committee. The right to a reimbursement of the Liquidator’s costs in the event of liquidation and the amount thereof is decided upon by the Executive Committee of the Association.

XI. FINAL PROVISIONS

Any amendment and/or supplement to the Statute must be presented to the Executive Committee prior to the decision-making at the Assembly. The text of the amended and/or supplemented provisions of the Statute must be submitted to the Assembly no later than 10 (ten) days prior to the session at which they will be considered.

The Statute of the Croatian Section AICA enters into force on the day of its adoption.

The amendments and supplements of the Statute are made in the manner and according to the procedure provided for its adoption.

With the adoption of this Statute, the Statute of the Croatian Section AICA of 21 December 2009 ceases to be valid.

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