The Independent Street Arts Network (ISAN) is a membership-led voluntary organisation for promoters, presenters and support agencies of street arts throughout the UK. The organisation seeks to play a role in the development of the sector: particularly in the recognition for it as a valid and equally valued artistic activity and to ensure work of the highest quality is produced to create increasingly dynamic relationships with audiences.
Street arts are a significantly growing sector within the overall UK arts ecology, so it is perhaps inevitable that individuals in organisations value the existence of an independent organisation that can speak from a position of overview.
ISAN started out back in about 1996, when a small group of street arts promoters, all of whom had festivals in the May/June period, met informally to discuss what they had seen at international festivals and to jointly invite companies to tour the following Spring. It was a self-defined group with no legal structure whatsoever.
After a couple of years of this core activity, issues surrounding Arts Council of England (ACE) funding for street arts became a key concern both for members of this existing group and other street arts promoters. So in 1998 a larger meeting was convened, representation to ACE was made, and spokespeople were nominated to meet with ACE officers. This was the crucial point of change because there was a choice either to remain a specific un-constituted group or develop a structure that would be open to the whole gamut of promoters and be a more representative voice for the sector. The latter was chosen.
This decision necessitated developing and agreeing a name and a constitution, establishing bank accounts and electing officers to ensure certain tasks were completed. Due to the totally voluntary nature of the organisation this process took a good year, with meetings across the country, to come to a mutually acceptable constitution and an accompanying Code of Practice that all members of ISAN agree to abide by. Following discussion with a number of existing national umbrella bodies an Unincorporated Association model was adopted, based on a modified constitution from the National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).
The next major change for ISAN came in April 2000 when ACE offered a two-year funding agreement to support the development of the organisation, enabling us to recruit a part-time co-ordinator, develop a website, increase our lobbying and advocacy work, improve standards, produce publicity materials and plan training events, as well as managing existing activity.
With a Co-ordinator in post, it has been necessary for the Executive Committee to increase its involvement and now it meets on a bi-monthly basis to support, guide and prioritise the work of the Co-ordinator. The funding and increase in activity has also led to an increase in the turnover of the organisation, and because the members of the Executive in an Unincorporated Association are financially personally liable, this has led to the decision being taken in May 2001 that ISAN should now become a Company Limited by Guarantee.
Since then the Co-ordinator has been working with Anjan Saha of the Independent Theatre Council on the drafting of a Memorandum and Articles of Association that will suit its role as a membership-based, non-profit making organisation. The aim is to have this new constitution agreed with Companies House by the October General Meeting and subsequently to make application to the Charities Commissioners to become a registered charity.
It is also envisaged that this structure as well as limiting liability of any individual members of the Executive will provide a firmer footing for the continuing development of an organisation that in its way is assisting in the development of a whole sector of artistic expression.
Bill Gee is Co-ordinator of ISAN t: 020 7633 9330 e: mail@streetartsnetwork.org.uk w: http://www.streetartsnetwork.org.uk