Kunsthuis SYB

Fair Practice Code

Kunsthuis SYB commits itself to Fair Pay, Fair Share and Fair Chain concerning the Fair Practice Code, taking into account the Governance Code Cultuur and the Code Culturele Diversiteit, and propagates this by accountability in the annual reports, communicating it on the website and in talks with partners.

Kunsthuis SYB (i.e. legal form: Syb foundation) is a cultural ANBI and does not have employees.

SYB is a member of De Zaak Nu network and attends member meetings. In 2015, at the invitation of De Zaak Nu, SYB was an initiator of the Noordenaars, platform for art institutions and art initiatives in the Northern Netherlands, and has been an active member ever since.

SYB started as an artists’ initiative in 2000 and has been aware of the importance of paying artists fairly from the beginning; artists have always received a fee.

SYB is committed to being a good employer for its staff and guest artists. Besides a fair fee, this involves providing facilities and development opportunities. Equally important is a balance between the different levels of fees and requested efforts across the breadth of the organization to avoid overload. SYB uses various regulations and guidelines for this.

Staff
The renumeration of freelancers follows De Zaak Nu‘s guideline task and salary structure for institutions of visual arts of 2024 for a medium-sized organization. Freelancers have a contract of assignment for the period in which the budget is covered with reasonable certainty. In the current situation, this is for two years, 2023 until the end of 2024. Inflation adjustment and any other corrections will be made annually, following the recommendations of De Zaak Nu. The director is graded within the range of the management level; the coordinator within that of the policy level. Volunteers have a clearly formulated volunteer contract and receive remuneration according to the rules of the Tax Office.

Once a year, the board evaluates the director’s performance and mutual cooperation. In addition, workload and efficiency are standard points of attention in the regular board meetings. The director holds evaluation and progress interviews with the staff members and volunteers and reports to the board. During these meetings, it is discussed whether the set goals are feasible within the set time, whether there are development wishes and how SYB can reasonably contribute to these.

Artists in residency
Residents are invited to conduct (collective) artistic research that creates value for the local area. SYB does not commission residents to make new work for an exhibition during the residency. Residents are expected to present the outcome of their research and process to the public in an accessible way at the end of their residency. The public is also welcome in SYB at specific moments during the research period to follow the process. For their residency, artists receive a living allowance based on the contribution guidelines that the Mondriaan Fund adopts for national residencies. SYB provides accommodation and use of the house and facilities free of charge, provides a (modest) working budget for materials and communication to support the research and reimburses travel expenses. The director evaluates the residency period with the artists.

Artists in exhibitions and other events
Artists invited for exhibitions, such as the Triennial of Beetsterzwaag, are remunerated according to BKNL’s Artists’ Fee Guidelines (RKH). For activities such as performances, workshops, lectures, etc., a fair fee is also paid according to the RKH.

General
In external institutional collaborations, attention is paid to fair distribution of profits and contributions between all partners.

External collaboration partners are paid fairly. Professionals who are involved because of their artistic expertise for jury or committee work, for example, receive a fee (vacatiegeld).

The board does not currently receive any remuneration other than for expenses. Taking Fair Chain and accessibility into account, we are discussing whether board members should also receive a volunteer’s allowance or fee.

Artists and partners are in turn expected to adhere to the Fair Practice Code when engaging third parties.

SYB handles representation and accreditation carefully.

There is a liability insurance in place for everyone working with SYB.

SYB aims to use a self-scan in 2024 and revisite the core values of the Fair Practice Code once a year. This practice is increasingly being embedded into SYB policy and is monitored. 

 

 

Governance Code Cultuur (Cultural Governance Code)

Kunsthuis SYB complies with the Governance Code Cultuur 2019 (GCC) according to the board-director model and implements it in accordance with small organizations. The application of the principles and recommendations from the GCC is explained and accounted for in the annual report and on the website.

The board consists of a minimum of three and a maximum of five members. It recruits members on the basis of profiles and a list of required competences. Vacancies for board and director are advertised publicly, and searches are also made outside its own network. The aim is to achieve a balanced representation and diversity in terms of expertise, knowledge and experience. The focus is on, among other things, knowledge of the cultural field, the business features of the organization and entrepreneurship. For a specialistic institution like Kunsthuis SYB, it is important that all board members have knowledge of this specific field within the visual arts. For some time, a board member with expertise in the field of finance has been sought for the position of treasurer. Interviews with possible candidates are planned. Board members are appointed for a four-year term and are eligible for reappointment once. The current chair’s two terms have expired and she will therefore step down in 2024. Suitable replacements are being sought.

In Friesland’s sparse cultural infrastructure, people with cross-regional quality are scarce, with the result that such people are often involved in multiple institutions. This is useful and necessary and provides the benefit of valuable networks and shared knowledge, but, especially in a region where cooperation is a must, it also creates a risk of unwanted conflicts of interest or conflicting interests. To avoid this, SYB follows the guidelines of the Code by making clear agreements, being transparent and ensuring that no direct personal, artistic or business interests are involved. Ancillary positions are listed in the annual reports and on the website and new ancillary positions are discussed and reviewed in the board meetings. Board members are not involved as freelancers and there are no family relationships between employees and board members, or between board members themselves.

In principle, the board meets six times a year with a statutory minimum of four. Meetings follow a fixed agenda and minutes are taken; important decisions are substantiated. The director attends board meetings; other staff members may join if there is reason to do so. In addition, the board and the director have regular consultations. Financial, policy and annual documents are discussed, reviewed and adopted according to an annual agenda.

The tasks the board delegates to the director and how duties and responsibilities are divided are described in an organizational regulation. The board has started to develop this into an executive regulation, which describes, among other things, which tasks and responsibilities the board mandates to the director, and an administrative regulation in which the board, among other things, distributes tasks, responsibilities and powers and establishes decision-making.

By the end of 2023, a financial protocol was drawn up with a new accounting firm, based in Leeuwarden and with extensive experience with cultural institutions. By 2024, the financial accounts will be automated with an established system of control and approval, and quarterly insights will be provided. When funders require an auditor’s report, an external auditor will be appointed.

At Kunsthuis SYB, the work is done with care. The board creates the preconditions for a good and safe working environment and sees to it that SYB is at all times a safe place for all involved: staff, volunteers, residents, exhibiting artists, partners and visitors.

Confidential advisor
A board member has been appointed as confidential advisor. In 2024, the confidential advisor is Petra Heck (petra.heck@ndsm.nl).

An external confidant can be involved with the National Integrity and Confidentiality Office (LBIV) through membership of De Zaak Nu, or by reporting to Mores.online. The agreements and volunteer contracts mention these options. SYB does not tolerate any form of intimidation, exclusion and hurtful or violent behavior. SYB endorses the Fair Care of De Zaak Nu and has drawn up a code of conduct and protocol, which is incorporated in a handbook and abridged in the contracts of staff, artists and volunteers.

SYB is a small organization, and although it has short lines of communication, regularly checks whether the policy still fits the current situation and whether there are gaps. SYB establishes clear commitments, so that they can be sustainable and clear for everyone and so that compliance and transfer can be easy. The board reevaluates its governance in 2024 using the toolkit of Cultuur+Ondernemen. An important implementation thereafter is to put all regulations and protocols on the agenda and update them every year. A point of attention here is that carefully formulating and monitoring all agreements takes time, increasing the burden on the board and management. It is important to find a good balance here, so that this does not (too much) come at the expense of other tasks.

 

 

Code Diversiteit en Inclusie (Code on Diversity and Inclusion)

The organization of SYB acknowledges and actively promotes the importance of diversity in its organization and program. SYB is inclusive for all folks, regardless of their cultural, ethnic, social or economic background, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, educational level, neurotype or physical ability.

As an art space and residency in Friesland, our aim is to reflect and welcome diversity in the Dutch art world as well as in the region. Diversity has additional meanings here (province) than in the cities (Randstad) and focuses more on socio-economic background, educational level and language background (particularly: Frisian as a mother tongue).

SYB’s staff, volunteers and artists are diverse in age, sex, gender, sexual identity, socio-cultural and language background (Dutch, Frisian, Albanian/Italian), but almost all have a university level of education, while in Friesland the average education is MBO (secondary vocational education). Involving MBO graduates, both in the organization, as makers and as audiences, is a challenge that SYB would like to actively take up in the coming years.

The local audience is diverse in age, (language) background, gender, orientation and education level, among others. SYB has a growing audience of amateur artists from the area. Among professional audiences, both regional and national, we see increasing diversity. This is partly inherent in the program, which addresses relevant issues of diversity. The students from Minerva Art Academy in Groningen, who attend an annual 24-hour residency, are also increasingly diverse, especially in terms of gender and background.

SYB regularly collaborates regionally and nationally with a variety of professional partners from the arts field. In Friesland itself, cooperation is necessary to promote a broad cultural infrastructure. SYB especially connects with Arcadia, the Fries Museum and VHDG, as well as with local partners such as the Tropical Greenhouse, primary schools, care institutions and organic farmer Gjalt. From 2024, SYB initiates a strategy to reach new Frisians in the asylum seekers’ centres in Drachten and Burgum.

Clear language reaches a wide audience, which is why accessible language is important in all public texts. But ‘easy reading is hard writing’ and takes time and skill.

The basic language in SYB is Dutch. Almost all press and content texts are translated into English and Frisian, which is much appreciated, also by the Frisian press.

Most of SYB’s activities are free of charge. The public ground floor is accessible for wheelchair users. However, the toilet and living quarters are on the first and second floors and not accessible to wheelchair users. The house is a monument, which unfortunately makes rigorous adaptations difficult.

In the coming years, SYB explores ways to make both the house and the program more accessible. For example, we are thinking of having few hours a month dedicated to youth in the village. Providing sign language interpreters during activities is also a goal.