The Art Worker 013
06/21/2023
CAL IRL @ ICA LA
Saturday June 24, 11am - 1pm, ICA LA
Are you as inspired by the Writers Guild of America as we are? When CAL was just a seed of a notion of an idea, the WGA came up over and over again in conversations about trade organizations that support creative workers. We admired (and also envied) the WGA membership benefits like a pension fund, group health insurance plan, mentorship partnering, professional development, and career path navigation assistance. The WGA has successfully negotiated contracts for its members time and time again, doing the righteous work of standing up for creative work being respected and compensated appropriately. The current strike is a blow to many workers who are forgoing wages to strike for what’s right, and it impacts the greater economy in small and large ways. Indeed, that’s why striking WORKS. When workers who are undervalued stop doing their work, it shows those who have the power to compensate them fairly—and indeed, shows the whole world—just how much they’re relied upon. If you want to show your support, join WGA Strong: March and Rally for a Fair Contract starting at Pan Pacific Park on the summer solstice, Wednesday, June 21 starting at 10am and marching to the La Brea Tar Pits for a rally.
We established CAL because there is no equivalent to the WGA for workers in the contemporary art field. If you’ve ever wished there was a WGA for the art world, join us to help make it happen!
Instead of forming a union or guild like the WGA, Contemporary Art League is envisioned as a cooperatively owned and collectively governed trade organization as a way to open membership to art workers across the field of contemporary art. CAL is open to anyone who identifies as an art worker, from folks whose positions are listed at the bottom of the org chart to those in management and those in leadership and ownership roles. Despite this primary and significant difference, we aim to offer the same sorts of professional support, community services, and advocacy opportunities that the WGA and so many other unions, guilds, and trade organizations and associations offer their members.
To learn more about why CAL is envisioned as a cooperative, why we define membership in our trade organization the way we do, and to help us dream this idea into reality, join us this Saturday, June 24 for our next CAL IRLA @ ICA LA gathering. We’ll be there from 11am-1pm; there is no set agenda, so drop in any time.
This Saturday’s gathering is the lead-up to our first working group meeting of the summer. Taking place on July 11 at 1pm, the 90-minute remote working group meeting will set the stage for our work for the second half of 2023 and into 2024. Monthly working group meetings have a set agenda, operate in a sociocracy, and offer an in-depth look at where CAL is in its formation, as well as opportunities to pitch in ideas and take on some of the significant work required to develop a project as ambitious as CAL. Starting with July’s meeting, these convenings will also include teach-ins on topics relevant to the kind of organizing and world-building we’re engaged in. If you want to be informed about and attend working group meetings, please email us at info@contemporaryartleague.com.
In solidarity,
Contemporary Art League
How can I get involved with Contemporary Art League?
Join us
Come visit, share ideas and get inspired at CAL IRL @ ICA LA every last Saturday of the month from 11am-1pm.Spread the word
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Working group meetings take place the second Tuesday of every month at 1pm via zoom. Email us to join.Introduce us
Do you have a formal (gallery, museum, art advocacy organization) or informal (crit group, studio mates) group you’d like to connect with CAL? Let us know.Fund us
We need funds to grow and build CAL with our community. Click “donate” below or on our website to make a tax deductible donation through our fiscal sponsorship with Fractured Atlas.