MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
of the
AXMINSTER ART SOCIETY
held on
WEDNESDAY 18TH NOVEMBER 2009 at 2.15 PM at MUSBURY VILLAGE HALL
The meeting was attended by 29 members, including every member of the committee and the two Presidents. The Chairman opened the meeting by welcoming everybody.
Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence had been received from Meg Archer-Thomson, Keith Barnes, Jan Farley, Wendy Fountaine, Kay Hicks, Peggy Jarvis, Ann Paice and Anne Vear.
Minutes of the 2008 Annual General Meeting
It was proposed by Michèle Soufflet, seconded by Don Hendy and unanimously approved by the members that the minutes of the AGM held on 19th November 2008 be signed by the Chairman as being a true record.
Matters Arising
There were no matters arising from the previous minutes.
Chairman’s Report
The Chairman opened her report by saying how much she had enjoyed taking the chair for a caretaker year. She thanked the members of the retiring committee for their support, listing each member in turn and acknowledging their specific strengths. She thanked Patrick Stow and Rob Chappel, who had been co-opted onto the committee during the course of the year, and Keith Barnes who had given such stalwart support ex officio. In giving special a welcome to our Presidents she thanked them for their support throughout the year.
The Chairman commented upon the excellent programme of demonstrations and workshops throughout the year, the very good attendance and the very welcome number of new faces. Of the two exhibitions held during the year the Axe Vale was the more successful, enjoying good weather and good attendance. The Chairman congratulated Linda Wilkes, the member whose painting had been voted best in show; this painting had been published in Leisure Painter with the outcome that it had been displayed at the Art Materials Live exhibition held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. She also thanked Linda for donating a giclée print of the same picture as a raffle prize. The autumn exhibition had been less successful because, in spite of the fine hall at the Axe Valley Community College, its location did not attract visitors. The Chairman confirmed that the Society would continue to hold two exhibition in the year and the committee was considering alternative venues. The exhibit voted best in show was Keith Barne’s carving: Green Man. The Chairman thanked the many members who had stewarded at this exhibition, Edna Dorrington who had donated a giclée print as a raffle prize, Jeny and Rupert Butler who stored the screens for the Society and Clive Bareham who transported the screens and had organised the drinks at the Preview evening.
The Committee, having addressed the matter of the trophies owned by the Society, was anxious to locate them. Of particular concern was a bronze statuette known as “Lara” and the Chairman issued a plea for the return of this and all other awards.
This report was concluded by a reference to the recently aired television programme “Art on the Wall”. The Chairman noted that this programme had failed to cover the number of amateur artists’ work that is hung in homes across the country and she reminded the meeting that each one of us was an important part of the art scene.