The Visual Art and Galleries Association (VAGA) has announced that it is to close. A statement by VAGA chair Godfrey Worsdale on behalf of the association’s board said that the decision had been made because “the notion of a paid membership organisation alongside and in addition to the Contemporary Visual Art Network [CVAN] is no longer tenable or logical.”
He continued: “The board has decided to end VAGA’s status as a charity and as a Company Limited by Guarantee, bringing the Association to an end. These decisions will be progressed with the Charities Commission and with Companies House and, during this time, VAGA will cease its normal operations.” No further membership fees will be collected and members have been requested to close down any standing order or direct debit arrangements.
VAGA lost its regular Arts Council England funding three years ago, and since then had continued as a membership organisation on a much reduced scale with just one member of staff – coordinator Trevor Horsewood. Its recent focus has been on advocacy for the visual arts and planning around professional development.
Baltic director Worsdale, who is also chair of CVAN’s board, added: “VAGA’s work with Visual Arts UK and the Cultural Campaigns Alliance has in many ways been shared with colleagues in the Contemporary Visual Art Network, and we are assured that they will continue that work for the wider sector.
“It is recognised through VAGA’s and other organisations’ recent activities, that work around curatorial travel and research remains critical to the sector’s longer-term future. There is genuine commitment to this within the visual arts more broadly, and we are hopeful that this work continues to be progressed.”
He added that, after the dissolution of the company, any remaining VAGA resources will be transferred to a charity ‘with similar interests’.
