The Bows, a.k.a. Untitled Arts Society, hereby announces its Annual General Meeting, to occur via Zoom at 2:00 pm on Sunday, March 20.

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 845 3101 0879
Passcode: 695080

Those interested in becoming voting members can purchase a yearlong membership for $20 (discounted rate of $10 for students) here.

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2022 AGM Agenda:  

1.   Call to Order  

2.   Approve 2022 Meeting Agenda  

3.   Approve 2021 AGM Minutes  

4.   President’s Report  

5.   Treasurer’s Report  

6.   Staff Reports 

7.   Election of the 2022/2023 Board of Directors  

8.   Set 2023 AGM date  

9.   Close  

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Please note voting rights are reserved for members in good standing with the Society only.

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The Bows’ 2022/2023 Board will consist of:  

President  
Vice President  
Secretary  
Treasurer  
General Board Directors (1–2) 

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For more information about The Bows, see our about page. 

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The Bows’ Board of Directors is seeking 3–4 new members for the 2022–2023 programming year. The Board of Directors governs the policies and actions of The Bows. Board members are expected to contribute 2–5 volunteer hours per month, depending on committee or executive roles; attend 10 Board meetings per year; and participate in our upcoming mandatory 6-hour Anti-Racist Training session on a Saturday this April or May. However, we also understand that people’s capacities may vary and aim to be flexible with Board members’ duties when needed. All Board members are invited to serve on The Bows’ programming committee and Board members who require childcare to attend Board meetings will receive a childcare stipend for all meetings. 

The Bows’ Board is comprised of 5–6 volunteers who are passionate about the arts and our local artistic communities. The Board operates according to a philosophy of openness, responsiveness, accountability, and respect.  

The Bows is an artist-run centre in Mohkinstsis/Calgary, Alberta, Treaty 7 Territory. Our core goals are: to support the development, creation, and presentation of new work by early-career artists; to provide affordable studio space for Calgary-based artists; and to broaden the reach and scope of contemporary art in Calgary, with the ultimate, if ambitious, aim to expose Calgarians to artistic work that explores pressing contemporary issues. We work toward these goals with an artist-centric approach that prioritizes the wholesale support of artists; creative and radical uses of spaces outside of the gallery; and a curatorial focus on projects and practices that dovetail with the specific socio-political, cultural, colonial, economic, and Indigenous histories and contexts of Alberta. Ultimately, The Bows strives to empower and support artists to imagine radical futures, and to invite those inside and outside of our community to be co-conspirators in realizing such futures. 

In 2021, we transitioned from the artistic direction of outgoing Executive Director Natasha Chaykowski to our new Artistic Director, Godfre Leung. Amid the challenges of the pandemic, we presented artwork, events, and hosted residencies by Sonja Ahlers, Ashley Bedet and Fionn Duffy, Helah Cooper, Erika DeFreitas, Safy-Hallan Farah, Susan Jahoda and Caroline Woolard, Brittany Nickerson, RAZA (Laura and Valentina Caraballo), Scott Rogers, and others. We also took the time to undergo an accountability process, which is ongoing, to learn from our role in a community conflict. This conflict affected every facet of The Bows as an organization and will deeply inform our organizational re-envisioning processes moving forward. 

In the upcoming year, The Bows Board of Directors will focus on creating a strategic plan and re-envisioning the Board structure, policies, and procedures through a lens of equity and anti-racism, with an aim to remove colonial structures that cause harm to artists, volunteers, staff, and community.  

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We are looking for Board members who are eager to learn. We also value the perspectives that members of marginalized and underrepresented communities can bring to The Bows. We especially seek applications from individuals who identify as underrepresented or marginalized, including but not limited to Indigenous, Black, and other racialized people, Disabled people, and 2SLGBTQI+ and non-binary/gender non-conforming people. 

We are seeking a mix of Board members with experience in art and non-profit governance, and those who are newer to these kinds of organizations. The Bows’ Board is supportive of members of all backgrounds and levels of experience, and acclimates new Board members with patience and care. Currently, The Bows’ Board employs Roberts Rules of Order, a short guide to which can be found here. Moving forward, it will be a Board decision as to whether to continue this practice. 
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To Apply please submit a statement of interest to tell us about yourself by March 15th. This may take the form of a written statement of no more than 750 words, a short audio or video recording of no more than 5 minutes, or simply a resume or professional CV outlining your previous experiences. Please send applications to info@thebows.org with the subject line “Board Application.”

For guidance in telling us about yourself, you might consider some of the following questions: What do you anticipate bringing to The Bows’ Board? What do you want to learn from your participation on it? Tell us in a sentence or two something you enjoyed about one or two of your favourite artworks, exhibitions, books, movies, TV shows, podcasts, or other cultural experiences in the last few years. (Note: you are not required to answer all, or any, of these prompts.) 

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Anyone in need of accommodations to attend our AGM is encouraged to email kaylee@thebows.org for assistance.