CAMP

frequently asked questions

1. Who are the CAMP co-directors and how are they selected?

The first 8 co-directors of CAMP self-nominated for the roles when they were setting CAMP up along with the other founding members, because the CIC structure that was chosen required named directors in order to be eligible for incorporation. However, at this time, it was also felt by the membership that CAMP would be best able to reflect and respond to its members’ needs if the directorship rotated every 18-24 months. When this happens, any member who wants to be considered as one of the next directors may nominate themselves to the existing directorship, who will take the lead on the selection. This is because members who have been in the director role are best placed to know what is involved and who might be well suited to it.

During August 2020 the first co-director rotation happened, and there have been subsequent rotations in December 2021, November 2022, May 2023 and October 2023.

Call outs for new co-directors are disseminated through the CAMP newsletter, website and social media.

2. Who are the members and how are they selected?

There is no selection process involved in becoming a member, and any artist, arts curator, arts producer or art writer may join, provided they are over 18 and live or work in Devon, Cornwall or The Isles of Scilly.

3. How is my CAMP membership money spent?

The membership money really goes a long way. While a significant percentage of CAMP’s activity is currently Arts Council funded, the membership fees support every aspect, and provide some of the match funding needed to access Arts Council funding.

All the programmed speakers and workshop leaders are paid for their time, in line with the sector guidelines and their travel and accommodation is also covered by CAMP, when applicable.

The paid opportunities such as the CAMP residencies, mentoring and bursaries are also supported by the membership fees, as are infrastructural elements such as the website.

If, as a member of CAMP, you’d like to see our financial reports at any time, do please ask. If you are interested in fundraising and programming, then why not join one of the Working Groups that make those decisions? (see Qs 7 & 8)

4. Why isn’t there a concession membership rate?

The truth is that there is, and we’re all paying it! The Pay What You Choose membership plans offer a low cost accessible option, as well as rates that contribute to the wider funding of CAMP. Membership income provides the match funding required to secure our Arts Council Funding, and every penny of it goes into CAMP’s programme and opportunities. The more members who join, the more CAMP can offer!

There have been over 80 bursary memberships available thanks to some of our partnership organisations (such as Cultivator Cornwall, VASW, Arts University Plymouth, Exeter Phoenix, University of Plymouth, The Box, Maketank, Real Ideas Organisation and Nudge Community Builders) . If membership fee is a barrier for you, get in touch at info@camp-membership.org for advice.

5. How are the successful applicants for the paid opportunities selected, and who selects them?

When the callout is written for each paid opportunity, the criteria are clearly stated and the same criteria are used in the selection process. This process usually consists of 4 stages:

• Initially, all applications from eligible applicants (which usually just means being a current CAMP member) are collected and sent to each of the selection panellists, who individually score them using the pre-determined criteria.
• The panellists then meet to discuss their scoring, and collaboratively arrive at a consensus score for each applicant against each of the scoring criteria, which allows them to choose a shortlist for further discussion.
• The shortlist is then discussed against the criteria again, and other factors are taken into account if the scoring alone does not produce a decision. For example, in a recent panel, a shortlist of 2 was produced from the scoring, each of which were felt to be equally strong proposals. The decision was then made based on the fact that one of the applicants had very recently been successful in securing a similar opportunity, and so the other applicant was chosen.
• Every applicant is then emailed individually, either with the news that they have been successful, and why their application was chosen, or with feedback from the panel about what was strong in their application and some areas for improvement, along with contact details for a member of their selection panel if they should want further feedback.

Any CAMP member who would like to be on a selection panel may sign up (as long as they are not also applying for the opportunity!) simply by emailing info@camp-membership.org.

There are usually 3 panel members per opportunity. There is always a CAMP co-director present, but if 3 non co-director members have signed up to be on the panel then the co-director will facilitate the discussion without having a vote in the selection. A bank of members who have volunteered to take part in selection panels is kept by CAMP, where records are also kept regarding who has previously been on a panel, to ensure that as wide a range of members as possible are getting the opportunity to be involved. At times, there are more members wanting to be on panels than are needed for the current opportunities, and in this case the panellists will be chosen from those who have yet to be on a panel, in the order they signed up. Then, the next time a selection panel is needed, those who had signed up for the previous one but did not have the opportunity to be involved will be given first option.

6. Can co-directors apply for the paid opportunities too?

Yes. We consider this the correct approach for the following reasons:

• Firstly, CAMP co-directors are all fully paid-up members, and commit to being so for the duration of their directorship. This is important to us, as being truly member-led requires everyone to be playing by the same rules, whether in named CAMP roles or otherwise.
• In addition, the work that CAMP co-directors do in CAMP is entirely unpaid, and the role of co-director is a finite one (see Q1), which any member may take on.
• As the paid opportunities are selected by members who volunteer to be on the panel (see Q4), co-directors do not have any advantage over other members in the selection process, and apply in the knowledge that selection is made fairly and transparently, in line with the criteria decided before the opportunity was announced.

7. How can I make sure CAMP is relevant to me and my practice?

The best way to do this is to join a KIN Group or a Working Group. Working Groups are where all the main discussions about CAMP are made, and where you can have the most influence. The full details of what each group does can be found HERE, but here are a few examples:

• Want to shape the programme and get into producng? – Join Making Things Happen
• Want to search out and apply for pots of money to help CAMP grow and do more? – Join Gathering Resources
• Want to support members? – Join Member Care

KIN Groups are made up of members who share a practice, are linked to a specific place or city, or have an interest in common. There are approximately seven self-organising KIN groups focussing on different aspects of artistic practice. CLICK HERE to find out more and join a group.

8. How much time do I need to give if I want to join a Working Group?

The easy answer is ‘however much you’d like’! This is because members who are involved in Working Groups engage with them in very different ways, depending on what they are able to offer, and any amount of availability that you can offer is useful to CAMP. Here are a few examples of what engagement in some of the Working Groups can look like, though it is by no means exhaustive:

Making Things Happen:

• This group is predominantly responsible for CAMP’s programme of events.
• They meet once a month throughout the year, as well as being in regular email contact.
• Some MTH members prefer to feed in for short periods on arranging a specific event, while others work in a more steady way towards longer term plans.
• MTH is a great group to join if your availability differs from week to week or month to month, as there are always things to do that you can join in with. If, for example, you are in education and have very little free time Sept-June, but want to help out over the summer, MTH could use your help just for that period. And don’t assume that because a lot of our programmed events are held in the evenings and at weekends, that MTH’s work is all done then too. If you have young kids at home and are only available on weekday mornings, there are definitely tasks you can help with!

Gathering Resources:

• This group is predominantly responsible for CAMP’s funding and income streams.
• As this work is dictated by what funding streams are available, and by the fact that many of these are deadline-based, certain periods are busier than others and face to face meetings are irregular.
• Some GR members feed in by keeping an eye on what funding streams are out there, and feed those back into the group. Other members write initial draft applications to send to the others for their input.
• This group is therefore a good fit for anyone who is confident working collaboratively but remotely, as it often makes more sense for members to feed into a Google doc when they can, rather than find a date when everyone can meet, especially when working to funders’ deadlines. This group does also require a certain amount of flexibility from its members, as quick responses to communications are sometimes required.

9. Who selects the speakers and workshop leaders?

This is primarily done within the Making Things Happen working group, who deliver CAMP’s programme and activities. All CAMP’s working groups are made up entirely of CAMP members, and any member may volunteer to be in any working group. (See Qs 7 & 8 for more details)

10. How do I get my event out to other CAMP members?

You can share it on the CAMP Network at https://contemporary-art-membership-platform.mn.co/ or if you think it is also of interest to our wider network, you can email the details to info@camp-membership.org, giving us as much notice as you can, and we’ll include it in our next newsletter (these go out monthly to all members, as well as others, usually on the first Mondays of the month). You can also tag CAMP in your social media posts about events, which we’ll repost for you wherever relevant.

11. What else can I do in CAMP besides the programmed activities?

CAMP is a network, not just a programme. This means different things to different people, and everyone uses CAMP in a slightly different way. Here are some examples of things you might not know you can do through CAMP:

• Use our CAMP Travel Buddies Facebook page to find other members who are travelling into a CAMP event or any other visual arts event you’re going to, so that you can come together on the train or share a car
• Get some financial assistance towards a research trip you’re taking via our Go and See travel bursary scheme
• Suggest a CAMP visit to something that looks interesting and apply for CAMP’s car-share budget so others can go with you
• Arrange a critique of your work by other CAMP members (just email us to arrange)
• Join a KIN group – there are approximately seven self-organising KIN groups focussing on different aspects of artistic practice. CLICK HERE to find out more and join a group.
• Put a notice in the CAMP newsletter or on the Network to find other members who have skills you need / can give you advice about something / want to collaborate with you / want to arrange an event with you / etc, or meet these people by working alongside them in one of CAMP’s Working Groups
• Arrange an event or organise something you feel is missing from the programme. CAMP’s channels are available to promote any and all member events
• Use the Network or other our channels to find CAMP members who’d like to get together socially
• Get experience that you need for future opportunities and employment via our system of Working Groups (see Qs 7 & 8) or by being on the selection panel for one of our paid opportunities (see Qs 4-6)
• Become a CAMP co-director – call outs are via the CAMP newsletter and social media.

Last updated March 2024