1. The name of the Society shall be The Cambridge Drawing Society.

2. OBJECTS:

The objects for which the Society is founded are, in general, to encourage the Arts of Drawing, Painting, Printmaking and Sculpture in Cambridge and District, and particularly to promote Exhibitions of Members' work.

3. MEMBERSHIP:

a. Membership is achieved only through acceptance of work by the Selection Committee of the Annual Exhibition.

Members shall pay an annual subscription, the amount to be decided at the Annual General Meeting. No work will be exhibited unless the subscription for the current year has been paid.

Members are entitled to participate in all Society activities and to vote at the Annual General Meeting, at any other specifically convened meeting or in any postal or electronic vote organized by the Society Committee.

b. Application for Membership - Applicants for membership of the Society must submit four recent works, or not less than two if sculpture or ceramics, to the Selection Committee of the Annual Exhibition.

Acceptance of work qualifies for membership.

All necessary information may be obtained from the Honorary Secretary and will be displayed on the Society website.

c. Life Membership - The Committee, at its discretion, may elect from the members of the Society, Life Members who will not have to pay any subscription.

d. Friends - Anyone may become a Friend by applying to the Honorary Secretary, and thereafter paying an annual subscription, which shall be determined by the Committee and subject to approval at the next Annual General Meeting. Friends may attend the Society's open meetings and lectures, and participate in all society activities but are non-exhibiting and non-voting (except where the condition in item 4a. below applies.)

e. Resignations - Resignation from the Society should be notified in writing to the Honorary Secretary or the Honorary Treasurer.

4. OFFICERS:

These shall consist of a President, Vice-President, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer.

a. The management of the Society shall be vested in a Committee which shall consist of The President (Chairman), a President Elect (for the one year prior to taking office), the Honorary Secretary, a Secretary Elect (for the one year prior to taking office), the Honorary Treasurer, and no fewer than seven and no more than ten Ordinary members. In addition, one Friends of the Society representative may sit on the Committee, and have voting rights on the Committee.

All officers and members of the Committee shall be elected or re- elected to office at an Annual General Meeting.

The Committee may co-opt additional Members but these shall retire at the next Annual General Meeting.

b. Quorum: No business shall be transacted at a Committee meeting unless five members (excluding the Friends representative) are present. In the unavoidable absence of the President, the Committee shall elect a Vicechairman to act in his/her place.

c. Period of Office:
i. The President, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer will hold office for three years and be eligible for re-election. The President Elect and Secretary Elect shall be elected for one year prior to taking up office as President or Secretary respectively. The President, President Elect, Secretary, Secretary Elect and Treasurer shall take office immediately after the Annual General Meeting at which they are elected.

ii. An Ordinary member of the Committee may hold office for five years but will not be eligible for re-election as an Ordinary member in the year following his or her term of office.

iii. If resignations reduce the number of Ordinary committee members to fewer than seven (excluding the Friends representative), the deficiency shall be made up by co-option.

d. Sub-Committees: For the convenience of management the Committee may elect Sub-committees and delegate to them such powers as they think fit.

e. A retiring President will assume the position of Vice President, for the duration of the new President’s term in office, and will stand in for the President in the event that the President is temporarily, or permanently unable to perform the role. In the case of the latter, a new President will be elected at the next AGM.

5. ACTIVITIES:

a. Exhibitions: At least one exhibition of work of the Members of the Society will be held annually. Exhibits for this may be original drawings or painting in any medium or process, printmakers' work in any medium, sculpture and ceramic art, (but no domestic pottery). Commercial and digital reproductions of artworks originally produced in other media, prints, photographs or photographic copies of original artworks are all specifically excluded.

Exhibition Rules: Rules concerning the number of exhibits, framing, delivery and collection of works for exhibition shall be published by the Honorary Secretary at least one calendar month prior to sending-in day for that exhibition. These rules shall be reviewed by the Committee and modified as necessary prior to each exhibition.

b. Open Meetings: The Committee shall be responsible for organization of meetings on topics of artistic interest to which guest speakers may be invited.

6. SELECTION COMMITTEE:

The selection of works for the Annual and other Exhibitions shall be in the hands of a Selection Committee which shall consist of the President and eight artists, all of whom shall have been active members of the Society for at least two years, these being elected by the Committee to serve for one year and to be eligible for a further term of two years. Selectors will not be eligible for re-election in the year following their second term of office.

The Honorary Secretary should be present and may deputize for any absent Selection Committee Member.

7. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:

The Society's year shall be the calendar year.

No amendment to the Society Constitution shall be made except at this meeting or by a properly structured postal or electronic vote. Any proposal to amend the Constitution at the Annual General Meeting must be communicated to the membership at least 21 days prior to the meeting. Such amendments must be approved by at least two thirds of those present at the meeting and entitled to vote.

A quorum shall be 25% of the total Society membership. If it is deemed necessary at other times the Committee may organize a postal and/or electronic vote. Members must be allowed one calendar month in which to return their vote, which must be approved by at least 60% of the total membership.

Any proposal to amend the Constitution shall be sent so as to reach the Honorary Secretary no later than one calendar month before the date of the meeting and shall be communicated to members in the notice summoning the meeting. Amendments of any such proposal may be proposed at the meeting provided no fewer than two thirds of those present give permission.

8. FINANCE:

a. The accounts shall be subject annually to independent examination by a suitably qualified person appointed by the Committee.

b. The Committee shall have power to fix the charges if any, for admission to Exhibitions, sale of catalogues or any other charges incidental to the activities of the Society.

c. The income of the Society and its property whence so ever derived shall be applied solely toward promotion of the objects of the Society as set forth in its Constitution, and no portion thereof shall be paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividend or bonus to any member of the Society.

In the event of the Society being wound up, any remaining assets shall be devoted to an object similar to that of the Society.

END