CAA News Today

Back in 2014, CAA set aside our old income-based membership system, replacing it with a new system based on the amount of benefits members wanted.

The program was a success, but we discovered that some of the language caused confusion. Starting this fall, we are launching the final refinement of the membership program that will eliminate confusion about the membership levels.

In addition, we will begin rolling out new membership benefits for our 10,000 individual and institutional members.

Understanding that many members face shrinking departmental budgets, for the fourth consecutive year, membership rates will not increase (in fact, we are reducing the student rate). We do this while at the same time planning for one of the largest Annual Conferences ever.

In February 2018 in Los Angeles (February 21-24), we have already scheduled more than 300 sessions and meetings, involving over 1,400 CAA members who will serve as discussants, presenters, and chairs. Additionally, we have secured a seemingly endless schedule of events for CAA members at LA-based cultural and educational institutions, including The Getty Center, The Broad, LACMA, The Skirball Cultural Center, Norton Simon Museum, The Huntington, UCLA, USC, Otis College of Art and Design, Santa Monica College, 18th Street Arts Center, and many, many others.

Registration for the 2018 CAA Annual Conference will open in early October.

 

New Membership Levels

Starting on October 1, 2017 you will see three individual membership levels on the CAA website membership page and in our membership materials. You can choose a membership level based on where you are in your career and whether you expect to go to the Annual Conference.

Tier One Membership
$195 annually/$380 two years (formerly Premium Membership)

This level is designed for working professionals in the myriad visual arts fields that support the association and expect to attend CAA’s Annual Conference. You will receive a 55% discount on your early Annual Conference registration. You will still receive one of the two flagship CAA publications (Art Journal or The Art Bulletin), along with all other benefits.

Tier Two Membership
$125 annually/$245 two years (formerly Basic Membership)

This level is designed for professionals for whom the Annual Conference is not a priority. Tier Two members get a 20% discount to the Annual Conference and receive one of the two flagship CAA publications (Art Journal or The Art Bulletin), along with all other benefits.

Tier Three Membership
$80 annually/$155 two years (formerly part-time, independent, retired)

Tier Three Student
$50 students annually/$95 students two years

Both Tier Three levels are designed for independent artists, student, designers, scholars, art historians, part time faculty, retired and others working independently, without full-time employment. It has all the same benefits of Tier One Membership, including the 55% early Annual Conference discount. Students will be charged only $50.

You don’t need to do anything right now! Upon joining or renewing you will be asked to choose one of the new levels. All of the Donor Circle membership levels (Sustaining, Patron, and Life) will remain the same.

 

New Benefits

In case you hadn’t noticed, we’ve tried every way we can to discover what you need from your professional association. We know you want to advance your career, access to exceptional scholarship, networking opportunities and advocacy. Without a doubt, finances remain an issue for many members.

We are happy to announce that starting October 1, 2017 we are able to offer CAA members the following new benefits. Sign into your CAA member account after October 1 to make purchases or view discount codes.

• Lynda.com – The largest online learning network with more than 3,000 courses in design, photography, web development, marketing, and business is now available to CAA members at a significant discount. Members will have access to the full online premium program for $99 annually (regularly $360 annually).

• Legal Services – We have secured the services of a major Maryland/DC law firm, Whiteford, Taylor, and Preston, which works with other Learned Societies, to assist CAA members at a reduced rate ($275/hour). Whether you need help reviewing a book contract, employment agreement, gallery agreement, or fair use legal opinion, as a CAA member, you can now call on a law firm that knows the field.

• Making Fair Use Real – CAA is a leader in the field of fair use of visual images in education and visual arts publishing. We have worked to educate the field and publishers about the permissions that may not be needed for copy written images to support your academic writing. Teaming up with the Whiteford, Taylor, and Preston law firm, we have secured a New York-based insurance agency, C & S Int’l Insurance Brokers Inc., to issue Errors and Omissions insurance policies to protect you and your publisher. It can save you thousands of dollars in permissions for your academic publications.

• Humanities Commons – More than a year ago, we partnered with the MLA (Modern Language Association) to create web-based discussion and resource hubs known as Humanities Commons (public) and CAA Commons (CAA members only). The platforms offer our members the chance to easily share research and resources with scholars in their field and in other fields.

• More Publisher Discounts –It seems we just can’t get away from owning books. We have heard from members that they would like more book discounts. Several publishers/distributers have come forward to offer discounts to CAA members. University of Chicago Press is now offering 20%, Artbook|D.A.P. is offering 25% off online sales, and MIT Press will offer 25% off to members. Sign into your CAA member account on October 1 to view discount codes. More publishers will be announced soon.

• CAA’s Cultural and Academic Network – We know that you rely on the Annual Conference to promote your programs, network in the field, and attract new faculty and program participants. Starting this year at the Los Angeles Annual Conference (February 21–24, 2018), we will completely revamp CAA’s Candidate Center and offer your college or university a better opportunity to promote programs, connect with alumni and colleagues, and to interview prospective faculty members, all at a very affordable price. Say goodbye to the “hotel room” interview!

• An Office in New York City – Many members have told us that when they travel to NYC on business, either to see exhibitions or to conduct interviews, they would like a place to conduct an interview, catch up on email or make a few phones calls. We now have an office for out-of-town members to use at the CAA offices at 50 Broadway.

We are also presently working to secure affordable dental, vision, and health care for our members who presently do not have coverage. We see how difficult the healthcare market is for employees, for employers, and for just about anyone, and we want to do our share to help our members with this challenge. In addition, we are talking to other professional organizations about joint memberships at reduced prices. We hope to have more information to announce later this fall.

All of the other CAA membership benefits remain intact. You will continue to have access to our insightful scholarly publications, such as The Art Bulletin, Art Journal, Art Journal Open, and caareviews. You will still get access to JSTOR, CAA’s online jobs portal, and additional Taylor & Francis publications. Your discounts to art fairs and art magazines and your corporate discounts (car rental, convention hotels, and airfare) will all continue without change. In a new agreement, the International Fine Print Dealers Association will offer our members half-off admission tickets to their Fine Art Print Fair every year. Shortly, newsletter subscribers will also find a new Monday newsletter dropping into their inbox that focuses more on advocacy, jobs, and opportunities. CAA Conversations, our video interview series, will soon grow to include podcasts focusing on issues in the field of visual arts and teaching. Outside of member benefits, the CAA/Getty International Program thrives, as do our Distinguished Awards, publishing grants, and the Professional-Development Fellowship Program. We are, as is often the case, grateful to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for the continued support of RAAMP – the program to provide resources to academic art museums. Additionally, we continue to bring the Code of Fair Use in the Visual Arts to academic communities throughout the US and abroad.

We will continue to advocate for the field on the local, national, and international level, never afraid to take a stand on tough issues. We see the budget battle for federal funding for the NEA, NEH, IMLS, and all agencies that support the arts and humanities as a critical to our members. The content in the Annual Conference and in our publications remains exceptionally high. We are at the beginning stages of a rebranding process, which we plan to unveil at the 2018 Annual Conference in Los Angeles. We are working on new standards and guidelines which aid art historians, artists, and designers. We have been doing all of this while we have worked to streamline the administrative staff and keep the association as nimble as possible to meet the needs of the members.

It goes without saying:  Your input is important—Keep it coming!

Sincerely,

Hunter O’Hanian,
Executive Director