Professional Recognition (Members only)
Registration on the Visual Artists Ireland database and access to our discount scheme as well as free or reduced rates on our services and those of our partner organisations.

Advice (Members & Non-Members)
Visual Artists Ireland provides members with a high-quality, free, independent, impartial and confidential advice and information service.  Our team of experienced professionals offer advice on a wide range of topics such as: contracts, commissions, copyright, licensing, materials sourcing, social welfare, and other areas of concern to visual artists.

Help desk (Members & Non-Members)
The help-desk is branded as one of the central services of the organisation. Issues dealt with include – public art commissioning, sourcing artists, artists’ rights, costing proposals, insurance etc. Those requesting information include members, professional artists, local authorities, the public, commissioners and arts co-ordinators.

Clinics (Members & Non-Members)
Our clinics take place on a regular basis across Ireland. Each clinic is hosted by a representative of Visual Artists Ireland. The purpose of the clinics is to provide a space for artists to come and meet each other, chat about various experiences or find help on potential issues that they are experiencing.

Professional Development (Members receive 50% discount on VAI workshops, and discounted rates on partner workshops)
Visual Artists Ireland’s Professional Development Workshops are a result of many years of experience in the field of training and knowledge sharing through conferences, workshops and discussion groups.  Aimed at professional visual artists of all levels of experience, the workshops focus on an interactive, face-to-face, and hands-on approach that enables participants to gain valuable skills.  The workshops take place in easily accessible locations.

Student Pack (Free to Student Members)
This pack has been put together for the benefit of visual and applied arts students and recent graduates making the transition into professional practice.

Members Contact Area (Members only)
Membership entitles you to inclusion on the Members Contact Area – publish you contact details and description of your practice on our website.

Discount Scheme (Members only)
Our discount scheme for members is constantly expanding.  With a wide range of services and supports being provided by organisations across Ireland, the discount scheme offers our members preferential rates and services.

Equipment & Facility Hire (Members only)
There are times when artists require pieces of equipment such as projectors, cameras, etc. to complete their work, but the costs of buying or commercially hiring are prohibitive.  VAI’s rates are aimed directly as being affordable and of good value.

Insurance (Members only)
Visual Artists Ireland has negotiated with O’Driscoll O’Neil special rates on insurance cover to protect your art practice. Insurance covered includes, public liability, goods in transit, employers liability, equipment, property damage and more.

eBulletin (Members & Non-Members)
The eBulletin is the primary email news service for the visual arts in all of Ireland.  The service is free to members and non-members, and contains information on jobs, opportunities, events, and exhibitions both locally and internationally.

Visual Artists News Sheet (Members receive it direct to their door!)
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet is the industry standard newspaper.  It contains articles, commentary as well as listings for events, exhibitions, and opportunities for artists, as well as operating a rotating regional focus on organisations and groups around the country.  The VAN also contains a critique section that looks at exhibitions and events that are taking place in Ireland.

Peer 2 Peer Studio Exchange (Members only)
This service allows visual artists, across the world, to safely and securely negotiate studio and apartment exchanges online.

Visual Artists Ireland Online (Members & Non-Members)
The Visual Artists News Sheet Archive; Printed Project Archive; The Common Room Social Network for the Visual Arts; The Visual Artists Ireland Daily; Twitter: VisArtsIreland; Facebook.

Visual Artists Ireland Area Contacts (Members & Non-Members)
Our area contacts’ role is to keep us informed of events, to assist our members locally and to increase the profile of visual artists in Northern Ireland. They assist us by advising us how to support our members as we roll out new support services that address local and national needs.

Visual Artists Ireland Smart Phone App (Members & Non-Members)
In partnership with Mayo Co Council Public Art Office, a smart phone app that will allow you to find resources and events in your area and in locations around the country.

VAI@DAS (Members only)
The new competition for professional visual artists to win a residency at DAS, Northern Ireland’s leading new media organisation for the arts. The award is part of the new partnership programme between Visual Artists Ireland and DAS.

Visual Artists Ireland is the all Ireland membership organisation for professional visual artists.

Becoming a member of Visual Artists Ireland provides a formal recognition of your status as a visual artist, offers you a wide range of professional supports, and allows you to contribute to the greater good of the visual arts sector.

We experience a constant increase in people asking for our support.  We have also seen success in terms of our lobbying both of government and media concerning the rights of visual artists.  Looking forward we can see more and more call on these services.

Our work with individual artists occupies a huge amount of time for our help desk facility.  Issues that are a constant subject for us are problems with revenue and social welfare, advice on contracts, finding the best deals on insurance, advice on how to proceed with commissions, setting up a studio, professional development, mediation, and also recently we have been dealing with cases of artists that have suffered from fraud and misrepresentation.

It is also worth noting that VAI has advertised over 3.75 million Euro’s worth of opportunities in the past 12 month period.  Added to these are the free information services that we offer, including the eBulletin, The Visual Artists News Sheet, Twitter, Facebook, RSS Feeds and our own social network for visual artists http://www.thecommonroom.net.  All of these allow artists to not only know what is going on, but also to publicise their own activities.  Already we have in excess of 1600 people signed up to The Common Room, and recently have started an international advertising campaign to make people aware of the artists who are registered on it.  With over 9,500 subscribers to the eBulletin added to the extremely high number of visitors to our website, we can now say that we are the primary comprehensive source of information for the visual arts in Ireland.

There are many other benefits to artist members such as the Supplier discount scheme, delivery of The Visual Artists News Sheet direct to your door, equipment hire, the use of VAI facilities and also 50% on all of Visual Artists Ireland’s education and discussion group programmes.  In fact, attendance on one workshop usually repays most of the membership fee.  Our Education Officer is always gathering an understanding of what current needs that artists have in this area, and has delivered a wide variety of topics in all parts of the country.

By joining Visual Artists Ireland you become part of a larger representative body supporting and promoting the rights and status of individual artists. The larger the membership the greater the mandate the organisation has to represent the interests of individual artists and the art sector.

Further details on how to join are on our website at http://visualartists.ie/join-us/become-a-member-2/