AICA Statutes
Statutes revised 2025
Preamble
The International Association of Art Critics, or l’Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art (hereinafter referred to as "AICA"), is an international non-governmental association founded in 1950, following two international congresses in 1948 and in 1949 held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France.
AICA is a non-profit organisation subject to French law of 1 July 1901 and the decree of 16 August 1901, whose declaration was published in the Journal Officiel on 21 July 1950 and whose last revised version was published in the Journal Officiel on 26 February 2005.
AICA International maintains formal relations with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The Statutes of the International Association of Art Critics is the core document of the organisation. The Regulations are the Internal document of AICA International and complete the Statutes.
The working languages of the Association are English, French and Spanish.
Article 1 Name, Registered Office, Term and Fiscal year
1.1 Name
The name of the Organisation is “Association Internationale des Critiques d’art” (International Association of Art Critics) or AICA. Use of the name and acronym is subject to restrictions and may only be used by and for the uses and benefit of the Organisation and its members.
1.2 Registered Office
The registered office of AICA is located at 32 rue Yves Toudic 75010 Paris. Relocation of the registered office within the Paris Region is subject to the approval of the Board. Relocation of the registered office to another part of France or another country is subject to the approval of the General Assembly.
1.3 Term
The term of AICA shall be indefinite.
1.4 Fiscal year
The fiscal year shall begin on 1 January and shall end on 31 December of each year.
Article 2 Aims and Activities
1. AICA brings together visual art professionals keen to develop international cooperation in the field of art criticism. Its fields of interest include: fine arts, graphics, photography, installation, computer art, all forms of live art, video, film, architecture, design and all hybrid forms of contemporary art.
2. Its aim is to promote art criticism, to protect the moral and professional interests of art critics, to facilitate and extend information and international exchanges, to contribute to mutual understanding and collaboration with international, national and other cultural organizations, and to defend and promote freedom of expression and creation.
3. The Association may organise public colloquia, lectures, seminars, discussions and other activities connected with the visual arts. It may also take the lead, in writing, translating, editing, filming, recording and publishing material. It may create temporary or permanent working groups and undertake surveys and research, either on its own initiative or in collaboration with other organisations whose aims are not incompatible with its own.
4. AICA encourages research, advances knowledge and raises public awareness of artistic and cultural issues through global networks and cooperative programs.
Article 3 Members – Membership fees
There are three types of Members: Ordinary, Honorary National Members and Honorary International Members.
3.1 Ordinary Members
To become an ordinary member, one must produce evidence of sustained activity concerning visual arts as defined in Art. 2.1 over a minimum of three previous years, in one or more of the following areas:
a) Press publications
b) Radio, TV or electronic media broadcasting
c) Publications on art history, aesthetics or criticism that are primarily, but not exclusively, concerned with the modern and contemporary visual arts of all cultures
d) Teaching of art criticism, art history, theory, aesthetics, curating, or art, at university level
e) Curatorial projects, including work for museums or galleries, whose principal aim is not commercial
To become an ordinary member of AICA, candidates need first to join either a National Section or the Open Section. National Sections forward the application form of new members to the Secretary General. They are then analysed by the Electoral and Membership Committee in terms of their complying with AICA membership rules, and after their approval, the new members are admitted by the General Assembly.
3.2. National and International Honorary Members
Honorary Members are nominated for their outstanding distinction in the field of art criticism or in other areas related closely to the Association’s critical concerns or for rendering exceptional services to art criticism or to AICA.
National Honorary Members are nominated and elected by the Section to which they belong, or which they now join. The President of the Section must register their details with the AICA Int. Office. International Honorary Members must be nominated and seconded by two members of the Board with voting rights in all matters, only one of whom may be part of the Secretariat. Their candidatures are submitted to the Electoral and Membership Committee, which then recommends the candidatures to the General Assembly for endorsement.
3.3. Honorary National and International Presidents
Outgoing National Presidents may be elected Honorary National Presidents by the Section that they belong to.
Outgoing International Presidents may be elected Honorary Presidents at the General Assembly, if approved by a two-thirds majority in a secret ballot. Nominations for election to the position of Honorary President must be proposed and seconded by two members of the Board, with or without voting rights.
3.4 Annual Membership Fee
Each ordinary Member of AICA shall pay an annual membership fee at a rate stipulated by the Board and approved by the General Assembly. The annual membership fee shall cover the calendar year in question. New Members start paying a membership fee from the year following the year in which they were admitted.
The annual fees are collected by the National Sections from their members, paid to the Association and recorded by the Treasurer.
The annual fees of the National Honorary Members and National Honorary Presidents are paid by the National Section. The annual fees of the International Honorary Members and International Honorary Presidents are waived.
National Sections or individual members of an Open Section experiencing genuine difficulties with their payments, owing to causes beyond their control, such as war, hyperinflation, currency restrictions or civil commotion, are under an obligation to negotiate with the Treasurer a solution to their temporary difficulties. They can be temporarily waived from payment upon the decision of the Board on the recommendation of the Treasurer.
3.5 Membership Privileges
New members shall receive a membership card immediately after being approved by the General Assembly.
All Members who have a valid sticker and voting rights, may vote during the General Assembly and Board meetings.
All members who have a valid sticker may join the Committees.
All Members who paid their annual fees may stand for the elections of President, Secretary-General, Treasurer, Vice-Presidents, International Board Members, and Chairs of Committees.
All members have access to the “Members Access” area of the Association’s website.
3.6 Termination of Membership
AICA membership may be terminated either by voluntary withdrawal or by a decision of the General Assembly after the written recommendation of the Board for any of the following reasons
1. Non-payment of annual fees for two subsequent years after formal notice of the payment due.
2. If the member commits a serious offence that undermines the purpose or reputation of the Association or one of its members, or risks harming its existence or operation.
The procedure for expulsion is specified in the internal regulations.
Article 4 Voting
The Agenda of meetings and elections of the Association shall specify the terms of participation, whether the votes at these meetings and elections may be cast by show of hands, by paper ballot (either cast at the meeting and/or by correspondence), by electronic ballot and/or by any other means of telecommunication. These means may be used either individually or jointly.
The decisions of the General Assembly and the recommendations of the Board require endorsement by an absolute majority of the members who are present and eligible to vote. The votes of the Chair of the Board Meeting and the Chair of the General Assembly are decisive, in case of a tie in the voting. If there is a tie in a secret ballot, the Chair of the meeting will decide the outcome by tossing a coin. An exception is the elections of Presidents and Vice-Presidents when a second round of voting is required.
Voting for the posts of President, Honorary President, Secretary-General, Treasurer, Vice-Presidents, and Regional Secretary, if any, for the ten International Board Members and Chairs of Committees, is by secret ballot. Voting is on the basis of an absolute majority, including No votes and Abstentions except for the posts of Vice-President, International Board Member and Chairs of Committees when a relative majority is admissible.
Voting on the amendments of the Statutes and Regulations is on a basis of the majority of two thirds of the General Assembly. The change of location of the AICA office outside of Paris, and the dissolution of the Association is on the basis of the majority of three quarters
Article 5 Governance of AICA
AICA is composed as follows:
i. General Assembly
ii. Board
iii. Secretariat consisting of a President, a Secretary General and a Treasurer supported by the AICA office coordinator
iv. Sections (National and an Open one)
v. Regional Secretariats (optional)
vi. Committees
vii. AICA’s Archive at the Archives de la critique d’art, Rennes, Brittany
The association takes care to prevent and manage any real, potential or apparent conflict that may exist between its interests and the personal or professional interests of one of its directors, members of its committees, employees or any person acting on behalf of the association.
Article 6 General Assembly
The General Assembly is the main policy-making and legislative body of AICA. It consists of all members of the Association, who paid their annual fees or had their fees paid by them, as well as members exempt from payment by the Treasurer: Honorary International Members, Honorary International Presidents, and members of sections that undergo extraordinary circumstances.
6.1 Meetings
The General Assembly may hold Ordinary and Extraordinary meetings.
The minimum advance notice before the Ordinary and Extraordinary General Assembly which is to take place onsite is 60 days, and organized by electronic means is 30 days. The date and time are announced through an email sent to all members and through the website. The Secretariat may alter the date and place of the General Assembly in case of force majeure.
The Secretariat sets the agenda of the General Assembly which shall be made available at least 30 days before the Meeting. Documents shall be published on the AICA website and communicated to all Members.
The General Assembly (Ordinary and Extraordinary) is chaired by the President, or in his/her absence by the Secretary General.
There is no quorum required.
Proxy voting is not allowed.
In all issues voting of the General Assembly is based on the absolute majority except for the dissolution of the Association, changing the location or Statutes amendments.
Ordinary General Assembly
The Ordinary General Assembly meets at least once a year and is convened by the Secretariat.
The Ordinary General Assembly may meet by electronic means under conditions defined by the Regulations, enabling the identification and effective participation of members and the continuous and simultaneous retransmission of deliberations.
In all issues, voting of the Ordinary General Assembly is based on the absolute majority of the members present.
Extraordinary General Assembly
An Extraordinary General Assembly may be convened at the request of the Secretariat, the Board or at least five Sections, one of which may be the Open Section, for any proposed transformation, dissolution of the Association, change of registered office, amendment of the Statutes and Regulations.
The Extraordinary General Assembly may meet by electronic means under conditions defined by the Regulations, enabling the identification and effective participation of members and the continuous and simultaneous retransmission of deliberations.
Decisions are taken by a three-quarter or two-thirds majority of members present.
6.2 Minutes
A report on the deliberations and decisions of each Assembly shall be prepared by the Secretary General and signed by the President. Copies shall be made available to members in electronic or printed form. The minutes must indicate the date, place and agenda of the meeting, the mode of convening and the names of the members present or being represented, the documents and reports submitted for discussion, a summary of the debates, and the texts of the resolutions in addition to the results of the votes and the texts of decisions.
Article 7 Board
The Board studies, and approves, all matters concerning the organisation, management and cultural programme of the Association.
The Board consists of members with and without voting rights.
Members with voting rights are:
1. the Secretariat: the President, the Secretary-General and the Treasurer
2. the Presidents of National Sections
3. the Vice-Presidents
4. International Board Members
5. the Regional Secretaries (if any)
6. the Chairs of Committees
Members without voting rights are:
1. Honorary International Presidents
2. Former Secretaries-General and Treasurers
3. International Honorary Members.
A representative of Archives de la critique d’art is a Board member with voting rights for matters concerning the Archives only.
The members of the Board, including the Secretariat, are not remunerated for the work they do for AICA.
7.1 Meetings
The Board meets at least once a year.
The meeting is convened by the President or at the request of at least 20 Board members with voting rights. The meeting is chaired by the President, or at his/her absence by the Secretary General. A Board Member with voting rights who is unable to attend a meeting may nominate his/her proxy.
A quorum of at least one-fourth of Board members and their proxies is required for valid deliberations. This requirement for a quorum may be lifted at the request of the President, subject to a vote in favour by a majority of those members with voting rights who are present at the time.
The Board may meet by electronic means under conditions defined by the Regulations, enabling the identification and effective participation of members and the continuous and simultaneous retransmission of deliberations.
In all issues voting of the Board is based on the absolute majority.
7.2 Minutes
A report on the deliberations and decisions of each Board meeting shall be prepared by the Secretary General and signed by the President. Copies shall be made available to members in electronic or printed form. The minutes must indicate the date, place and agenda of the meeting, the mode of convening and the names of the members present or being represented, the documents and reports submitted for discussion, a summary of the debates, and the texts of the resolutions in addition to the results of the votes and the texts of decisions.
Article 8 Secretariat
The Secretariat of the Association consists of the President, the Secretary-General, the Treasurer and, where applicable, their Deputies. Deputies have one vote each only when the Secretary-General and/or the Treasurer are absent. It meets at least once a year, and whenever the President deems necessary.
The Secretariat is responsible for the appointment of an[AT1] Office Coordinator.
Members of the Secretariat act on a voluntary basis within the scope of their responsibilities. Only expenses incurred in the performance of their duties are reimbursed, based on receipts.
8.1 President
The President shall be elected by the General Assembly for a three (3)-year term of office and can be re-elected for a second term consisting of the same duration only once, with or without a break.
All Members who paid their annual fees are eligible to stand for the Presidency, upon nomination by their National Section or by one other Section, in the event of their being unable to secure the nomination of their own Section, or if they belong to the Open Section.
The President shall set the strategic orientation pertaining to AICA’s activities in its capacity as an international organisation representing art professionals and is responsible for implementing the decisions taken by the General Assembly and the Board.
The President is responsible for the financial conduct of the Association and shall represent AICA within the scope of all civil acts.
The President shall be entitled to represent the Association in legal proceedings.
The signature of the President binds AICA in agreements with third parties.
The President shall convene and chair General Assembly and Board meetings and is a member ex officio of all Committees.
Between the sessions of the Board, the decisions taken by the President shall be within the framework of the budget approved by the Board.
The President shall be entitled to address urgent issues and provide ad hoc solutions in cooperation with the Secretariat. Such actions shall be reported to the Board at the earliest opportunity with an explanation of the emergency and the subsequent action.
The President shall delegate authority to the designated person to manage AICA’s day-to-day operations and represent him/her if necessary.
The President may be assisted by an Advisory Group of members of her or his choice.
The President may designate one member of the Board to represent the Association on the Board of the Archives de la critique d’art, Rennes.
8.2 Secretary-General
The Secretary-General is elected by the General Assembly after a call for candidates for a three (3)-year term of office and can be re-elected for a second mandate consisting of the same duration with or without a break in between.
The Secretary-General is responsible for the overall administration of the Association according to the Statutes and Regulations.
S/he is responsible for implementing the decisions of the General Assembly and the Board; for the internal operations of the Association, the website and updating of the membership directory; for facilitating the work of all Committees; for providing a service to the National Sections; for publishing regular information about the Association’s activities, worldwide; for presenting reports on activity to the Board and the General Assembly; for archiving signed minutes in original versions on paper of all meetings of AICA Int. and of all correspondence and other documents in hard copies and in digital form; and for archiving old versions of the website in hard copies and in digital form.
The implementation of the Secretary-General’s administrative decisions requires the approval of the President and the Treasurer.
Any exercise of her or his legal and administrative responsibilities which entails any form of financial decisions or expenditure that exceeds pre-agreed limits requires the approval of the President and the Treasurer.
S/he may represent the Association on official occasions and in all official acts and legal affairs, at the request of the President.
8.3 Treasurer
The Treasurer shall be elected by the General Assembly after a call for candidates for a three (3)-year term of office and can be re-elected for a second mandate consisting of the same duration with or without a break in between.
The Treasurer shall establish the guidelines necessary for AICA’s financial policy, in collaboration with the President, for the approval of the Board, for examining the financial results of AICA, and for periodically reporting to the Board and the General Assembly.
Article 9 Vice-Presidents and International Board Members
9.1. The nine (9) Vice-Presidents shall be elected by the General Assembly for a three (3) – year term of office. Three of them are replaced each year.
Vice-Presidents can be re-elected for another term consisting of the same duration after a period of one year that has elapsed since s/he last held the post, and may serve a total of four three-year terms.
The Vice-Presidents shall carry out the functions and tasks assigned to them by the President and report to the General Assembly.
9.2. Ten (10) International Board Members are elected by the General Assembly for a one (1) year term and may be re-elected up to three more times, with or without breaks in between.
Article 10 Vacancies
If the President steps down prematurely or is seriously incapacitated for a period of more than four weeks, the Secretary-General will assume interim control of the Association’s affairs. If until 6 months the President is not restored to her or his full capacity, the Board resolves either to elect an Acting President, from among the ranks of the nine Vice-Presidents, or to bring forward the date of the next Presidential elections. The term of office of an Acting President shall not exceed the term of office of the elected President.
If a Secretary General or Treasurer steps down before the end of their term, the Board shall appoint an Acting Secretary-General or Acting Treasurer until new elections can be held.
If a Vice-president or an International Board Member steps down prematurely, the position remains vacant until the next elections.
Article 11 National Sections and Open Section
11.1 National Sections.
To establish a new National Section there should be at least five applications for membership at the outset.
A National Section is a separate legal entity and may be authorised by the Board to represent the interests of art professionals and to organise the activities of AICA in that country and internationally.
National Sections have their own Statutes and optional Regulations, which need to comply with the one of AICA International in terms of: general aims of AICA (see Article 2), criteria for accepting new members (who can become a member) (Article 3.1), method of accepting new members, length of a term of the President / Secretary General / Treasurer (standard 3 years), re-election of the Board.
The National Statutes are subject to approval by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Board and the Statutes Committee, which only analyses the compatibility with AICA International Statutes on the above listed issues.
National sections must hold a meeting every year to which all members are invited.
11.2. Open Section
The Open Section is composed of members who, for valid reasons do not wish, or are unable, to join one of the National Sections. The Board of the Open Section is made up of the International President, the Secretary-General and the Treasurer, ex officio. The Statutes and Regulations, if any, of the Open Section are subject to the same conditions and constraints as those of the National Sections of AICA.
Article 12 Regional Secretariats
A Regional Secretariat may be authorised by the General Assembly to serve as a forum for the exchange of information and co-operation between critics from various National Sections in the region. The activities of Regional Secretariats shall conform to the AICA statutory aims.
The Regional Secretary is elected by the General Assembly for a term of three (3) years and may be re-elected only once with or without a break in between.
The Regional Secretary may choose to organize a Regional Secretariat by inviting the representatives of all countries in the region to collaborate. S/he is required to keep the Secretary-General informed of her or his Region’s activities at least once a year.
Article 13 Committees
Committees may be formed by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Board or the Secretariat, to perform tasks that the Board has decided to undertake.
Any member of AICA can be a Committee member.
Chairs of Committees are chosen among all AICA members after a call for candidates. They are elected by the nearest annual General Assembly for the period of three (3) years, immediately renewable only once for the period of the same duration. Before the possible re-election there is no need for a call for candidates but a vote for approval by the General Assembly is required.
If the Chair of the Committee steps down prematurely, another Committee member is chosen as an interim Chair by its members, until the next General Assembly. The three-year period of a new Chair is counted from the moment of his/her election.
The President of AICA is an ex officio member of all Committees established by the General Assembly.
The Committees are required to report to the Board, and then to the General Assembly at least once a year.
The Committees may offer suggestions, propose work programs and make formal recommendations, but may not take any decision concerning the ethical or financial responsibility of AICA Int. without the approval of the Secretariat.
Article 14 Income and Disbursements
14. 1 Income
The financial resources of AICA consist of the following:
1) membership fees;
2) income from AICA’s assets and activities;
3) subsidies from partners, institutions;
4) gifts, donations and bequests approved for use during the financial year;
5) resources created on an exceptional basis and, where applicable, with the approval of the competent authority;
6) proceeds from sales and fees received for services rendered;
7) any other resources, revenues or subsidies not prohibited by current laws and regulations.
14.2 Disbursements
Expenditure of AICA funds shall only be permitted to be made in accordance with the annual budget prepared under the guidelines established by the Treasurer and approved by the Finance Committee.
The Finance Committee is composed of at least three members appointed by the Ordinary General Assembly. The Finance Committee exercises its right of control by examining the accounts and records, including the accountant’s report and supporting documents, one month before the General Assembly. It reports to the Secretariat on a regular basis, to the Board and to the General Assembly.
Article 15 Validation and Amendments
15.1 Implementation
These Statutes shall become effective immediately upon adoption by the General Assembly. Resolutions of the General Assembly concerning the amendment of the Statutes, the dissolution, and the distribution of assets in case of dissolution are sent without delay to the Minister of the Interior Affairs.
15.2 Official Document
Since AICA is registered in France as an Association governed by the French law Association 1901, the French-language version of these Statutes shall be deemed the official document on which all future translations are to be based. In the event of litigation or misunderstanding, the French-language Statutes shall be deemed applicable for the purposes of clarification.
15. 3 Amendments
The Secretariat, the Board, the General Assembly, Sections, and Regional Secretariats shall be permitted to propose amendments to the Statutes as well as to the Regulations. They need to be voted through by an Extraordinary General Assembly.
15.4 Regulations
The association sets Regulations approved by the General Assembly, which specify the application of these Statutes.
It is amended under the same conditions.
Article 16 Dissolution
16.1 Authority for Dissolution
The Extraordinary General Assembly may be permitted to take a decision to dissolve the Association.
16.2 Assets of the Organisation
In the event of voluntary, statutory or court-ordered dissolution, the Association's assets will be distributed in accordance with article 9 of the 1901 law.
Under no circumstances may members of the association declare themselves to be the beneficiaries of the assets.
The General Assembly will allocate the net assets to one or more establishments with a similar purpose, either public, or recognized as being of public utility, or benefiting from the capacity to receive donations by virtue of article 6 of law of July 1, 1901, or to a local authority within whose remit the association's purpose falls.