In 2021, we invited artist Jack Tan (UK) to join our Board of Trustees as artist-in-residence. Taking place over 12 months, Jack's residency explores governance, accountability and trust. At the start of his residency, we commissioned Jack to write a contract for artists that was accessible, easy to read, and free of jargon. The template for the artist contract is now available online for anyone to download and use. Please select 'Make a copy' to create your own version.
The new contract was commissioned in response to a ‘standard’ supplier contract that was sent to Jack when we invited him to become the first artist-in-residence on our Board of Trustees. The standard contract was filled with clauses that were not relevant to an artist which led to Jack questioning the document's use and accessibility. In response, we asked Jack if he would create a new, accessible artist contract that would provide both himself and other artists with the security and legal clarity they need. Jack wrote the contract taking his own learning disability into consideration (dyslexia) and the belief that legal terms can and should be written in simple language. The contract features:
A light yellow background to increase the contrast of the text
Suggested text size, spacing and fonts for easier reading
Terms such as ’supplier’ and ’the artist’ have been replaced with the artist name for better communication
Use of bookmarks to navigate through the contract easily
A concise breakdown of fees, budget and timeline
A clear outline of how the organisation will support the artist
Since its completion, we now use this contract with all of the artists that work with FACT and strongly encourage other organisations to review their contracts and use the template if access can be improved. As both a functional document and part of Jack Tan’s body of artwork, FACT and Jack hope this resource can help others to rethink what a contract is.
Jack Tan (UK) is an artist whose work explores the connection between the social, the legal and art. Using social relations and cultural norms as material, he creates performances, sculpture, video and participatory projects that highlight the rules — customs, rituals, habits and theories — that guide human behaviour. Inspired by more-than-human, queer and Asian approaches or cosmologies, Jack’s social practice blurs the boundaries between art, governance and consultancy in order to help organisations reform and revision themselves using artistic thinking. Jack is currently artist-in-residence on FACT’s Board of Trustees.
