DACS appoints new Board members
Image 3: Sophie Dawson
DACS is delighted to announce three new appointments to the DACS Board: Cedar Lewisohn, artist and DACS member; Oliver Evans, Senior Director, Maureen Paley; and Dónall Curtin, experienced accountant, board director and business leader, who will join its Board in Autumn 2022.
As the leading UK visual artists’ organisation protecting artists’ rights, DACS has appointed three new directors to the board, to work alongside Chair Margaret Heffernan and fellow board members to help deliver on DACS’ mission to support the essential business of being an artist.
Last month DACS published its latest Annual Review which reveals that 79,000 artists and estates received £17.2 million in royalties through our services in 2021. Royalties are an essential source of income for artists, helping them to continue making work and supporting estates to protect artists’ legacies.
To benefit artists long term, DACS is leading a coalition of arts organisations, to campaign for the Smart Fund which could generate between £250-300 million a year to better support visual artists and the wider cultural industries. The campaign has received significant cross-sector support and echoes mechanisms that exist in 45 other countries, where levies applied to the sales of electronic devices are paid to creators as a copyright royalty.
We are fortunate to have a fantastic board to advise us and help guide DACS in our mission to support the business of being an artist. We are delighted to welcome three new Directors to Board: Dónall Curtin, who brings tremendous financial expertise, Oliver Evans who brings experience and perspective of art galleries and DACS member Cedar Lewisohn, representing the voice of artists.
It is an honour to become a DACS Board member and to contribute to a strategic vision I strongly believe in - to safeguard artists’ rights and in the process transform the financial landscape for visual artists.
I am delighted to join the board of DACS and to use my years of experience working in the contemporary art world in order to further help support the careers of the creative practitioners who rely on the services of this vital organisation.
I am proud to be part of the Board and share my perspective as both an artist and DACS member. DACS is an important organisation supporting the livelihoods of thousands of artists each year and I look forward to helping shape its future.
Biographical details of the new board members:
Donall Curtin
Donall is an experienced accountant, board director and business leader with a background in Finance, Corporate Governance, Audit and Risk Management and extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. Board directorships include Green Effects Investments plc, Arts Council, European Movement Ireland, Office of Government Procurement, Health Insurance Authority, Chambers of Commerce Ireland, Visual Artists Ireland, Abbey Theatre, Glencree Centre for Peace & Reconciliation, Irish College Leuven. He is Founder of one of Ireland’s leading accountancy practices.
Oliver Evans
Oliver is Senior Director at Maureen Paley where he programmes and co-curates gallery exhibitions and events. He has worked, in a voluntary capacity, with the Gallery Climate Coalition since 2021 and examples of his writing and photography have been published in various catalogues and magazines. Oliver holds an MA in Fine Art from Slade School of Fine Art.
Cedar Lewisohn
Cedar Lewisohn is an artist, writer and currently works as a curator at The Southbank Centre, London, having held previous curatorial roles at The Museum of London, Hangar Biocca, Birmingham Museums, Northwestern (Qatar), Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Cedar has written for and edited numerous periodicals and is the author of Street Art (2008). Cedar holds a degree from the Camberwell College of Art and was a Researcher at The Jan Van Eyck Academie, Maastricht.
Find out more about our of governance and the DACS Board here.
