Community Agreements

Constitution

Article 1 – Community Agreements

Section 1 – High Violations
- P1 – High violations may bypass a group vote for immediate suspension and / or membership dissolution if agreed by a unanimous decision of all facilitators minus any facilitator(s) who may be involved with the violation. Without a unanimous decision an emergency group meeting will be called within 72 hours of making the violation known. (See Member Dissolution Procedures)
- P2 – No acts of violence or threats of violence will be tolerated including but not limited to:
  - a. Telling members to kill themselves
  - b. Threatening to harm a member with an act of violence
  - c. Threatening to destroy or damage an artist’s equipment or artwork
  - d. Intentionally destroying or damaging an artist’s equipment or artwork
  - e. Threats of blackmail or extortion
  - f. Committing assault and battery
- P3 – No acts of sexual harassment or assault will be tolerated including but not limited to:
  - a. Non-consensual touching
  - b. Stalking
  - c. Sexual comments about person’s body
  - d. Making advances towards members or group attendees after being told to stop
Section 2 – Lesser Violations
- P1 – Lesser violations may be met with Conflict Resolution or sanctioned with 30 day probation, temporary suspension as agreed by 3/4 or more non-involved facilitators, or Member Dissolution Procedures).
- P2 No selling drugs to members or attendees of events.
  - a. Personal recreational use of substances is acceptable if it does not lead to members or attendees feeling uncomfortable by your behavior with continued violations resulting in conflict resolution, probation, suspension, or dissolution.
- P3 No theft of member’s works, belongings, or supplies will be tolerated
  - a. Members will have a chance to explain and return any property taken by mistake and the offended party may decide if they want the offender to be sanctioned or not through conflict resolution.
- P4 No hateful or bigoted language, this includes but is not limited to:
  - a. Disparaging people on the basis of race, sex, sexuality, gender identity, mental and physical abilities, age, nationality, or religion.
  - b. While we advocate for free expression in our creative works, if a member feels you have violated this boundary, this can lead to conflict resolution and escalation upon repeated offenses to probation, suspension and Membership Dissolution Procedures.
- P5 Promotion of harmful rumors and/or gossip of members will not be tolerated. This includes but is not limited to:
  - a. Spreading or promoting hearsay of members regarding a member’s personal, romantic, intimate, or social activities and/or statuses which could be construed as harmful to their reputation for the sake of promoting harm or embarrassment to the member.
  - b. Spreading or promoting member’s medical history which could be considered embarrassing or harmful to their reputation.
  - c. Revealing member’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity if said orientation or identity is known to be private particularly if the spread of such information could lead to embarrassment or harm to the member.
  - d. Spreading or revealing one’s privately disclosed personal information particularly if the revealed party disclosed said information under the explicit understanding of maintaining confidentiality.
- P6 Retaliation for initiating conflict resolution will not be tolerated.
  - a. Member’s are given the expectation of privacy for disclosure of information during the initial stages (1 and 2) of conflict resolution unless they explicitly grant permission to disclose their identity during the first two stages of conflict resolution except in the case of initiating conflict resolution against two or more facilitators which requires a group discussion on the matter.
  - b. Regardless of how an accused party discovered the identity of an accusing party during conflict resolution, actions which may be seen as retaliatory will not be permitted including but not limited to: exclusion from group activities, de-prioritization from group activities, rude remarks, attempts to turn members out of favor with the accusing party, and retaliatory gossip.
Section 3 – Membership Dissolution Procedures
- P1 – In cases of High Violations, non-facilitator membership may be subject to immediate suspension pending an investigation and group vote by facilitators through a unanimous facilitator vote as a matter of preserving the safety of its members.
- P2 – In cases of High Violations involving one facilitator, a unanimous vote of the remaining facilitators may be enacted to preserve the safety of its members to suspend the facilitator’s membership and facilitator status pending an investigation and group vote.
- P3 – In cases of High Violations involving two or more facilitators, an emergency vote will be called within 48 hours by at least two non-involved facilitators for the group to vote to suspend the accused facilitator(s) membership pending an investigation requiring a 3/4 of votes the available members.
- P4 – In an emergency meeting, the accused party or parties will be allowed up to 30 minutes each (with the ability to add more time with a 50% or more available members vote) to make their case to prevent membership dissolution or advocate for alternate sanctions or they may voluntarily dissolve their membership prior to the meeting or before voting. A non-involved facilitator who called the meeting may take 30 minutes (with the ability to add more time with a 50% or more available members vote) to make the case for membership dissolution or alternate sanctions. If a member is involved as the affected party of the accused, they may choose to testify as to the violation made against them.
- P5 – In a non-emergency meeting involving a Lesser violation, the accused party or parties may make their case to the group for 30 minutes each (with the ability to add more time with a 50% or more available members vote). Witnesses may be called to testify by an agreed upon arbiter who will also act to provide the case against the accused.
  - a. After the case has been made by the accuser and accused party or parties, members may decide on appropriate sanctions ratified by a 3/4 available members vote.
Section 4 – Conflict Resolution and Sanctions
- P1 Conflict resolution between two parties may be initiated by any party within the group.
  - a. Step one (optional) – The offended party may communicate directly with the accused offender to try to resolve the issue amicably without further escalation.
  - b. Step two (escalation) – If the offended party cannot or does not feel comfortable to resolve the matter with the accused offender directly, they may contact a Head Facilitator to mediate between the accused offender and offended party independently and/or together as however the offended party feels comfortable. At this stage the offended party may maintain confidentiality at their own discretion from the accused party between the offended party and the head facilitator of their choice.
  - c. Step three (escalation) – The facilitator may call on a non-emergency or emergency meeting depending if the violation was a High Violation, Lesser Violation, or Non-Listed Violation.
- P2 Conflict resolution involving one Head Facilitator as the accused offender will require at least two facilitators to mediate chosen by the offended party upon escalation.
  - a. Step one (optional) – The offended party may communicate directly with the accused offender to try to resolve the issue amicably without further escalation.
  - b. Step two (escalation) – If the offended party cannot or does not feel comfortable to resolve the matter with the accused offender directly, they may contact Two Facilitators to mediate between the accused offender and offended party independently and/or together as however the offended party feels comfortable.
  - c. Step three (escalation) – Either facilitator may call on a non-emergency or emergency meeting depending if the violation was a High Violation, Lesser Violation, or Non-Listed Violation.
- P3 Conflict resolution involving Two or more Head Facilitators will go directly to a group meeting.
  - a. Step one – The offended party may present their case and call upon witnesses with a mediator agreed upon by the non-involved facilitators and the offended party.
  - b. The accused parties will each be allowed 10 minutes (or more if agreed upon by 3 or more non-involved facilitators) to present their case. Afterwards the group will openly discuss possible sanctions or attempt to resolve the matter amicably.
- P4 Sanctions may include the following if agreed by a 3/4 vote of the available group with proxies granted in advance of the meeting to members.
  - a. 30 Day Probation – While on probation, if a member commits another violation verified by another facilitator, they will be subject to immediate membership dissolution without a vote. Non-involved facilitators will inform the group if the probation has been violated.
  - b. 1-30 Day Suspension – While suspended, members will be muted from official chats and uninvited from appearing at events though if agreed by the group, their works may still be present at events, workshops, vendors, or applicable festivals.
- P5 Membership Dissolution – If a group or facilitator vote has resulted in a membership dissolution the following actions will occur:
  - a. Dissolved Member will be removed from all official group chats.
  - b. Dissolved Member will not be allowed to attend or participate in group sponsored events except in cases where membership dissolution was voluntary without being involved in any violations and the group votes in a 3/4 available member vote to allow participation.
  - c. Dissolved Member will be removed from the group website.
  - d. In cases involving facilitators, they will be stripped of their facilitator status in addition to the previous membership dissolution effects listed. Dissolved Facilitators may or may not receive compensation for upcoming events they may have helped prepare for after a unanimous remaining facilitator vote. In the event of a non unanimous facilitator vote, a group vote of 3/4 available members will be made to decide if compensation is warranted. A new election will be held within 7 days of a Facilitator having their position dissolved.
  - e. Dissolved Members will have 10 days after the dissolution to collect their belongings from any shared spaces leased to or belonging to Kindred Arts ATX. They may personally acquire their belongings under supervision of another facilitator on an agreed upon date. After 10 days, belongings will be placed outside the premises for the dissolved member to collect.

Article 2 – Roles

Section 1 – Roles
- P1 – Head Facilitators exist as structural founding members starting with three Head Facilitators with possibility of adding more in the future through Constitutional Amendment elections as needed.
  - a. Manage the social media apps (instagram, facebook, tik tok, et al), official email address, and group website http://www.kindredartsatx.com.
  - b. Coordinate with vendors and hosts. Creating and signing contracts on behalf of the group.
  - c. Organize social events for members.
  - d. Organize large group and facilitator meetings.
  - e. Onboard new members.
  - f. Mediate conflict resolution when applicable.
  - g. Coordinate commission payments for facilitators, members, and vendors when applicable.
  - h. Coordinate with facilitators for major events, workshops, and festivals.
  - i. Participate in promotional material
  - j. Admin ad hoc duties when needed
  - k. Assisting other facilitators when needed
- P2 – Fine Arts Facilitator manages the received artwork and related duties with two positions and a three month term.
  - a. Collecting submitted art work
  - b. Organizing and hanging art work as applicable to the medium
  - c. Recruiting fine arts talent
  - d. Communicating with artists on drop off and pick up
  - e. Collecting information for art details
  - f. Printing and posting art cards
  - g. Set up and take down for events
- P3 – Live Performance Facilitator manages the duties related to the performers and musicians involved with one position and a three month term.
  - a. Coordinating with live performers and musicians on their wants and needs
  - b. Collecting signed contracts from performers
  - c. Setting up speakers, microphones, lights, and other electrical equipment relevant for performers
  - d. Putting away equipment after shows
  - e. Recruiting musicians and live performers
  - f. dispersing payments as applicable
  - g. Ensuring safety of performers by keeping performance spaces clear of debris
- P4 – Promotional Facilitator manages the promotional work and advertising related to the group and associated duties with two positions and a three month term.
  - a. Creating promotional content to advertise and promote the group and its members
  - b. Recording events formal and social to use as material
  - c. Taking pictures to submit to the website and social media pages
  - d. Creating and coordinating banners and fliers
  - e. Reaching out to businesses and organizations to promote the group
  - f. Recruiting people interested in vending and attending events
- P5 – Facilitators will receive a cut of commissions voted on based on each event to help pay for their time and material spent preparing for an event.
  - a. Additional commission may be used to reimburse agreed upon expenses by the facilitators.

Article 3 – Elections

Section 1 – Voting Procedures
- P1 – Elections will be announced at least 7 days in advance with attempts to make it possible for every member to vote directly or by proxy.
- P2 – Votes may be made either in person, via email, or through the group website.
- P3 – If a Members challenges whether their vote was correctly applied and a 3/4 available members vote agrees, votes for an election may become public for auditing purposes.
- P3 – Elections will last for 72 hours to give time for members to cast their vote.
- P4 – if a member cannot make a vote within the 72 hour time frame, they may agree to proxy their vote to another member of their choice with a facilitator made privy to approve the proxy.
Section 2 – Constitutional Elections
- P1 – The group will hold constitutional elections every 12 months to amend the constitution based on proposals submitted by members and facilitators and reaffirm the existing constitution if applicable.
- P2 – Emergency Constitutional Elections may be called by a unanimous vote of the facilitators.
Section 3 – Facilitator Elections
- P1 – Roles for facilitator positions including Fine Arts, Live Performance, and Promotional Facilitator will be made every three months.
Section 4 – Transfer of power
- P1 – If a head facilitator steps down or is replaced via membership dissolution due to High Violations or Repeated Low Violations, they will need to hand over information to the incoming head facilitator all information regarding credentials for the email, website, and social media

Article 4 – Finances

Section 1 – Budgeting Procedures
- P1 – All budgets for the group using funds drawn from the official Kindred Arts ATX bank account will require a 3/4 vote from the facilitators and be presented for discussion to the group.
- P2 – Non-facilitator members may veto a budget with a 3/4 vote from available members during a monthly members vote.

Article 5 – Amendments to the Constitution

Section 1 – After the initial constitution is ratified by a 3/4 available members vote, future amendments to the constitution will be made while preserving the original constitution’s original language but appropriately crossed out with amendments noted at the end of the existing constitution. Crossed out sections will no longer be applicable to the group’s infrastructure but will exist to preserve the spirit and word of the original constitution so it may not be forgotten as the group grows.