Coronavirus: Updating Course Directory for Cancellations and Postponements

Over the weekend - and following recent announcements about travel restrictions and border closures - I  started to update the International Directory of Classes, Courses and Workshops in Botanical Art & Illustration on my Botanical Art and Artists website.

As a result:

• the Europe and USA pages have been updated for
  • notices about travel restrictions
  • notifications of cancellations or postponements - where I've seen these or been informed about them.
• the UK and Australasia pages to date have minimal updates

The notice is typically along the lines of the following.....

CORONAVIRUS: Courses indicated below may be subject to cancellation or postponement.
Please contact the organiser for the latest situation. It's possible courses will be rescheduled for a later date.

IF YOU TEACH A COURSE - THIS IS WHAT YOU CAN DO...

If you know for definite that the course you are teaching is:

• either CANCELLED
• or POSTPONED

I'd very much appreciate it if you could use the form at the bottom of the relevant page and let me know. I will then amend the directory - and will ALSO indicate the rescheduled date for you as and when this happens.

The pages are:

• UK: Botanical Art Courses
• Europe: Botanical Art Courses and Holidays
• North America: Botanical Art Courses
• Australasia: Botanical Art Courses

A reminder about law and regulations

I'be begun to hear one or two stories relating to art teachers (generally) cancelling workshops but with little regard for their legal obligations in relation to

• contract law and
• regulations relating to distance selling (online).

I'm sure this is happening because people are unaware of the standards they need to follow when trading generally or online and the application or otherwise of force majeure.

FORCE MAJEURE

"Force majeure" is normally defined as unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract.

It's important to note that the concept of force majeure in relation to contracts varies from country to country.

Where coronavirus causes business disruption, from fulfilment of deliveries to cancellation of events, a common question is whether commercial parties can rely on force majeure clauses in their contracts.

I'm not a lawyer and am unable to comment on whether or not specific circumstances are covered by force majeure. That's something each organiser must check for themselves.

WEBINAR ABOUT FORCE MAJEURE

Suzanne Dibble, the lawyer who runs the very helpful Facebook Group: GDPR For Online Entrepreneurs (UK, US, CA, AU) is running a webinar on Wednesday 18th March at 12.30pm in London .

You can sign up at Covid-19: understanding when force majeure applies and when you can cancel contracts

REMINDER OF LAW AND REGULATIONS

Can I also take this opportunity to remind course organisers that:

• you are required by law to indicate the terms and conditions in relation to cancellations and refunds relating to a course booking (i.e. you are entering into a contract and all relevant law applies - however you execute it)
  
• a link to your cancellation and refunds policy link should be evident on every page which promotes a specific course - and should also be obvious. PDF files are a good tool for this.
  
• it's wise always to send complete documentation relating to all terms and conditions - including cancellations (by either party - organiser or student) and refunds and privacy - to the person booking a course and/or provide a link where these can be found.
  
• there is a body of law and regulations relating to failure to perform a contract and it's very unwise to leave yourself open to a financial claim aginst your buiness for non-performance of the contract.  For example if you fail to demonstrate awareness of basic law and regulations relating to trading and/or distance selling.
• it's always wise to
  • make EXPLICIT what your course EXCLUDES and hence what the student needs to contract for seperately (eg travel, accommodation) and
  • always encourage your students to use travel insurance to cover untoward eventualities. (While bearing in mind that the terms and conditions of insurance needs to be read very carefully as to what it does and does not cover).
    
  • take out your own business insurance for business interruption which covers the need to cancel a course for various specified reasons. (Note that artist-specific insurance typically limits business interruption cover to a studio where the business is conducted e.g. art is produced)
    

[UPDATE: There's a lot to be said for flexibility by all parties given the extremely unusual circumstances e.g. postponing a course to a future date / following year rather than cancellation. That said that's only possible when you can get a future date for the venue and it fits in with other commitments. I'm sure with goodwill all round, it's possible to find a positive outcome some of the time - although obviously I'm sure we all recognise that's not always possible]

There are two pages on my website which can help some of you begin to get to grips with

• Trading Law & Regulations for Artists (UK) - these trading standards specifically relate to the UK although a number of basic principles are common or very similar in other countries too.
• E-commerce for Artists - for those using a website or email or anything other site online to market their classes, courses and workshops.

As always information is offered with NO LIABILITY. It's up to you to satisfy yourself you know what you need to know when conducting business so as to remain on the right side of the law.

INSURANCE

In addition insurance for both course organisers and students may or may not cover the current situation and the interruption to normal business.

I now understand it is totally impossible to get any insurance which provides cover for coronavirus.

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Coronavirus - more help for a botanical art business

Coronavirus, COVID-19 and Art - on my Art Business Info for Artists website, is a NEW resource page about coronavirus / covid-19 in relation to: artists and art education / exhibitions / fairs / galleries / schools /  societies.  It's generic rather than specifically related to botanical artand illustration but (although still under development) is scoped to cover:

• Updates
• Risk Management
• Practical Measures & Solutions
  
• Innovations / Good Ideas
• Closures of Art Galleries & Museums
• Cancellation / Postponement of
  • Art Fairs
  • Art Exhibitions
  • Classes, Courses, Workshops
  • Art Schools
    

I'm also writing blog posts on my main blog Making A Mark about different aspects of how the current situation is affecting art generally and artists with a business specifically:

• Coronavirus & Art #1: Risk Management for Artists & Art Events
• Coronavirus & Art #2: Thoughts and recommendations on the implications of a pandemic
• Covid-19 and Art #3: The timeline for cancellations and postponements?