Carl Schwebel (Google Docs) <comments-noreply@docs.google.com> To: Josh Schwebel <privatejosh@gmail.com>
Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA | ![]() |
Welcome to The Employee email archive.
The Employee (2020-2021) was a year-long artwork by Joshua Schwebel that took place at Forest City Gallery (FCG) in London, Ontario. One of Canada's first artist-run centres, FCG has been publicly funded for almost 50 years, yet is staffed by a single, part-time employee whose disproportionate workload is not uncommon in the sector. To realize The Employee, Schwebel obtained a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to hire a performer, “the employee,” performed by artist Camille-Zoé Valcourt-Synnott, who he delegated to write funding applications on behalf of FCG. With this protocol, Schwebel intended to reinforce FCG’s capacity, while the gallery provided a framework through which administrative activities would be signified as art. Ultimately, none of the employee’s grant applications were successful.
This archive is published in parallel with a printed publication of the same name, edited by Schwebel and Lauren Wetmore with contributions by the editors, Mariane Bourcheix-Laporte, Teresa Carlesimo, Bopha Chhay, Dana Kopel, Michelle Lacombe, Denise Ryner, Camille-Zoé Valcourt-Synnott, and Marina Vishmidt. The Employee is co-published by Art Metropole and FCG. The artist gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, without which this project would not have occurred.
The archive constitutes a trace of the artwork and the publication, documenting the continuous administrative labour of communication involved in cultural work. It contains every email sent and received in connection to the project and throughout its duration. Redactions were made to respect peoples’ privacy, or to indicate correspondence with those who declined permission to include their emails in the archive.
Select an email thread to begin.
Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA | ![]() |
![]() | Josh contract 2 |
![]() | Josh SchwebelI think that if the gallery terminates the contract, they should be responsible for writing a letter explaining themselves for the purposes of the arts council, since I will be on the hook for paying back the unspent portion of my funding. |
![]() | Carl SchwebelNewThen the Gallery should only be permitted to terminate the agreement for cause; that is, if you breech this agreement and fail to remedy the breech within a period of time [say 14 days] after notice of the breech. Should it be the same for you? That is, that you can only terminate for fault? You would need to be able to terminate if you were unable to perform [e.g. to continue paying the Employee because your funding was pulled, or if you became ill. |
Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA | ![]() |
![]() | Josh contract 2 |
![]() | Josh Schwebelover x amount of months / amount per month |
![]() | Josh Schwebelhow to balance out the wage |
![]() | Carl SchwebelNewI think it is better to have monthly invoices for services. It gives you a separate record of what the Employee is doing; and it is consistent with the Employee being an independent contractor. Sub-clause 2(b) sets a limit on the total amount payable. If you are concerned that the money will be used up too quickly, we can put a monthly cap on fees in the employment contract. |
Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA | ![]() |