On the 10th anniversary of the European Confederation of Watercolour Societies
A short historic overview
ECWS : Signing of the Statutes, 1998
The European Confederation of Watercolour Societies (acronym : ECWS) was founded on March 14th 1998 on the occasion of the inauguration of the annual watercolour exhibition in Mol, a remote village in the Belgian "Lake district".
Three societies were involved in the initiative : the Belgian "Aquarelinstituut van België" (AIB), which had launched the idea, the Italian "Associazione Italiana Acquerellisti"(AIA), which had seconded it enthusiastically and the British "Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours" (RI), which had marked its interest. The statutes were solemnly signed by Swa Claes, President of the AIB and by Angelo Gorlini, President of the AIA, during a ceremony in a spacious gallery looking out over the lake and in the presence of an odd hundred witnesses, artists and artlovers. The President of the RI, Ronald Maddox, had made an apology for not being able to be present.
Less than two years later, the Scandinavian watercolour society, "Nordiska Akvarellsällskapet" (NAS), joined the confederation. The President, Björn Ericsson, signed the statutes on February 16th 2000. Thereby the action radius of the confederation was greatly magnified and now encompassed the countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The number of individual members increased by about 2000.
During the following years five Spanish societies applied for membership of the confederation and, after the statutory requirements had been verified, they adhered. President Juan Carmaniu of the watercolour society of Aragon, "Agrupaciòn de Acuarelistas de Aragón" (AADA), signed the statutes on January 25th 2001. The Basque society, "Agrupaciòn de Acuarelistas Vascos" (AAV), joined when President Juan Antonio Uriarte signed the statutes on February 8th 2001.
For the Madrid based society, "Agrupaciòn Española de Acuarelistas" (AEDA), President Jaime Galdeano signed on April 5th 2001. On behalf of the Catalonian society, "Agrupacio d'Acuarelistes de Catalunya" (AAC), President Vincenç Ballestar signed on April 15th 2002. And finally on May 28th 2002, the "Agrupaciòn de Acuarelistas de Andalucìa" (AAA) joined under the signature of President Lucas Prado. At those occasions it became apparent how venerable some of these societies were : for instance, the society of Catalonia had been founded in 1865.
On September 1st 2003 the Finnish watercolour society, "Suomen Akvarellitaiteen Yhdistys" (FWS), under the presidency of ambassador Antti Lassila, affiliated to the confederation. The latest of the Spanish societies to become a member of the confederation was the "Grupo de Acuarelistas de Baleares" (GAB); their President Juan Aguilar Caballero signed on December 22nd 2003.
By that time the confederation had put itself on the map between the Mediterranean and the Arctic Circle. It was felt however that an important link was missing : Great Britain, the cradle of Western European watercolour tradition. The three British "royal" societies were therefore kindly invited to join the confederation. The "Royal Watercolour Society" expressed its interest in a membership but wished to postpone a decision. The "Royal Institute" seems to prefer its "splendid isolation". The "Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour" (RSW), however, accepted and on July 13th 2006, the President John Inglis signed the statutes. Thereby a symbolic bridge across the Channel had been built.
In the meantime the French aquarellistes had organised themselves and created the "Société Française de l'Aquarelle" (SFA). Although the French situation was still rather fragmented it was considered of immense value to have this country with its great tradition in the visual arts as a member of the confederation. The statutes were signed by the President, Annie Chemin, on March 3rd 2006.
The European Confederation of Watercolour Societies had now assembled twelve watercolour societies, representing ten European countries. Of course, many more established associations of painters in watercolours exist throughout the continent and with the extension of the European Union towards Eastern Europe there is a great number of potential members available for the confederation. It was thought wise, however, to pause for a while and let the organisation mature.
The annual exhibition of the ECWS is held in the different member countries and organised in turn by the confederated societies. Next to the exhibition there are also other activities, such as colloquia, guided tours and painting workshops. Each exhibition is professionally documented with a splendid catalogue. To minimise the administrative work these activities require, the member-societies usually integrate them in their own working as an extension of their regular programme. During the past decade these events took place in the following venues :
As can be seen from this list, in the beginning the founding members, Belgium and Italy, have taken the task upon them, but as the confederation gathers cruising speed the other countries are taking over.
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| ECWS : Antwerp 2005 | ECWS : Bilbao 2006 |
One problem in joining together groups of painters from such a variety of traditions into one federation is the fact that the societies are structured in different ways. The Scandinavians for example, have brought together the five Nordic countries into one society. Their populations are so scattered throughout the vast area that practically no personal contacts are possible. The Spanish painters on the contrary are divided in regional societies and seem to have an active social intercourse. In other cases the society covers only a part of the national territory. Another problem is the different recruiting criteria for individuals as member of the societies. It cannot be denied that within the societies there is vast difference in artistic level and in the balance of amateurism versus professionalism. This is inevitable because some of the societies also play the role of "schools". The investigation of these particulars is in itself an interesting study of art history. It will be a task for the ECWS, perhaps the most difficult one, to harmonise the different outlooks while stimulating a cross fertilisation.
ECWS : Ronneby 2007
The European Confederation of Watercolour Societies can play a crucial role by confronting the different traditions and schools. Not only the large international exhibitions but even more so the personal acquaintance between artists sharing the same passion is a springboard for new results in technique and vision and may lead the way to a contemporary form of artistic expression.
Piet Van Leuven
Aquarelinstituut van België