Terms

Correspondence is a simple participatory painting project. The following terms explain how the project operates and what participants can expect when taking part.

These Terms & Conditions govern participation in the Correspondence project operated by David Sidney Bell (“the Artist”), based in Sanremo, Italy. By submitting an observation to the project, participants confirm that they have read and accepted these Terms & Conditions.

1. Voluntary Participation

Participation in Correspondence is voluntary and undertaken at the participant’s own discretion. Participants submit written observations for possible selection as prompts for paintings within the project. No purchase or payment is required to participate.

2. Selection of Observations

Participants may submit one observation in response to a weekly prompt and any subsequent ones will be disregarded. All submitted observations enter the weekly pool from which one observation is selected at random for each painting produced.

3. Creation of Paintings

Each selected observation inspires a painting created by the Artist. The resulting painting is an artistic interpretation by the Artist and is not intended to reproduce the observation literally. Each painting begins as a single work and is subsequently divided into two parts. The left side (“Left Painting”) may be sent to the participant whose observation was selected. The other painting (“Right Painting”) may remain in the Artist’s studio archive in Italy. Participants have no entitlement to the Right Painting.

4. Ownership

If a participant receives a painting as part of this project, ownership of that physical artwork transfers to the participant upon delivery to the postal address provided by the participant. Participants are entitled to the Left Painting only. Participants do not obtain any rights or claims to the Right Painting, the complete undivided painting, any archival records associated with the work, or any digital or archival records associated with the work.

5. Postal Address

If a participant’s observation is selected, the participant will be asked to provide a postal address for delivery. The participant must provide an address where they normally receive postal correspondence, or an address for which they have permission to receive mail. The participant must provide the postal address within 7 calendar days of the request. If a postal address is not received within this period, the work will be classified as an ‘orphan’ and may remain in the studio archive. The artist is not responsible for incorrect or incomplete addresses supplied by participants.

6. Personal Data (GDPR)

Participants may provide personal information such as a name, email address, or postal address in order to participate in the project or receive a painting.

This information is used solely for communication relating to the Correspondence project, for delivery of artworks, and for maintaining project and archival records.

The Artist may retain records of participants who receive artworks, including their name, email address, postal address, and the corresponding artwork, for the purposes of documentation, provenance, and administration of the project.

Personal data will never be sold or shared with third parties except where necessary for postal delivery services.

Participants may request deletion of personal contact information where appropriate. However, archival records relating to artworks may be retained as part of the permanent record of the project.

Data will be handled in accordance with applicable European data protection regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

7. Project Documentation and Public Visibility

Correspondence is an ongoing artistic project that may be documented publicly through exhibitions, publications, websites, and social media associated with the project.

Participant contributions, including submitted observations and resulting artworks, may appear in this documentation together with limited identifying information such as the participant’s name, city or region, and country.

Participants may request that their name not be displayed. In such cases, the participant will be identified simply as “Anonymous.” This request can be made when confirming the postal address for the artwork.

A participant’s full postal address will never be disclosed or published as part of the project documentation.sed publicly.

8. Shipping

Paintings are sent using standard untracked postal services from Italy. Paintings are sent on loose canvas and may be folded for shipping. The Artist does not guarantee delivery times. For shipments outside the European Union, customs documentation may be completed with a nominal declared value (typically €5) as required by postal regulations. This nominal value is used solely for postal and customs processing and does not represent a sale price or commercial transaction. In the unlikely event that customs duties, taxes, or other charges are imposed by the destination country, these charges are the responsibility of the recipient, not the Artist. The Artist will not accept claims for reimbursement.

9. Condition of Artwork

Paintings are sent in good faith and in reasonable condition. Participants accept that works are sent through standard postal systems and may show minor variations or handling marks resulting from the shipping process, and such variations or marks are part of the artwork. The artwork is accepted in the condition in which it arrives at the postal address.

10. Lost or Undelivered Works

If a painting is lost in transit or cannot be delivered, the Artist is not obligated to replace the work. Some works may therefore remain unreceived. These works remain part of the project record.

11. Returned Works

If a painting is returned to the Artist due to an undeliverable address or other postal or customs reason, the work may be retained in the studio archive. The Artist is not obligated to resend returned works.

12. Participant Contribution

Participants contribute observations voluntarily. Submission of an observation does not create employment, partnership, collaboration, or financial obligation between the participant and the Artist. Participants are not entitled to compensation for their contribution to the project.

13. Copyright and Use

All paintings and project documentation produced within Correspondence are artworks authored by the Artist. Submission of an observation does not create any authorship rights in the resulting artwork.

Copyright in the artworks and related images remains with the Artist. Images relating to the project may be shared or adapted by anyone for non-commercial purposes provided appropriate credit to the Artist and the project is included, in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial licence (CC BY-NC).

Commercial use, reproduction, licensing, or other commercial exploitation of the artworks or project documentation requires the prior agreement of the Artist.

By submitting an observation to the project, participants grant the Artist permission to use the observation within the Correspondence project. This may include its use as the title of a painting and within project documentation, publications, exhibitions, and online material relating to the project. Participants acknowledge that no payment, royalty, or other compensation is owed for the use of submitted observations within the project.

14. Jurisdiction

These Terms & Conditions are governed by the laws of Italy. Any disputes arising in relation to participation in the project are subject to Italian jurisdiction.

15. Changes to the Project

The Artist reserves the right to modify operational aspects of the project where necessary.

These Terms & Conditions remain the governing framework for participation unless formally revised and republished.

How to Participate

Correspondence
A distributed painting project by David Bell, the Artist.
Sanremo, Italy, 14 March 2026