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Consent & Data Governance
Last reviewed: June 2026
UsArt Collective preserves marginalised narratives so they outlive their physical forms. Because that material belongs to the people and communities it comes from, consent is not a formality we collect once and file away. It is an ongoing relationship we are accountable to. This policy explains how we obtain, record, and honour consent for both cultural material and personal data, and how we comply with the South African Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and, where it applies, the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Before we capture, digitise, or publish any cultural material, we agree with the source community or rights-holder what is being preserved, how it may be used, who may see it, and what must stay restricted. That agreement is recorded with the archive entry, not kept separately, so the terms travel with the material.
Consent is layered and revisable. A community can permit preservation while restricting public display, allow educational use but not commercial use, or grant access to some audiences and not others. Communities retain authority over their material: they can review entries, correct context, narrow or widen permissions, or ask us to restrict, take down, or return material at any time (see Withdraw & takedown).
For personal information, we rely on the lawful bases set out in POPIA and, where the GDPR applies, Article 6: your consent; the performance of a contract or partnership; our legitimate interests in running a cultural institution (balanced against your rights); and compliance with a legal obligation. Special categories of information, and cultural material of a sensitive or sacred nature, are processed only with explicit consent or another lawful condition, and with any restrictions the community sets.
We collect only what we need: the details you provide when you contact us, enquire about a commission, or partner with us (such as your name, email, organisation, and the content of your message); records of consent and the terms attached to it; and basic, privacy-respecting analytics about how pages are used. We do not build advertising profiles and we do not sell personal information.
We use personal information to respond to enquiries, manage commissions and partnerships, administer and improve the platform, document consent, and meet our legal and archival obligations. We use cultural material strictly within the permissions granted for it.
We share personal information only with service providers that help us operate (for example, hosting, email delivery, and content infrastructure), each bound to process it on our instructions and protect it. Where information is transferred outside South Africa or the EEA, we rely on an adequacy decision or appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses. We do not transfer cultural material outside the terms agreed with its community.
Subject to POPIA and, where applicable, the GDPR, you may ask to access the personal information we hold about you; correct or update it; delete it; object to or restrict its processing; withdraw consent; and receive a portable copy. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, including the Information Regulator of South Africa.
You can withdraw consent for personal data at any time, and we will stop the processing that relied on it. Communities and rights-holders can ask us to restrict, remove, or return cultural material, or to revisit the permissions attached to it. We act on these requests promptly, explain anything we are legally required to retain, and confirm what we have done.
We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purpose it was collected for, or as the law requires, and then delete or anonymise it. Cultural material is retained under the terms of its consent record. We protect all of it with appropriate technical and organisational measures, and limit access to those who need it.
To exercise any right, withdraw consent, or raise a consent or data-governance matter, contact our Information Officer at hello@usartcollective.com or through the form below. We aim to respond within 5 business days.