Artists often seek access to particular spaces when they are acquiring tangible or intangible materials with which to work, to display their work (think graffiti), or to perform. U.S. constitutional law distinguishes among four types of spaces for purposes of free speech and privacy law; a basic introduction to differences among these spaces is available in the text by Braman under GOVERN: Legal Basics. Privacy law also protects certain spaces from intrusion – even for expressive or information-collection purposes -- under various conditions. Journalists are deeply interested in access to spaces because of their need to gather information of all types, so some of these materials are addressed to members of the press but are also applicable to artists.
An excellent handbook that synthesizes laws and regulations that apply to access to either public or private spaces.
Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press [www.rcfp.org]
Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press/Access to Places
A more detailed analysis of the constraints on speech in public forums dedicated to particular purposes.
Doug Linder, University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School [www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/home.html]
Doug Linder/Restricting Speech in the Designated Public Forum
Ethnic or racial discrimination is not a legally acceptable ground to restrict access to places.
Asian Legal Resource Centre [www.alrc.net]
Asian Legal Resource Centre/Discrimination in Access to Places, Vehicles, and Facilities
Basics on access to places for bloggers.
Electronic Frontier Foundation [www.eff.org]
EFF/Bloggers’ FAQ: Media Access
Access to records, access to meetings of public groups, and access to other types of places are often considered together.
Student Press Law Center [www.splc.org]
SPLC/Access to Records, Meetings & Places
An overview of access to the spaces of governmental decision-making.
First Amendment Center [www.firstamendmentcenter.org]
Douglas Lee/Open Meetings: Overview
Access to meetings of public bodies is determined by open meetings laws at the federal and state levels. The website for this legal treatise on the subject provides an overview.
Open Meeting Laws [openmeetinglaws.com]
Ann Taylor Schwing/Open Meeting Laws 2d