Survey: Best Practices for Museums Working with Living Artists

CIMAM's Museum Watch Committee is launching an important initiative to develop a framework of ethical principles to guide the relationship of museums working with living artists, with the aim of establishing fair, transparent and human-oriented collaborations in all types of museums around the world.

In today's increasingly multipolar and globalized world, marked by growing economic and social inequalities and widespread crises, artists face more precarious conditions than ever.

This one-year project aims to develop globally informed ethical principles to guide the relationship between museums and living artists—principles grounded in fairness, transparency, and mutual respect, with a commitment to preserving the integrity of the institution and the artist.

Preliminary research has revealed a lack of ethical criteria and resources to govern museum practices when working with living artists. From commissioning works for exhibitions or collections to managing relationships with exhibiting artists, there appears to be a wide disparity of practices among museums.

This project presents an opportunity to develop a set of ethical principles to help museums support the living artists with whom they collaborate, prioritizing ethics, rights of expression, ownership, transparency, and trust, and fostering stronger, human-centered, and sustainable relationships between institutions and artists.

The study will not only focus on the legal aspects of this relationship but will also emphasize the human dimension involved in collaborations between museums and living artists.

These principles can apply to modern and contemporary art museums, as well as art biennials, Kunsthalles, art foundations, cultural institutions, public galleries, and cultural centers.

By promoting greater transparency, fairness, and respect for artists, the project aims to provide an international reference framework to guide and inspire the development of these relationships in alignment with ethical and professional standards.

We now call on CIMAM members to help us identify the challenges and existing practices to develop a framework of ethical principles that:

• Improves the support of museums for living artists.
• Prioritizes ethics, rights of expression, ownership, transparency and trust.
• Fosters stronger, human-centered, and sustainable relationships between institutions and artists.

Three Key Perspectives

To ensure a comprehensive understanding, the research will integrate three essential perspectives:

• The artist’s perspective
• The museum perspective
• The legal perspective (as a mediating entity in the relationship)

To facilitate this process, the CIMAM Board is establishing a Steering Committee made up of experts to advise on each of these perspectives. This committee will be instrumental in identifying key challenges in the relationship between museums and artists and in supporting the research, findings, and development of relevant principles.

Call for Participation:

We invite all CIMAM members to contribute and be part of this initiative.

You can do this by participating in this short, one-question survey, which is open from May 12 to May 30.

Your comments and experiences will help build a global view of current tensions and areas in need of guidance. Participation in the survey can be anonymous, or you may choose to leave your email address for follow-up regarding interviews or discussion groups.

We greatly appreciate your contribution.

The CIMAM Museum Watch Committee