Commercial galleries range from loosely run mom and pop stores to mega-galleries with locations around the globe that verge on museum quality conditions and controls for their collection. Regardless of its size a commercial galleries relationship to the collection is as a merchant to their product. They may truly love the art they exhibit and they may truly believe in its importance but their existence often depends on their ability to exhibit and sell artwork and to promote their artists. There is no shame in this. There was one instance where I was asked to unpack, condition report and install a large object at the receiving end of a commercial gallery relocation. It was myself and one other person. There was no incident and the gallery was happy with the results. Several weeks later I was reviewing an incoming shipment at a museum and this same piece was included in the shipment. I counted fifteen museum staff doing basically what I did with two people. This isn’t intended to mock but to make you aware that different industries will have very different requirements, or variables, that distort a budget and timeline. I would no more quote a museum two art handlers for the large framed object I handled than I would try to sell a crew of fifteen to a commercial gallery for the same object. If you are quoting a project you need to know the industries’ variables, That is the point of this exercise. A commercial gallery will have less available staff than a museum. A museum is responsible for the care and upkeep of the object and a museums concern is protecting an object’s condition for future generations. A commercial galleries concern will be for the protection of the objects value.
Your average mid-sized commercial gallery project will be much smaller in scope than the average small museum project. Obviously there are commercial galleries of every size but consider which commercial gallery would request an estimate for a project. A one to two person gallery where the owner is also the primary sales agent, the preparator and the registrar will not require a quote for a project. What they may need is an estimate for a move. You will begin to see project requests when a gallery grows to include the basic eight positions; gallery manager, registrar, preparator, storage manager, sales agent, publicist, book-keeper and receptionist. An average to high number of employee s filling these positions indicates that the gallery will have multiple display and office areas as well as artwork in multiple locations, including; exhibition and show room spaces and internal, external and possibly dead or personal storage rooms. These eight positions also isolate the owner from any unnecessary communication other than artist meetings, sales meetings and for their approval and signature. You will meet the owner and they me be part of your initial discussions but they will not be your primary contact. Your primary contact will be the preparator or registrar.
Sometimes these positions are combined and you may have a preparator/registrar or gallery manager/sales. Too many combinations of titles may indicate that your time spent on a project plan and budget will have been wasted and this also may turn into a quote for a move. That means they will pay for the service but they don’t want to pay for the organization and management and truthfully if it is a small consolidated collection they may not need it. Listen carefully at your first meeting and ask the obvious questions on collection size, purpose of move, receiving location and what services they expect they will need. If all staff is working in one open office and all objects are stored in the gallery or possibly the gallery and one small storage location then chances are you are looking at a quote for a pack and pick up. A pack with just a piece count usually doesn’t require a detailed plan but a pack with registration and condition reports might. if you don’t see the need for a plan and a separate project manager than suggest a lower cost option. They will appreciate it.
If you are an employee of the gallery and you have been asked to either plan the project or hire someone to plan the project you would want to approach it in the same manner. If you find that the move would be complicated and disruptive, if it requires time consuming tasks for each piece, if it would require you to be in multiple locations simultaneously and most importantly if you wouldn’t be able to do your regular job and the gallery is expecting you to continue releasing objects and setting up viewings, then let them know that this is a project requiring planning and close attention as well as additional staff. You might do it is your sole obligation or they should hire a competent company and project manager and you will supervise them, as well as continue to do your own job. If it isn’t that complicated then let them know it’s not a project, it’s only a pack and move. They will appreciate it…unless you are wrong so know what you are talking about.
A project plan would be required when objects are in multiple locations both internal and external and the volume and value of the objects requires consolidation and staggered shipments. When you see you will need separate crews to release and receive and for packing, staging and recording specific tasks at each location, and if failure at any location will effect the timing of all locations. and if the result of this failure increases both time and cost as well as an increase in risk then you should have a move needs management and a project plan. If the gallery feels the cost of the delays and possible risks is less than your project plan they may not use it. If you have made any recommendation that lessens risk, and possible loss or damage be sure to get your recommendation and their refusal in writing.
Commercial projects require less discussion and pre-planning meetings than museum projects. Do not misunderstand this. You will have meetings to discuss your project proposal. There just won’t be as many and there will be less people involved. You will also have a detailed plan but there will only be two to three individuals that you will need to discuss this with and come to an agreement and the plan will not have to be as fine in detail. You will scheduled by the day whereas the museum project was scheduled by the hour to account for all conflicts. You also won’t have to adjust your plan to satisfy as many stake holders.
Commercial gallery projects will usually have one primary point of contact. This will be a gallery manager or head preparator representing the gallery and the owner of the gallery and there will usually be a registrar involved representing the gallery but except for a very few of the largest commercial galleries there will not be object specialists or conservators on staff overseeing your actions. The two to three largest international galleries will have several specialists on staff and should be considered small museums when planning as their communication needs and contacts may be as great or greater than a museum of the same size but even for the largest galleries the communication requirements and checkpoints required will be less than for most museum projects. Your primary project management responsibilities will be to keep the project on the agreed upon schedule and budget and provide status and budget updates as needed.
Your location documentation must be impeccable because unlike the tremendous lead time a museum requires to release an object, a commercial gallery could pull an object from a truck at any moment or ask that it be returned based on a viewing request or sale. You want to always know where an object is located and you want to be prepared for contingencies or requests for separate billing. If the gallery tells you to remove an object from your list then pack it and ship it to Mr. Collector you will want to call your sales department and have them contact the gallery. This is a request for a separate job, Never treat it as if it is part of your project, These requests need to be billed and documented separately from the project. The additional requests may not add to a projects cost but they do leave a hole of time in your schedule that needs to be justified if you go past the agreed upon end date. You want every delay documented and signed for.
A commercial gallery will most likely be self-funding the project. Funds for the project can be drawn from any area of the gallery including the owner’s personal finances. The project may move quickly from quote to contract. Delayed access to their collection is frozen income. They may need immediate access to the objects and lists may change with little notice. They are concerned about the safety of the objects, but they are also concerned about cost. They will most likely not have objects going into long-term or “deep” storage. The packing and the materials used would be chosen for quick turnaround unless and will probably be non-archival unless you are instructed otherwise. You want to propose a cost for the removal of the materials at the receiving end as well as identify the material to be removed as non-archival and harmful to the short and long term safety of the objects. If they refuse this service for any reason have this marked as refused service and signed by a gallery representative with the authority to make that decision. You want identify the removal of hazardous materials upfront when you are drafting the quote, It should not be a separate document presented after the quote is accepted. That always comes off like you’re trying to sell a warranty on a toaster. People don’t like the upsell and they will lose rust.
Unlike museums, commercial galleries are more likely to have you figure out the problems and less likely to want to review, discuss and then pay for them. This leaves you with more autonomy as a project manager, but you will also have less information to work with and you also take on more risk in particular where managing the budget is concerned.
The objects in their collection may have shifting value to the commercial gallery, but they are valuable to the artist that created them, they are valuable to the collector that collects them and you never know what their future holds,. You have no say in how casually the object can be handled, ever. Your packing methods and materials and paperwork requirements may differ based on the object but there is no object that you should ever handle with less care and less respect than any other. Your job is to handle the objects in your care with respect regardless of the name or value.
Acceptable risk to save time and money at the upper 10-20% of commercial galleries is similar to a museums. Low standards and high risk a at the lower 10-20% of commercial galleries is often a standard business practice. This may include conditions for storage, exposure to light and risky moving practices, Risky art handling methods are tolerated and you need to be sure to recommend otherwise and then document and rejection. If they refuse to sign then sign and date the document yourself and be sure to have it on file,
That leaves about 60-80% of the galleries in the low to high middle that you will need to evaluate, offer the best long-term and the average short-term low risk solutions then if the request a high risky solution document the request, if the request goes beyond risky to dangerous refuse the project.
Have I ever accepted a high risk project? I can’t deny it because anyone that knows me, knows that I have. I only did so If I believed a had a greater than 50% chance of success and the reward for the project balanced the risk and made it worthwhile,. You’ll have to read my book when it comes out to understand how to do that and protect yourself at the same time.
I might accept a risky project because I liked, knew or respected the artist or gallery and I knew they were taking the risk because of lack of funds. That would have been my way of helping and protecting a friend.
There is a last place projects may go and it is always a dangerous place. This is when you accept a high risk to dangerous project because no one else will and you are cocky as hell that you and your staff can pull it off. You may do it to test yourself, you may do it for the rush, you may do it for many reasons. If you do, be confident that you can succeed, have a solid plan in place and be sure everyone knows their role. Make the client aware of the risks involved and have them agree to your plan, and never put your life or health or any one else’s life or health at risk…ever, Like the cliché goes, it’s fun until,,,,,
Commercial gallery projects are generally medium risk events with the average commercial gallery tolerant of some risk. Commercial galleries risk acceptance can range from low to high and you should have a clear idea of which it is by asking a few relevant questions about the project before developing a plan or quote.
Chuck Agro - Project Management For The Arts 