What I have written below is part of an over all analysis of different areas of the art service industry that attempt to explain how risk is not a consistent factor but is a variable that changes based on context. Risk and risk management is something every art service project manager takes seriously and yet risk varies. What is risky on project A is no longer a factor on project B. Why is that you ask? well since you ask let me tell you. Other variables need to be considered and these other factors often dilute risk or at least make us reconsider risk. As a museum professional I take risk management very seriously and I will account for any factors that increase risk. To state the obvious increasing risk increases the potential for damage. Now review that statement through the looking glass and it can read decreaseing risk can cost money or cause delays which can cost sales. A risky act in and of itself may under certain circumstances decrease damage. For example under normal circumstances you would never yank a painting off the wall by its frame, breaking the hanging hardware and then run with the painting under your arm out to the street, unless of course you were a thief, but even the thief does not decrease the chance of damage by doing this. Now if the building is on fire, smoke is filling your gallery and the only thing you have time to grab before the building is engulfed in flames is this painting, then you decreased risk through risky actions. Of course under hazardous circumstances “leave the art and save yourself” is the safety officers mantra and rightly so and this is a dramatic and extreme situation. Could I come up with a more practical example for you. I’m sure I could but I really don’t want to. You get the idea, risk is a variable that is dependent on its circumstances. Which brings us to art fairs.
I have managed several art fair booths as a head preparator and as a commercial art shipping project manager where I would have been responsible for several booths. I have planned the booths, packed, installed and shipped the work. I’ve worked the NYC fairs and I’ve worked Miami. I know the galleries I worked for made money at the various fairs, as an art worker the work itself isn’t particularly difficult and as an artist I’ve even sold a few paintings at art fairs but as someone that actually cares about art and I don’t mean the state of art in general but in the care of the individual unique object I can tell you, I loathe art fairs. When it comes to risky practices, half-assed installation solutions that could not only damage the object but physically hurt someone and extreme temperature and humidity conditions art fairs are an art objects “Octagon” or “Thunderdome” and a petri dish for new and unusual combinations of risky endeavors. Now that I’ve made my position clear I will discuss art fairs. In case you don’t know The Octagon was a Chuck Norris movie and if you went into the octagon it was to get your ass kicked, unless you were Chuck Norris, and Thunderdome was Mad Max, same premise. OK, now I’m ready to talk about art fairs.
Art fairs are an off shoot of commercial galleries. They are used as highly visible promotions of a single artist or as a sales venue for the secondary works of their primary artists or secondary works of artists better known than any of their artists. Galleries will be looking for delivery of objects to their sales booth, possibly installation throughout the fair, storage of empty packing materials and possibly artwork storage, then at the end there will be the packing, removal and return of all items. Most projects are slow and methodical allowing for pre-planning and carefully considered adjustments. Art fairs are whirlwind projects where decisions are made on the fly. Time is money here and if the thing is sold it better be off the wall If the purpose of the booth is to sell art. The booth could also be a set up for a larger show back at the gallery so it is a presale promotion for the gallery or a specific artist. If for example well known artist “B” has left their long standing but shabby gallery and is now showing with a young, new, hip gallery that is looking to reestablish artst “B”‘s reputation as a godparent to a younger generation, then the gallery will want to keep artist “B” up regardless of sales and call the booth an installation. The booth is actually a 3D magazine ad and sales are secondary. Your job as the manager of a booth or the project manager of services for multiple booths is to know this. It may be unsaid but you need to know if you are slinging art or setting a table. If you are managing several booths you may be doing both. You need to be prepared, calm and in control, flexible, observant and responsive. Once the fair opens you and your staff need to be both visible and available. You should have documentation of and know where every artwork is at all times and you should have an installation schedule for your booth or each booth and you must track labor and delivery requests beyond the original agreement. If you are managing multiple booths you will want to document these requests by name, time and day of request and you will want a signature as you will be asked to do many things beyond your contract.
You quote art fairs based on the number of art handlers, the number of days and the number of rated hours requested. You then add your transportation and storage charges based on the number of objects transported or square footage used on a vehicle and the number of deliveries requested during the fair. At most art fairs you will have a very short window for delivery and installation and there will be great competition for delivery loading dock and floor space. Expect to work long hours and have many delays. Most art service companies will contract for art fairs using a flat rate based on volume for delivery and pick up, then charge for installation by the hour based on an hourly rate. They charge for additional deliveries on a minimum rate that escalates based on either the square feet or number of objects and the charge for storage based on the actual, measurable square feet the objects displace. Based on this many commercial galleries will overpack fitting as many objects as they can into crates and commercial bins with as little protection between them as possible. You, the project manager, still needs to know every object that is in each package. You should expect a packing list from the gallery which you want to confirm as soon as it is possible. Typically, you are accepting the shipment leaving for the art fair based on a piece count only with the packing lists attached. At the fair there will be a rush to unpack. You need to instruct the gallery and your staff that you need to document the packing lists accuracy, or you need to waive all responsibility for loss. If they agree to waive responsibility you want it documented. You should have a document stating “release of responsibility for loss” in duplicate already prepared in your management package that they can sign.
Art fairs are hectic. There will be many galleries installing at the same time and vying for facility staff attention for booth deficiencies. Walls are usually temporary and cannot hold great weight. Electrical outlets may not be abundant or operational and construction on the space may still be ongoing. You should be prepared for every hardware and tool possibility you can consider based on the objects you are transporting. You will want to provide basic amenities for your staff including water, food and backup power and chargers for power tools. If you need to climb to the top of a ladder to adjust a light here’s a bit of advice, don’t lean on the walls.
Fast and accurate documentation will be required and immediate deliveries from storage will be expected. There will be a signed contract for an art fair, but it is a service and rate-based contract. Your responsibility is to review the shipping documents in order to anticipate what materials and tools you could possibly need. You are the communication hub between the gallery representative and your staff but in the small confines of an art fair booth demands for art movement and hanging may be direct from the gallery representative to your installers. This is fine as long as it expedites the installation and doesn’t create a dangerous situation somewhere else. Your staff should be allowed to complete what they are installing before moving on to the next request. Walls will be flimsy so instruct your staff to use drills and plugs or screws rather than nails and hammers.
If I haven’t made it clear art fairs contain tremendous risk. Art handlers are moving faster than normal, and objects are subject to conditions and materials that they normally would not be subject to in their home environment. The environment itself, the booth, is not structurally sound. Actions are taken to display, pack and handle the objects quickly, with little discussion and without the proper materials and methods available.
Art fairs are high risk events and their participants will tolerate above average risk. This means they do not expect delays because again there’s the time is money thing but this does not mean that they won’t complain or ask for costs reimbursed or threaten to sue if work is damaged. Art fairs are a time to work fast and look for shortcuts but they are not a time to get sloppy. There are ways to work fast without hurting the artwork. If you’re in Miami and the humidity in your booths is close to 85% you will want to document it. If you’re in NYC and its a brisk 35 degree day in March and your booth feels every one of the 35 degrees you should document it. If its out of your control then document it. If it’s in your control and risky but manageable then figure it out and make it work. If your are being asked to do something that you know will damage the artwork than refuse unless you receive a written and signed release by someone that matters. Use you best judgement and remember the burning building. Being asked to hang a 900 pound slab of marble on a particle board dividing wall is a “NO!”, being asked to pack and remove artwork after the AC has been turned off and the humidity is close to 90% is equivalent to yanking a painting off the wall before the building bursts into flames. You know what you signed up for or at least you do now. Do your best to protect the art under bad circumstances. I can’t tell you to not do anything stupid because you’re already are handling art while your dripping sweat into the packing materials or while you can see your breath so don’t do anything dangerous and for which you will be solely responsible for when the desk guy says that he never told you to hang that piece there or to pack that piece that way. It is easy to get caught up in the fast and furious mentality of an art fair but as a professional project manager I like to think of myself as the bodyguard to the art objects that is going to a really sleazy all-night poker game. In this scenario the gallery is the disinterested spouse that’s paying for the protection as long as it doesn’t interfere with the big heist they are planning.
So in short, bottom line, art fairs should be considered high risk projects.
Chuck Agro - Project Management For The Arts 