Board approved: June 22, 2009
INTRODUCTION
The Exhibitions/Collections/Programmes Committee received its task or charge from the Board of the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands and has undertaken to establish operating guidelines for the staff and Board of the National Gallery, and as a source of information for the general public.
The Exhibitions Policy is intended to direct the organizational purposes, goals, objectives and responsibilities of the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands and to increase and protect the holdings of the National Gallery (i.e., increase knowledge, guarantee title). The Exhibitions Policy is intended to be a permanent policy with broad, clear provisions, tailored to meet the requirements of the Board of the National Gallery, the community, donors, as well as relevant laws and professional standards. The Exhibitions Policy is intended to provide useful instruction and direction, to avoid procedural minutiae, and to maintain flexibility for prudent ad hoc decisions of the Board of the National Gallery.
*Note: the Director shall be responsible for the Curator's role if and for so long as there is no separate appointment to that position.
1.0 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:
It shall be a policy of the governing Board of the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (hereinafter "Board") to hold regularly scheduled exhibitions whether on and off of National Gallery premises in order to promote and develop the arts, exhibition, research and education for the public benefit.
1.1 Mission Statement:
The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands promotes and encourages the awareness, appreciation and practice of the visual arts in the three Cayman Islands.
1.2 Functions of the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands:
· To organise and maintain permanent and temporary public works of art;
· To collect and preserve significant works of art for a public collection;
· To facilitate the public exhibition of works of art or collections of works of art loaned by persons or bodies for that purpose;
· To present, or facilitate the presentation by others, of programmes of instruction in the visual arts;
· To lend works of art in the national collection to other art galleries for the purpose of promoting the culture of the Islands abroad;
· To encourage the evolution and enjoyment of the arts in the Islands;
· To promote the appreciation and interpretation of the visual arts as an integral component of education;
· To foster and encourage research in the visual arts;
· To provide facilities for the curation and restoration of works of art; and
· To perform such other functions as may be necessary to direct, manage and control the National Gallery and to fulfill its purpose specified in the National Gallery Law section 4.
1.3 Exhibition Focus:
Within the context of paragraphs 1.1 to 1.3 above, the National Gallery shall endeavour to display as much Caymanian and regional artwork of appropriate quality as reasonably practicable within the annual exhibition schedule.
1.4 The bylaws and/or charter of the National Gallery, relevant laws and statutes, and rules governing National Gallery operations (i.e., Exhibition Code of Ethics) may also be consulted for exhibition guidance purposes.
1.5 The act of exhibiting will be based upon the National Gallery's ability to insure and protect the items on exhibit according to accepted museum standards. All items on exhibition shall be handled, stored and/or displayed under conditions which ensure the maintenance of their physical integrity and availability for National Gallery use.
The Collection/Exhibition/Programme Committee is responsible for the display of artworks in the National Gallery, taking into account, security and conservation requirements.
1.6 Exhibition Contract. For ALL exhibitions at the National Gallery, regardless of origin or status, the following guidelines are to be followed:
a) An Exhibition contract must be used for every Exhibition. This contract should clearly define all the responsibilities of both the NG, the contracted party and/or the exhibiting artist(s). The contract will include: transport of exhibition to/from NG, including insurance (nail to nail) and packing; advertising; catalogue; announcements; frames; special installations; photography of work; reception arrangements; and confirm methods of financing for all other expenses arising from Exhibition.
b) Artists will be expected to provide educational materials such as slide lectures and workshops that will benefit the general public, schools or special interest groups.
c) The Collection/Exhibition Committee along with the Gallery Director and Curator will review all applications for exhibition and determine all requirements such as visits to artists studios, allocations of rooms, scheduling and the hiring of volunteers.
d) All exhibitions should be planned at least six months in advance, and upon approval, the exhibition contract must be completed and signed by both the NG and the exhibitor(s).
2.0 DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES
2.1 The Board may acquire, hold and dispose of personal property (including collections) and real estate in order to further the purposes of the National Gallery.
2.2 A Exhibition/Collections Committee shall be designated by the Board to oversee all exhibition activities. The Committee will be comprised in half by Board members, and will include the Director and the Curator and other lay people and professionals.
2.3 The Director of the National Gallery is in charge of the daily functions of the National Gallery.
2.4 The Curator is responsible for the selection and display of exhibitions and is in turn directed by the Director and the Management Board. The Curator will supply a synopsis of prospective exhibitions for Board approval before the exhibitions run, and a report on the exhibitions after they have run, to the Board. The Curator, along with the Director and the Exhibitions/Collections Committee is responsible for the search and display of varied and quality exhibitions.
2.5 All staff and Board members of the National Gallery are expected to follow the standards of professional performance, such as those established by the Code of Ethics of ICOM, as described in the Collections Manual.
2.6 In maintaining a standard of excellence for an impartial evaluation of issues regarding exhibitions, any conflict of interest on the part of any committee member or the Gallery Director/Curator, must be disclosed prior to any discussion of these issues. This individual must absent himself/herself during the ensuing discussion. He/She must refrain from voting or trying to influence voting on the acceptance or rejection of an artwork or exhibition.
3.0 LOANS AND ITEMS IN NATIONAL GALLERY CUSTODY
3.1 The Exhibition/Collections Committee shall, on the advice of the Director and Curator, recommend and propose loans to and from the National Gallery collections, subject to execution of an acceptable loan agreement. The Board will be promptly informed of all loan activities.
3.2 Out-going Loans:
As applicable, the borrower of any item from the National Gallery collections shall be required to:
· be accredited by recognized museum associations, such as the American Association of Museums (AAM), Arts Federation of America (AFA) or other professional organizations; and
· be financially and physically responsible for items from the National Gallery collections; and
· insure all items (purchase or appraisal value) in transit and on location; and
· detail the physical controls for the safety of the items while on loan (i.e., facilities report).
Borrower may not clean, repair, alter or treat any item on loan from the National Gallery without the express written consent of the National Gallery.
3.3 In-coming Loans and Items Left In Custody:
Lender of any item to the National Gallery must provide to the National Gallery the following information for each item placed on loan to the National Gallery:
· legal title or owner's authorization to loan; and
· an acceptable executed loan agreement; and
· photograph of works at time of packing; and
· insurance values for each item.
On receipt, all incoming works will be fully documented photographically during unpacking.
3.4 The Director has authority to accept or release items to or from the custody of the National Gallery. The Director may delegate such receipt or release to appropriate responsible staff members of the National Gallery. Items on loan and left in National Gallery custody must be cared for at the appropriate level of professional care.
3.5 Items left in National Gallery custody for attribution, identification or study shall be recorded or registered, but not catalogued or accessioned. Items given for sale or trade will be recorded and the donor will be informed that such items will not be part of the collections.
4.0 INSURANCE
4.1 On behalf of the Board and Director, the Curator shall make provisions to appropriately insure all items in the collections and custody of the National Gallery. Any changes or deviations in insurance coverage must be approved by the Board.
5.0 RECORDS and DOCUMENTATION
5.1 An Exhibitions Record shall be created, maintained and followed by the staff and Board of the National Gallery. The Exhibitions Record shall include lists and descriptions of essential documents and information of all past exhibitions curated by the National Gallery. Records for the Exhibitions Record will be compiled promptly and completely on hard drive and also on CD-ROM and kept in permanent files, and a copy will be kept in a separate, safe and secure location.
6.0 ACCESS TO EXHIBITIONS
6.1 The National Gallery will allow public access to the exhibitions within the publicly stated opening hours.
6.2 Photographs by the public of any item within an exhibition by the National Gallery may be disallowed or subject to restrictions depending upon artist stipulation per artwork in question. Where item(s) are subject to copyright restriction, photographs, if allowed, shall not be published without written permission and appropriate acknowledgment.
6.3 In order to promote opportunities for public participation in the work of the National Gallery, the National Gallery will allow public access to its records relating to exhibition catalogs, publications, lectures and audio-visual presentations. The Exhibition Records may be published and distributed to potential donors, the press and other members of the public upon request.
