Corporate Art Collections
By Karen Atkinson, courtesy of Side Street Projects
The information below is part of a series of guides that outline the pros and cons of various types of venues.
ABOUT: These range from Fortune 500 corporations, to hospitals, to local restaurants. Art is purchased for investment, office furnishing, prestige, and employee morale. Some corporations have in-house curators on staff.
EXPECTATIONS: Corporations generally purchase non controversial work, usually through independent arts consultants or in-house staff. They seldom purchase directly from artists. Some collections specialize in a particular media, region or theme.
PROS: Can be a good resume booster, and a good source of income. Often they commission work for particular spaces. If an employee admires an artist’s work in the collection, they may purchase some for their home.
CONS: Not seen by the general public. If the corporation goes bankrupt, your work may not be protected.
RESEARCH: Contact the curator of the corporate collection to get protocols for submission or work with an art advisor.
RESOURCES: Corporate Web sites and philanthropy publications.
Excerpted from Get Your Sh*t Together, an artist's professional development software produced by Karen Atkinson. This came out of her involvement wth Side Street Projects, Los Angeles.