Management

Managing an estate is a serious task that requires great commitment. All kinds of practical, content-related and personal questions arise with regard to the long-term preservation of the legacy and giving access to it according to the artist’s intentions. It is crucial to think hard about who will be involved and what skills, roles and knowledge are important for achieving the estate’s aims. The manager is the legacy’s ambassador who will commit to promoting the artist’s life and artistic practice.

There are various possibilities for the management of an estate. If you opt to continue managing the estate yourself, family members are often the people involved and/or active in the estate. If this is not possible, which may be the case for all sorts of reasons, the artist or heirs may opt for external management or a combination of the two. This means it is possible to have some or all of the legacy managed by a gallery, museum, archiving organisation or other initiatives.

When establishing an estate that you will manage yourself in partnership with an external party, or arranging for it to be managed externally, it is important to make clear arrangements about rights and duties. Clear boundaries make good neighbours! So set out as much as possible in writing, in the form of a contract, to avoid disputes.

Managing the legacy yourself

If you opt to continue managing the artistic legacy yourself, other family members or heirs are likely to be associated with or involved in the management of the legacy. This has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, the family knows the artist’s life best and is most easily able to commit to fulfilling the artist’s intentions and interests. Emotional involvement means that family members are very dedicated and motivated, which can drive this long-term process. On the other hand, you will find yourself confronted with an emotional challenge. Family members need to be able to put the necessary distance between themselves and the legacy to make an objective approach possible.

When family members decide to manage the legacy themselves, it is important to consider all kinds of aspects that are essential to organising an estate and the impact that this will have on your lives.

• Do you want the responsibility of managing the legacy and estate?
• What about your own job?
• Are there opportunities to manage the legacy as a full-time job?
• How will you support yourself financially? What skills are required to manage an estate?
• What skills do you have?

It is a big commitment, both personally and professionally. So it is important to think hard about it and talk it over with your closest family and friends.

During their lifetime, the artist may also decide to look after the estate themself and to consider candidates for managing it. The artist can talk to the people concerned and involve them in their artistic practice, teaching them how the arts sector works. What is important here is that the people involved learn the value of your works of art and understand your intentions for the estate. You can also set this down in writing in the form of a will, to serve as a guideline for the future.

The management of an estate includes a range of skills and roles, along with the requisite knowledge. Running an estate requires professional management that is committed to the stated aims and intentions of the artist. A few recommended skills and forms of specialist knowledge are:

• Knowledge of the artist’s life and work

It is essential to have knowledge of the different components of the legacy, the value of the works of art and the artist’s living and working environment. These elements form the core of the estate’s activities.

• Knowledge of how the arts sector and art market work

Knowing what is available on the market and where interests lie can help you to promote the legacy, find new partners and embark on new projects, for example.

• Project management

You need to be able to set up and support new projects and to divide them up into manageable tasks. This involves keeping track of small details while remaining aware of the big picture. If you have a team, you need to be able to lead the team and motivate it to work with the artistic legacy to achieve the aims.

• Developing an network

To promote the legacy, it is recommended to build up a network of professional contacts. Partnerships can help you develop projects. They provide new opportunities and offer a broader support base.

• Art handler (handling)

Knowledge of how to handle the works of art, the material, and how to package and transport them can contribute to the long-term preservation of the artistic legacy. This can also help with current projects, such as organising an exhibition or loaning the work.

Other recommended skills are communication and an understanding of accountancy in order to draw up contracts, manage the finances and take out insurance. Communicate about the projects, progress and the methods used by the estate. Moreover, an understanding of legal practices can help with the legislation and choosing a legal form for the legacy. Think carefully about the skills that will be important for running the estate.

If you decide to keep the artistic legacy under your own management, it is necessary for the artist, heir or stakeholder to consider their own skills, in order to allocate themself a clear role in the management of the estate. If family members cannot cover all the roles and skills, you can ask for external support from friends, acquaintances, former staff or experts in the field. You can make use of the artist’s network for this, i.e. people such as gallery owners, researchers, curators, etc. They can help you establish the estate, join the team or look for the people you need.

If you are an artist who is thinking about setting up an estate, but you don’t have a family or heir, there are other possibilities for preserving your artistic legacy in the long term. Speak to friends and acquaintances, for example, to find out whether they might be interested. You can also set up an organisation or foundation during your lifetime, which will continue to exist after your death with the aim of preserving and managing your artistic heritage. It is also possible to look for an external partner for management, such as a museum or gallery. These organisations can perpetuate your legacy and make it visible to a wider audience.

The artistic legacy of the visual artist Luc Peire (1916-1994)

In 1994, the artist Luc Peire founded the Jenny & Luc Peire Foundation in his will. The aim of the foundation is to open up his oeuvre to the general public and preserve his living and working environment in Knokke. In his will, Luc Peire nominated several experts and family members to help develop the foundation, with a view to the long-term preservation and management of his artistic legacy. He set down his intentions in the will and made the necessary resources available for achieving this. After thirty years, the Jenny & Luc Peire Foundation was absorbed into the activities of the museum Mu.ZEE in Ostend.

(Marc Peire – former employee)

External management

As an alternative to managing the estate yourself, it is possible to transfer it to an external partner such as a museum, gallery or other initiative. There are various options for allocating responsibility for management. For example, you can opt to work with several galleries with the aim of making the artistic legacy visible and accessible. When working with a museum, you might decide to have some or all of the legacy included in the collection and to make arrangements for preservation and management. This option is also possible when the activities of a self-managed estate are complete, as a final goal.

Please note that there clearly needs to be a support base and resources available to manage the artistic legacy.

For example, some of the legacy might be sold. Then the proceeds can be donated to a museum, along with the rest of the legacy. These financial resources will help to fund the care of the legacy. Depending on the bodies that take over the estate, the focus will vary. For instance, a gallery will be more committed to the commercial aspect of the legacy than a museum.

Hybrid options are also possible, where you decide to work with an external party to some extent, to fill the roles required in the team that runs the estate. For example, you might work with galleries to promote and sell the artistic legacy, or you could decide to house the archive with a collection-managing institution so that you can make it accessible for research.

Finally, collectors or other stakeholders can also establish an estate out of interest in the artist or their passion for art. Depending on how complete the collection of the oeuvre and archive of a specific artist is, it may be possible to bring it all together as an artistic legacy for its long-term preservation and management

The artistic legacy of the visual artist Philippe Van Snick (1946-2019)

When the artist Philippe Van Snick died, he left an extensive archive behind as well as his oeuvre. The archive includes audiovisual material (photos, Ekta prints, contact sheets, slides) and documentary material (sketches, drawings, correspondence, invitations, newspaper cuttings, etc.). During the pilot project, part of the paper archive was valued. The CKV facilitated this valuation exercise. It was conducted with a view to a donation to Ghent University Library, where it has been inventoried and digitised.

More information about the pilot project: https://www.archiefphilippevansnick.be/s/collection/page/inleiding. (Only available in Dutch)

Interested to read more? Go to the next page: Mission, vision and goals.