Intellectual legacy

By engaging in conversation with the family, acquaintances and friends, as well as experts in the field, you will gather valuable stories and information relating to the artistic legacy. This will contribute to further contextualisation of the artistic practice, within the arts scene but also in the community and society. Interviews make it possible to gain a clearer picture of the artist as a human being and to delve deeper into their thought processes, memories and working methods. This way of working contributes to a broader perspective on the artistic legacy, life and work of the artist. It both helps to clarify the story behind the legacy and to offer glimpses of the artist’s vision and how it can be kept alive through the activities of the estate.

In this section, we will consider one of the possible formats that an oral history process can take: the interview. An interview is more than a conversation. That is why good preparation is essential. The CKV offers a few practical tips here for how to design an oral history process or conduct an interview.

How should you prepare for the interview?

Getting off to a good start is half the job done. We recommend that you prepare well for your interview in advance and collect the information you need. Your preparation can be divided into four parts:

1. Defining your subject

As part of the preparation for your interview, it is important to think about why you are conducting it. Is it to understand a particular period of the artist’s life and work? Do you want to find out more about the artist’s life or artistic practices? Do you want to know more about the context of the artist’s work within the arts scene? There are all kinds of questions and perspectives that may make an interview relevant. Work out why you want to conduct interviews and define this clearly.

2. Who are you going to interview?

Once you have a clearly defined subject, you can start thinking about who you want to interview. You might consider various people from the artist’s network, including their family, friends and acquaintances, and also their staff or assistants, galleries or experts.

3. What questions are you going to ask?

The basis of your interview lies in asking carefully selected questions that elicit the stories and insights you need. Prepare a few clear questions in advance that relate to the chosen subject. Do allow sufficient space for spontaneous additions and personal reflections.

For example, you may have a fixed list of questions that you adapt to the person you are talking to. You can then add insights from other, previous conversations to your existing list of questions.

4. Making arrangements and providing the right material

If you want to prepare your interview well, it is also recommended to think about where it will be held. Are you going to do it at home, in the artist’s studio or somewhere else? The location may have an impact on both the interview and your working method. So think hard beforehand and consider various possibilities.

Also provide suitable recording equipment. Think ahead: you might only want an audio recording now, but it might be worthwhile to have video material for later projects, so consider that in advance.

Last but not least, make clear arrangements with the interviewer and interviewee. Draw up a contract in which you ask permission to conduct the interview and record the conversation. State in the contract what you are going to do with the material, for example if you intend to use it in a public context such as in a publication or on the website.

An oral history process can be a valuable way of making the artistic legacy more accessible to a wider audience. This is why it is important to make clear arrangements about how the interview will be used.

Be sure to take a look at the ‘Making your legacy accessible’ page to work on this more thoroughly.

What should you do during the interview?

Give the interviewee enough time and space during the interview. Looking back at the past can be emotional. Show involvement in the answers, memories and thought processes. For support, it may help to present photographs or documents to get the conversation going. Find a working method that suits you.

Furthermore, it is also recommended to provide time at the end of the interview to talk it through. This may also be an opportunity to explain what will happen next and run through the contract and the arrangements.

What should you do after the interview?

After conducting the interview, use the information you have collected and make it accessible to a wider audience. You can do this with a transcript of the interview, a publication or an article on your website. You might even want to turn it into a podcast. There are various ways of treating the material.

Find out more on the ‘Making your legacy accessible’ page.

Besides making the interview accessible, you might also consider long-term storage of the material, for example by including it in your digital archive and providing the correct name, suitable software and storage material. The CKV will be happy to offer advice!

This is an essential step in the development of an oral history process. Think carefully about who you are going to interview, why you want to interview them, what you intend to achieve with the interview and what you are going to use the interview for. The answers to these questions will determine how you approach the process. It is also advisable to consider who will conduct the interviews and what resources, financing and time are available for the project.

Are you interested in setting up an oral history project linked to your artistic legacy? Contact the CKV for more practical tips and tricks. 

Interested to read more? Go to the next topic: Making your legacy accesible.