There are all kinds of reasons for artists to look after their legacies: for the oeuvre and the archive, for themselves and for others. Consider the material lying in your studio that documents your work as an artist. Have you kept old sketchbooks or diaries? Are there photographs of the work? Have you kept e-mails or letters from a gallery, museum or collector? It is important to conserve all this material in the long term for several reasons.
Firstly, the different aspects are part of your artistic practice. They may be useful for accounting, legal affairs, as a preparation for exhibitions or publications, and to flesh out a curriculum vitae or portfolio. This material can also help when you engage in new projects and collaborations, and it provides a good overview of how your artistic career has evolved. It helps with clear communication about the works and makes it easy to find and present things.
Secondly, it is valuable to others to have a well-organised archive and oeuvre to consult if they want to do research, develop a catalogue raisonné (catalogue of works) or organise a retrospective exhibition. It aids accessibility and offers sufficient information for a better understanding of how the artistic career evolved.
Usefully, it can also be a tool for heirs, friends, acquaintances or experts in the field to establish an estate and engage in estate planning. The archive and oeuvre form the basis of the artistic legacy and help to determine how you will be remembered as an artist. Insight into organisation, composition and storage conditions is crucial when making and justifying decisions, determining where the focus should be and involving the right people in the creation of a (future) estate.
Finally, a well-cared for legacy offers the possibility to open it up and make it accessible to a wider audience. The artist or an external figure can contextualise, structure, explain or interpret the contents in various ways and at various levels, alone or in collaboration and dialogue with others.
TIP: Define three reasons why it is important to you, as an artist, heir or other stakeholder, to take care of the artistic legacy. Include these considerations in your estate planning. Frequently occurring reasons are to protect the work and to take steps to make it accessible to future generations. But there are other important reasons too, such as supporting research or opening up the legacy for educational purposes.
Archive material from the Panagia Gorgoepikoos project 1991-93. Courtesy of Jadran Sturm en Åsa Lie Private Stichting.
Artistic legacy of artist duo Åsa Lie & Jadran Sturm
We want to make it easier to transfer stories, information and knowledge to new generations, develop the archive surrounding these key works and help to deepen the understanding of Sturm & Lie’s work, with a view to research and making it accessible to a wider audience. Our ultimate goal is to bring their artistic legacy to life.
(Merzedes Sturm-Lie)
Interested to read more? Go to the next topic: Valuing your legacy.