Besides making the artistic legacy accessible online, there are other ways to open it up to a wider audience. Here is an overview, including a few tips and tricks:
A traditional way to give access to an artistic legacy is by organising exhibitions. Before you start, you need to ask yourself whether you have sufficient expertise available within the team who manage the artistic legacy. You may want to work with a museum, gallery or other partners to reinforce or supplement these capacities.
You will find many tips and tricks for organising an exhibition on the ‘Kunstwerkt’ website.
You can also organise various events connected to your artistic legacy, such as an artist’s lecture, an inspiration day or a creative workshop. These events allow you to highlight the other components of your artistic legacy besides the artist’s work. Possible partners for these events include arts education courses, academies or colleges of higher education.
See also the ‘Partnerships’ page for extra tips and tricks when organising exhibitions and events.
Artistic legacy of the artists Jadran Sturm & Åsa Lie
As part of the ‘Art Heritage Legacies’ pilot project based on the legacy of the artist duo Jadran Sturm & Åsa Lie, the foundation is organising several workshops during which they present a few key works from the artistic legacy and use them to activate participants.
Research is an important activity relating to your artistic legacy, which both helps to survey it and to make it visible to the general public, for example by means of a publication. Work with the academic world for this.
TIP: Think beyond writing an biography or catalogue raisonné (catalogue of works) and consider other focuses and disciplines within the artistic legacy that might be researched, such as the art historical, conservation and restoration-related, and social aspects.
Artistic legacy of Ado Hamelryck (1941-2024)
As a follow-up to the ‘Art Heritage Legacies’ pilot project on the legacy of the visual artist Ado Hamelryck, a work placement student developed educational packs (in Dutch) that can be used in art and philosophy lessons, for example. These packs establish a link with Ado Hamelryck’s work and his use of various techniques.
Werk Ado Hamelryck, Genk. Foto: CKV (2024).
Look at what is going on around you in terms of art and culture. There might be a heritage working group (Erfgoedcel, in Dutch) that organises various events during the year, such as Open Studio Days or a Heritage Day, which you can participate in. Or maybe the studio can be included in a city walk or cycling route. Local partners may also organise cultural events that are a good opportunity for opening up your artistic legacy. So be sure to check out the possibilities in your town or city. The good thing about this is that your activity will be included in a larger campaign, which will attract a bigger audience.
Luk Van Soom’s artistic legacy
Three cycling routes near Rijkevorsel take you past works of art by the visual artist Luk Van Soom that are scattered throughout different towns and villages in the Kempen region. These cycle paths are a way to combine a sporty activity with finding out the stories behind the works of art. Erfgoedcel Noorderkempen also promotes these cycling routes, for example in a brochure and on a webpage containing all the necessary information.
Besides the material aspect of your artistic legacy, there is also the intellectual legacy, i.e. the expertise, lived experience and/or knowledge that you do not find in the artist’s oeuvre or archive. To get an idea of the intellectual legacy, you can talk to the artist about their life and artistic practice. You can also consult family, friends, acquaintances and experts in the field. The material that you collect from these conversations can be made accessible in various ways. Examples include recording the interviews and releasing them as documentaries or podcasts. This offers a different perspective on the life and work of the artist.
See the ‘Intellectual legacy’ page for more information.
If the artist’s former home / studio has been preserved or your artistic legacy has sufficient resources, it may be possible to develop residence activities, inviting other artists to draw inspiration from the artistic legacy.
Walter & Nicole Leblanc Foundation
At the Walter & Nicole Leblanc Foundation in Brussels, artists are invited to engage in dialogue with the legacy of the visual artist Walter Leblanc (1932-1986). This method makes it possible to highlight new aspects and findings relating to the artistic legacy. This dialogue may be reflected in an exhibition, artist’s talk or research, for instance.
These are a few inspiring examples of ways to make your artistic legacy visible to the general public. There are many other ways to open up your legacy, including the app ‘FAAM’ or FARO’s ‘Heritage App’, Atelier in beeld, Kunst in huis, etc.
Be inspired and take a creative approach!
Interested to read more? Go to the next page: Clarifying rights.