Acquisition Practices

There are two main ways that a work may enter a collection:

1. Purchase or gift directly from an artist.
2. Purchase or gift from a third party (i.e. another collecting institution or entity).

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The first encounter between the museum and the artist (or their representative) might include a discussion about the availability of an existing choreographic work or the possibility of an acquisitive commission. Alternative models of support for the artist’s creative practice might also be discussed at this stage such as loaning, licensing, custodianship, or a multi-year artist in residence program.

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If acquisition is agreed upon, the museum process may include several steps and stages of review and approval across the duration of the acquisition, involving conversations between the artist and different museum professionals. This process may roll out over several months and might involve Curatorial, Conservation, Collections Management / Registrar, Museum Directorate, Acquisition Committee and the Board of Trustees or another museum governing body. The steps might include:

• Research into the work and its provenance as well as the rationale for collecting.
• Research into the material conditions of the work, such as an initial assessment of the work's requirements to ensure the work can be preserved (documentation, storage needs), managed (freight, cataloguing), and presented.
• A discussion regarding what is needed to support the acquisition. This may also be included in the purchase agreement / deed of gift.
• Valuation and pricing.
• The raising of a purchase agreement or deed of gift which is agreed to by those involved (artist and museum).