Detailed Discussion

While some commissions result in acquisition at the end of the exhibition or public presentation, it’s common for artworks to be commissioned without being purchased, or without the promise of purchase.

Examples include: 

• seasonal festival artworks

• live performances

• social practices or collaborations with community where artworks are co-authored with audiences

• site, place or community-specific versions or iterations of existing artworks

• temporary or ephemeral public artworks whose materials decay or disappear over time, see Commissioning Art in Public Space

• time-based artworks 

The variety and scope of commissioned artwork means that commissioning relationships need to allow for a case-by-case approach and built-in flexibility.

The intellectual property, whether acquired or not, remains with the artist/s and any communities who co-author the artwork.

For more information, see Intellectual Property.

Commissioning work is different from charging a commission on artwork, see Public Galleries Selling Work and Payment Standards for guidance on this topic.

Key Issues 

It is important to consider what labour is being requested outside of the realisation of the work. Artists often take considerable time liaising with curators, producers, marketing/PR, grants officers, installers, payroll, fabricators and production partners. 

An often-forgotten area is planning for the time after the commission. Practical discussions about de-install, disposal, freight and storage of works should be included in written agreements.

When commissioning artwork from a First Nations artist the commissioning organisation will also be engaging with that artist's, Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP). The artist will be sharing their own personal and cultural experiences, and potentially communally owned cultural knowledge. Commissioners must consider how they will ensure they follow cultural protocols when working with the artist and their ICIP. This should also be outlined in the agreement.

For more information, see First Nations.

Legal obligations in the areas of intellectual property and copyright (see Intellectual Property), workplace health and safety (see Workplace Health and Safety), accessibility (see Access Rights for d/Deaf and Disabled People) and insurance (see Insurance) apply in this area.

When commissioning artworks and artists, it is important to clearly communicate intention and agree on how everyone involved wishes to work together to achieve an artistic vision. Make space for open conversation so that any misunderstandings, shifting parameters and disagreements can be dealt with in a timely and respectful manner. 

Pro-actively addressing issues such as power imbalances, artist cash-flow inequities, administration and liaison time, risk management, emergencies, disasters and force majeure events, and changes to timelines will help the commission process run smoothly for everyone involved.

One of the first aspects to consider in a new commission is whether the work has been staged in the past. If so, the original commission should be acknowledged with text or logos and any members of the original artistic team should be acknowledged or consulted as part of the new iteration or presentation of the work.

Consideration should also be given to artists and what financial and reputational protections can be implemented in the event that they suffer ill health and cannot deliver the work, as well as provisions for d/Deaf and Disabled artists. To help navigate change and risk, conversations should be had early in the process to set expectations and plan proactively for programming pivots and changes of circumstance. 

Photographic, video and other kinds of documentation should be planned before installation and adequately budgeted for, particularly if this is the only time the artwork will be presented. Artists should be given free access to high resolution copies of any professional documentation for promotion of their practice. Remember to ask any photographers, videographers, or writers how they wish to be credited in future reuse of documentary material.

Issues included in the agreement should be fairly negotiated.

Additional topics to discuss at first meetings might include: 

• How will cultural safety for First Nations (see First Nations) and racially marginalised peoples (see Racial Equity and Representation) be managed?

• What support can the commissioner offer to the artists as part of the commissioning process?

• How can accessibility be prioritised from the outset? See Access Rights for d/Deaf and Disabled People.

Some questions should be addressed when planning and budgeting for presentation of a commission: 

• Will the artist be needed onsite to supervise the installation of their work? 

• How many installers or crew are needed, and how will the artwork be un/packed and handled? 

• Is any special equipment required to install or present the work? 

• How will the artwork be cared for during presentation? 

• Will there be staff checking on the state of the work, or limiting visitor numbers? 

• Are invigilators needed to explain or guide people? 

• If the artwork is to be restaged in the future, does the original commission need to be acknowledged with text or logos?

• Do any members of the original artistic team need to be acknowledged or consulted as part of new iterations or presentations of the work?

Established institutions and organisations will usually have a risk assessment process that measures and makes allowances for unexpected events and minimises the risk of injury around an artwork. These documents protect commissioning bodies from the threat of legal action, financial loss or reputational damage, see Workplace Health and Safety. 

Commissioning bodies with waged employees should be responsible for the overall administration of the commission, in order to reduce unpaid labour being required of the artist/s and to keep the project on track.

This may include:

• writing/acquitting grant applications

• project management

• reporting

• risk assessments

• finance 

It is recommended that all commissions begin with a written agreement that ideally includes: 

• a code of conduct (how we behave and communicate) 

• a commission scope (that details the vision and expectations for the artwork’s realisation, and the roles and responsibilities of all people involved)

• a contract (that includes legally binding protections that prioritise and protect artists and mitigate against risk for commissioning bodies)

Agreements should capture negotiated decisions on:

• budgets

• fees (including commission and licence fees, see Payment Standards)

• size/scale and specifications of the commission

• size and roles of the artist/presentation team

• timelines and reasonable review stages

• contingency arrangements

• installation arrangements

• access provisions

• variations to the agreement

• cancellations and delays

• responsibility for grants and reporting

• photographic, video and other kinds of documentation, including budget and attribution

• required insurance, and responsibility for insurance, see Insurance

• attributions

• confirmation of the artist's continued ownership of their IP

• agreements in relation to following cultural protocols, reproduction and publication of ICIP

• de-installation arrangements

• waste and recycling of single use materials, see Climate Adaptation and Environmental Action

• freight

• storage of works

• dispute resolution, see Grievance and Dispute Resolution

It is the responsibility of the commissioner to ensure the process, website, social media, communications and exhibition spaces are accessible, and have dedicated budget lines for access provisions for d/Deaf and Disabled artists and audiences. Generally, it is the artist’s responsibility to consider how access needs can be built into the artwork and allow for additional costs and time to achieve this (e.g. adding closed captions to video works or audio descriptions to image-based or performance works).

For more information, see Access Rights for d/Deaf and Disabled People.

If the commissioned artwork involves community consultation or culturally sensitive content, this should always be considered through a lens of care. That means allowing budgets, timelines, and adequate consultation to consider the unique needs and experiences of First Nations artists, d/Deaf and Disabled artists, queer artists, and artists from marginalised or underrepresented communities. 

Where possible, artists and commissioning bodies should co-develop protocols for working with these communities, and be led by them. It is also important to have a shared understanding of how community and cultural contributions will be acknowledged in terms of authorship or creative realisation of the work, or any future re-stagings of the artwork. 

For more information, see Racial Equity and Representation and First Nations. For information on equity in competitive processes, see Equitable Application Processes.

In principle, there should be:

• A concept fee: if the commission is competitive or contingent on the acceptance of a proposal

• An artist fee: that covers superannuation (see Superannuation and Payment Standards), creative conceptualisation, research, presentation, public programs, media appearances and administration/meetings, with any accessibility costs covered separately to the artist fee, see Access Rights for d/Deaf and Disabled People

• A separate production fee: that covers materials, fabrication costs, installation/freight to and from the presentation site/s and care for the artwork during its presentation

• A licence fee: in most instances a commissioner will need a licence to photograph and promote the work

In addition, some works will also require an agreement about share of ticket sales if there are paying audiences for the artwork.