Open Forum

Good afternoon Group,
I am seeking some information and advise on behalf of another group on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I am assisting them in hosting a traveling exhibition of drawings and they are a very young institution, having just received 501 (c)(3) status and never hosting an exhibition before. To the best of my knowledge, the artist has not offered to insure them so the institution isn't sure what the steps are going to be for insurance. Are there companies/groups/products you would recommend for this exhibition? Are there things to consider that they might be missing?
I can't offer them a lot of advise based on our institution because we are part of a governmental entity and have a separate (very insular) Office of Risk Management that handles these issues on our behalf.. so I am very out of my element in this regard.

Any advise is greatly appreciated!
-Joe

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Joseph Sherren
Collections Manager
Laurel MD
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Hi Joe,

A few questions to start with.   Does the institution (museum?) have its own collections or is it only an exhibition space?   If it has its own collections, does it have insurance coverage on those items (fine arts coverage would be preferable, but property insurance is okay)?   If it does have this kind of insurance than it can get a rider (additional coverage for specific items for a set period of time) from its own insurer to cover the value of the loaned paintings.    Even if the institution has no collections, it should at least have property and liability insurance and while those underwriters may not know a lot about fine arts insurance, they should at least be able to provide property insurance.    The lender is responsible for providing the value of the paintings (and that should be part of the items that are agreed to in the formal loan agreement).   For more information on how to borrow objects, take a look at Museum Registration Methods 5th edition, Chapter 3L.   Registration Methods for Small History Museum by Daniel Reibel is also very useful (even for art museums!).

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Janice Klein
Executive Director
Museum Association of Arizona
Tempe AZ
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-16-2018 12:18 PM
From: Joseph Sherren
Subject: Exhibition Insurance

Good afternoon Group,
I am seeking some information and advise on behalf of another group on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I am assisting them in hosting a traveling exhibition of drawings and they are a very young institution, having just received 501 (c)(3) status and never hosting an exhibition before. To the best of my knowledge, the artist has not offered to insure them so the institution isn't sure what the steps are going to be for insurance. Are there companies/groups/products you would recommend for this exhibition? Are there things to consider that they might be missing?
I can't offer them a lot of advise based on our institution because we are part of a governmental entity and have a separate (very insular) Office of Risk Management that handles these issues on our behalf.. so I am very out of my element in this regard.

Any advise is greatly appreciated!
-Joe

------------------------------
Joseph Sherren
Collections Manager
Laurel MD
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