An artist commission is when artist is paid to create a new piece of work. It’s important artists understand their legal rights when undertaking a commission.
A commission might take the form of
- A painting for an individual
- a public art sculpture for a local council
- A socially engaged project for a festival
Commissions can be legally complex, involving several different partners with their own agendas. Read the articles below to be better informed of the likely legal issues you might encounter when doing a commission.
Useful legal articles
This list of legal articles contains useful information for artists on commissions, including:
- Commissioning an Artist, including an overview and history of commissioning activity
- Commissions and the responsibilities they bring, parts one and two. This covers responsibility for public safety on commissions
- Art and Architecture. A case study on a public art commission involving large-scale architectural construction
- Public Art and the Law. This article covers collaborations between architects and artists and their respective responsibilities.
- Private Commissions and the Law, parts one and two, on the general environment that commissions occur in
- Dragon’s Dance, on what can go wrong in a public art commission
- Public Art Commissions, parts one and two, on good practice and an excellent overview on the commissioning process
- Who Owns Public Art Commissions?, on the difficulties of ownership of public art
Visit Public Art Online for an overview of public art commissions and case studies
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