James Bulley: on sound art
In this article James Bulley charts a short history of the definition of sound art, highlights how constant changes in technology might test the durability of work and explains why collaboration is vital. From its…
Change of Art
On 18 October 2011, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a programme, Change of Art, exploring ideas to ‘rotate or retire’ public artworks that have become ‘tired, decrepit or meaningless’, in the course of which legal and practical questions…
Will I be able to exhibit and sell photos of my performance if I haven’t taken the pictures myself?
The photographer will automatically become the owner of the copyright and moral rights of the photographs (which empower the photographer to…
Editions or Series: Picking Up The Pieces
A century ago Marcel Duchamp toyed with the idea of creating a box to hold notes and sketches for his works which eventually resulted in The Green Box, 1934, containing notes for the…
What is Sculpture?
On 27 July 2011 the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) handed down a landmark judgment that decided the legal meaning of sculpture in UK copyright law. The significance of this decision is far reaching, because UK law operates…
Helen Johannessen: working with designers and manufacturers
Commissioning somebody else to manufacture and distribute your own designs can be a daunting prospect. Designer Helen Johannessen talks about her own experiences with this process. Helen describes how she moved from making…
Commissioning and running a commercial website for artists
Is your website doing the job of selling your work? And do you know what you need to do if you hold customers’ data? Or who owns copyright in your website? This…
Is my work protected by copyright or design rights?
This is a question that is not always easy to answer as there is a significant overlap between the two. Own It have written a downloadable pdf that attempts to reply to…
Sotheby’s and Christie’s
The new year ushered in several important judicial decisions dealing with artlaw matters, including the Bacon Estate; the Sotheby’s and Christie’s so called ‘price fixing’ case; payments to artists of royalty fees by UK Universities; and Gilbert…
The Bacon Estate (1)
The new year ushered in several important judicial decisions dealing with artlaw matters, including the Bacon Estate; the Sotheby’s and Christie’s so called ‘price fixing’ case; payments to artists of royalty fees by UK Universities; and…
Performance Art and The Law
The resurgence of performance related artistic practices over the past decade raises complex aesthetic, legal and, at times, ethical questions regarding the protection, authorship and ownership of the ‘works’ generated through these artistic practices. The…
Deaccessioning Public Collections
During these straitened economic times increasing numbers of public museums and galleries around the world have been driven to consider deaccessioning works in their collections; and many have done so. There are clearly ethical and policy arguments…
Your legal rights as an artist
As an artist, you have specific and well established legal rights. It’s important to know what these when you start out in the art world. Key legal issues that you should be aware of…
Earning money as an artist
Most artists earn only a small proportion of their income directly from their art. Earning a living off the sale of artworks, exhibitions and commissions is a reality for very few people. Many earn nothing…
Career planning for artists
Spending a bit of time planning your career and future as an artist can yield huge rewards. Unless you know very clearly where you want to be and how you’re going to get there, you’ll be…
Fundraising basics
Fundraising can be a full time occupation. What can you do if you want to get more effective at applying for grants without it taking over your life? Prepare application materials Every application needs to be tailored to…
Budgeting and money advice for artists
Before investing lots of time in researching funding and finance options, work out how much – and what kind – of money you need. Planning your budget We all need different levels of income…
Bartering and exchange
Bartering involves the exchange of goods and services without using money. It’s the earliest form of trade. Bartering has the advantage that you don’t need any money to start to make things happen. What you do need…