The Getty (photo by Mizar Al_aabd) and Art Gallery of Ontario (photo courtesy of the gallery)
Public galleries often draw attention to their programs and services, even to their buildings, but over time their collections count for more.
Galleries with significant collections have borrowing power. “We’ll lend you our Monet if you’ll lend us your Mondrian.”
Furthermore, the loan of important artworks to prestigious exhibitions adds to the status of the artworks and the lending institutions.
That, in turn, adds to the status of the cities in which the galleries are located, as tourist destinations, desirable places to live, and as centres for study. Think of the Getty in Los Angeles or the Kimbell in Fort Worth. Ditto the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, where I live.
Permanent collections need to be “lit” though, and that requires imagination, engagement and respectful treatment. Hanging a painting that many visitors would like to see in a dark corridor is disrespectful to both the artwork and the public. Why spoil these encounters?
This goes beyond thoughtful installations and the perennial imbalance between wall space and storage space. Curators need to engage with the archivists, librarians, registrars, educators, and publicists on staff — and the publicists need to spread the word to other agencies. Patterns and unexpected areas of strength may appear, because the significance of most permanent collections rests upon more than a few tried and true highlights.
Shouldn’t everything be posted with full cataloguing and images?
Then there’s the internet. The websites for many public galleries are still surprisingly opaque. Some don’t include links to the permanent collection, or limit the links to a handful of artworks. Shouldn’t everything be posted with full cataloguing and images?
Further to that, a significant number of galleries don’t include staff lists and contact information, so the public has no way of knowing who to contact with their comments, enquiries, and offers of donations.
Why not put gallery websites to better use than this? ■
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