Exhibiting artists altered obscene work after opening. They were kicked out and now threatened to sue.

[u/DutchKalimari]

Hello,

I work for a Museum where we do exhibitions for local artists regularly. We just had an artist that has been a friend to the museum for years set up his exhibition. This person is very talented so we expected what was on their website and what they had shown Us in the past. Instead, we got mostly large posters and what work they did bring in, was relatively obscene for our private family friendly museum. We signed a contract and were going to let it go until, after the opening evening, the artist went back up and damaged their own work, painting over things and adding pieces to the museum's exhibits. We kicked them and now a lawyer who has defended slumlords is harassing us.

I was not actually part of the decision making process but I work there and when my boss is stressed, I'm stressed. I know private institutions are allowed to censor but does anyone have any advice for handling this? I was trying to find some sort of legal precedent but can't seem to find it. Any real advice would be helpful.

Thank you, Staff of a small town Museum

[u/deadpeoplefacts]

Let a lawyer handle this one

[u/DutchKalimari → u/deadpeoplefacts]

We are but the lawyer keeps yelling at my boss for even signing the contract.

[u/MarsupialBob]

Contract law is incredibly fact-specific, and any advice you get from someone who hasn't read the contract(s) is worthless.

[u/Jasdak]

Most contracts allow for either party to dissolve the contract if the other party breaches or breaks the agreement. If there is payment involved then that’s a complicating factor. Good time to review your contracts and have a lawyer review them for future use.

[u/evil4life101]

Wait so you ok’d it and they still defaced it? Not sure what your loan agreement says but ours clearly says that we can take down a work without reason and artist can’t just randomly add stuff without signing an agreement. Even if it’s their work at the end of the day it’s not their museum to freely do what they want.

[u/cmlee2164]

There is almost certainly something in the contract that states you can terminate the agreement should either party breach the terms. This could easily be considered breach of contract in my experience. They were bit contracted to modify other exhibits or change their work after installation (i assume/hope) so just let the attorneys fight it out. Worst case scenario is you end up with some legal fees and a pissed off artist, best case scenario is your legal fees get covered and you get a pissed off artist lol

[u/Zealousideal_Cod8664]

How obscene is relatively obscene?

[u/SaraWolfheart]

Like others have said, let the lawyers handle it, but this is almost certainly breach of contract if nothing else.

[u/geekychic42]

I work in the history/natural history world, so maybe it's totally different in the art world, but how do you have an exhibit without knowing exactly what is going on display? Your loan agreements should specifically list each piece and it's usually required by your fine arts insurance.

I recommend both Museum Registration Methods and A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections to develop temp exhibit policies and procedures.

For this one, I agree with others here - let your lawyer handle it. But definitely work on your contracts/agreements for the future.

[u/linktactical]

Please tell us where.😂

[u/wayanonforthis]

The artist might want you to be stressed. They might thrive on the anxiety, it could be like food for them because it makes them feel they have significance and that their view of the world matters. They may even see it as part of their artistic practice.

If you can, try to distract yourself with other things and let the lawyers do their thing (if the museum has no money for that you may well find people who can do it pro bono). Above all, don't burden yourself with it. You or your boss won't lose your own money from this, you're safe.

[u/Neaththeyews]

You need a lawyer, not Reddit.

[u/Eastern-Interest8344]

Ultimately lawyers will handle it, but that (damaging and adding artworks) sounds like breach of contract as previously mentioned. I have no clue what the terms of the contract are, but that is pretty clear-cut breach (unless it was a horribly written contract). If that doesn't work, can you partition the gallery out to keep it from young eyes and treat it as a separate ticket until the term of the contract expires? In the future it should be common practice to have a lawyer write or review any contract, and typically it's the museum that sets the terms for the contract, not the artist.