8. WORKING WITH ARTISTS AND CREATIVE PRACTITIONERS

Artists and creative practitioners should be valued and supported. If you do not have capacity to manage the commission or haven’t led any similar initiatives, you may wish to consider working with a creative producer who will liaise with the artist and relevant stakeholders such as the PAFSG throughout, and coordinate the whole project (see Appendix I: ‘How To’ Guidance section 1).

You will need to set an appropriate fee to cover the artist's time and expenses (see Appendix I: ‘How To’ Guidance section 3), including their research and preparation, attending meetings, design development, making time, evaluation etc. If additional work is required, the artist should be compensated for their time.

Artists are experts in their field and their skills and experience should be respected. There should be trust in the process without commissioners seeking to micromanage or ‘design by committee’. Creating the right conditions, promoting openness and transparency against the backdrop of a strong brief, setting parameters from the beginning, alongside key milestones, will support the artist and design ideas to flourish.

Artists should be properly credited alongside any promotion of the work.

Once artworks are in situ it is important to liaise with the artist about how you wish to promote and describe the work, any issues, necessary changes to the work, relocation, decommissioning, maintenance or if you wish to reproduce their imagery etc. (See Appendix I: ‘How To’ Guidance section 13).