IMPLEMENTATION

Before releasing the questionnaire, make sure it is clear who will be responsible for communicating it to artists and processing responses from the artists, making it as centralized as possible. Do not wait until the questionnaire is ready for distribution before making decisions and creating infrastructure for the process. Members of the project team should be reviewing contact lists, developing outreach mechanisms, and timing, and setting up a point person for managing responses and questions.

Without tying the project to one individual or department, create a dedicated email inbox or portal that only assigned staff will be able to access, such as artist_info@XXXX.org, so that communications are centralized, private, and respondents are guaranteed equitable access.

Timing

Create a timeline and process for distribution of the questionnaire to artists. Refer back to the reasons for collecting the information to determine if this effort should be tied to collections, exhibitions, and/ or other initiatives or processes, such as programming, that involves living artists, including panel discussions, film screenings, performances, gallery talks, etc. Determine which current, ongoing, and upcoming projects should be considered for integration, looking carefully at your timeline. If tied to more expansive efforts, it should be determined from when to start, ensuring that if using programs, such as talks, and exhibitions, the start date for inclusion in the survey matches. If the organization is in the process of actively acquiring works, or in the midst of new exhibitions, a historical cut-off point for the project or ways to incorporate the artist demographic data project into ongoing acquisitions and/or exhibitions may need to be determined. The cover letter and/or introduction may need to be modified depending on the impetus for or larger context of the request to complete the form. Conduct a detailed review of the distribution plans to prevent multiple requests to one artist under different projects or processes from the same institution.

Communicating with Artists

It might be necessary or more prudent to work through an assistant, studio staff, or gallery representative to reach the artist, though the questionnaire should ideally never be filled in by anyone who is not the artist. All communication should have the same script, including the cover letter, and should not vary by respondent, though it should be addressed to the artist personally.

If communicating electronically, send from or copy the centralized email inbox established for the project. Once the questionnaire is submitted, ensure that a record of submission has been sent to the respondent. Send reminders to artists who have not completed the process. Expect a low completion rate, and only repeat outreach once to artists who have not responded. Reiterate the contact information and/or process for the artist to change or update their response or to provide feedback on the survey in these reminders. Do not contact artists more than twice per precipitating event or information-gathering drive; there may be good reasons why an artist is not willing to share demographic information about themselves. Do not create any penalties for nonparticipation or make any other aspect of your collaboration contingent on participation, and do not try to gather the information in other ways. Artists are extremely busy and fulfilling requests from all the museums and organizations that request their demographic data may not be their priority or feasible if they do not have a team or studio to help support them administratively.

Feedback and Updates

Demographic information may change, new research may surface, other publications and scholarly materials may become available, and preferred terminology may evolve; therefore, artist demographic information will likely need to be updated at regular intervals. Develop a check-in with artists for updates on a regular interval (e.g., every five years, or when acquiring a new work by them or other precipitating events as established by the initial distribution). Also ensure there is a simple way for artists to contact your institution to make corrections or updates as needed, and a designated staff member should regularly monitor the email address or portal (e.g., biweekly). Ensure the institution is prepared to handle disagreements with artists throughout, and has a clear process for doing so. Additionally, there may be a need to proactively correct, update, or amend existing records in consultation with respondents as new information becomes known or issues arise.

As discussed earlier in this section, the survey itself may need updates. A review of identity terminology should be built into DEIAB consultation work and generate a periodic update, and an institutional timeline for conducting reviews and updates should be established.