As you get fascinated with art, and the number of your art objects grows, you might find it increasingly difficult to manage an art collection in an organized way. However, practice shows that it may be enough to master a minimal set of fundamental skills to assume greater control over your precious belongings and achieve a professional level of art management. Here are the main aspects you can’t do without.
Set Clear Goals
You can’t collect just everything; a chaotic approach to purchasing items you like will deprive your collection of a unifying theme, idea, or direction. In these terms, it will hardly possess tangible value for your intended audiences. That’s why you should carefully think about the collection’s theme and focus, thus streamlining your collecting efforts and spotting the right artwork.
Document Everything
Maintenance of the collection’s physical or digital inventory is key. You may choose one of these methods depending on your level of digital literacy and convenience when using digital repositories. The best option, however, is to use both – you may set up an offline inventory management database and keep its digital copy as a backup version.
Take Care of Preservation and Conservation
Art is delicate and vulnerable to external impacts. Thus, it tends to degrade with time, no matter the conditions in which you store it. To make sure your collection stays in order, you need to conduct regular condition audits and schedule conservation and preservation activities in a way that prevents degradation for years to come.
Plan an Appealing Display
The way your collection looks on display is also an important factor, as you definitely aim at an appealing, cohesive display. Every piece of artwork should be placed with proper lighting and spacing so that it creates the best impact on the viewers.
Manage an Art Collection in Terms of Finances
Buying art and storing it in proper condition is a financially demanding hobby. Thus, it would be best to keep your finances well-organized to make sure you have free resources for all planned activities, such as professional art shipping to and from exhibitions, well-equipped storage, and properly organized display.
It takes time to learn to manage an art collection like a professional. Yet, if you are passionate about art and goal-directed enough, you are sure to master these fundamentals. Discipline and consistency are key to achieving a good level of professionalism in this craft.