Artists' Legacy Stewardship: field-building efforts

In the last few decades, we have been witnesses to a growing recognition of the importance of preserving and managing artists' works, rights, and reputations before and after their passing in the art field world-wide. However, these initiatives —led by art organizations, artist collectives, individual artists, their families and their supporters— remain under-resourced, atomized, and far between.

Currently, there is little to no direct financial or educational infrastructure in place for artists and collectives who seek opportunities to do this work, and we have seen again and again that if artists don’t have access to information and resources for it, their legacies end up being shaped by others—or disappearing. Agency over this process and outcomes is key to self-determination.

We are interested in sharing Joan Mitchell Foundation’s experience, lessons learned, and most recent thinking around the Creating a Living Legacy Program (CALL), and hearing from colleagues in the field around some of the biggest challenges, opportunities and, above all, the importance of engaging with this type of work. Particularly: what is the responsibility of different artists presenting and supporting institutions, and what are some of the interesting / less known models that could help the field finally prioritize this work once and for all.