Who do you trust? Hopefully your team, but if recent news has proved anything then you know there are a lot of bad actors being exposed in our community. Most of them were able to operate because standards and protocols were ignored or violated. The question is, how can we build confidence in our processes? I think it’s through strong operations and vigilance, and I hope this edition helps you find ways to build confidence in yours.
Searching for articles I found a lot of instances of broken trust. It is hard to read about the unfortunate situations many art pros are managing, but the good news is they can be a learning experience for us all. It is essential to realize that we can all improve how we do things so that, hopefully, we can avoid similar scenarios.
One way to ensure success is to create systems and trust dedicated teams of experts to manage them. No matter what part of collections care you are tasked with, there are proven protocols that can help. Take a look at the resource section to find some solid starts for everything from accessioning standards to installation. Everyone’s situation is unique, but that does not mean best practices can’t be applied.
One thing I hope is that you find a team you can trust and put faith in the work they do. The one truth I have always found in our world is that people really do care about their roles as caretakers and stewards. If we all respect one another intentions and roles, then most criminal and unethical elements should appear out of place.