ArtistsNetwork.com 83pay the bills. Providing some payment
to artists for their works also ensures
that the organization has a stake in
the artists’ success.
- Safeguard the market value
of your work. Some artists are
wary of donating works to auctions
because the auction price can either
unduly inflate or reduce the overall
pricing of their works. This impact
on market value is detrimental to
building a steady price increase,
which indicates success and industry
recognition. Setting a minimum bid
that’s within the range of current
works offered for sale helps prevent
a low price from diminishing the
value of those works. A high auction
bid, however, has the effect of rais-
ing the prices of your other works
accordingly. If the rise is too sharp, it
can put your work out of the range of
your existing market.
Most art organizations are aware
of these issues, but other institutions
like schools and hospitals may not
understand the effect that their
auction can have. Speak with the
auction organizer to learn more
about how the team is pricing works
and cultivating awareness among
potential buyers of the value of
your art. The auctioning of artwork
requires different handling from
the auctioning of timeshares or
restaurant meals.- Find out what kind of publicity
you can expect. Around the holi-
days, charity auctions abound. They
all need donations and some will lure
artists with claims of press coverage
and other types of publicity. Request
specific details. Is the organization’s
press team going to set up an inter-
view for you with a local paper about
your work in support of the organiza-
tion? Are they going to use an image of
your work—along with its title, your
name and contact information? Are
they offering you tickets to the event
and, if so, is it meaningful for you to
attend? Will you meet the patron who
bought your work and, if so, in what
context? These are all reasonable ques-
tions, deserving of thoughtful answers
from organizations asking artists to
donate their labor and talent.In summary, being asked by a
respected charity to provide artwork
in support of its cause is an honor.
Contributing to the cause should be a
pleasure. Unfortunately, too often art-
ists regret this decision because their
expectations weren’t clarified with the
organization—but you can be in charge
oftheprocessthroughout.Byvaluing
yourcreativeprocessandproducts,
you’llensurethatothersdotoo.C.J. Kent is a freelance writer and editor
as well as a professor at Montclair State
University. She founded Script and Type
(scriptandtype.com), which helps people
express themselves eff ectively in writing
and in person.