Conditions for Exhibiting

EXHIBITOR'S OBLIGATIONS

Preparation of art works
• In order to maximise security, mirror plates must be screwed to both sides of wooden picture frames, midway between top and bottom (no screw eyes or string).  N.B. Metal frames often come with a hanging device to which cord can be attached; it is a simple process to unclip and reverse these so that they project beyond the outer edge of the frame.

• Clip frames will not to be accepted as they create a documented health and safety hazard.

Delivery and collection
• Exhibitions should be delivered to the venue, normally by the exhibitor, at the latest, five working days before the opening date; e.g. Monday, if the opening is Saturday.  Please refer to your Exhibitor's Checklist for the relevant dates.

• The exhibitor must ring or e-mail the Design and Display Officer to co-ordinate the delivery at least two weeks in advance.

• Exhibitions should be collected, normally by the exhibitor, at the latest two working days after the closing date; e.g. Friday, if the exhibition ends on a Wednesday.  

• Exhibitors should make suitable arrangements with the venue prior to collection.  In a group exhibition it is the responsibility of the designated co-ordinator to make sure all works are collected within the stated time.

Insurance
• All exhibits by individual artists are insured by Heritage Services up to a value of £20,000.  For values above this figure the Design and Display Officer will need to know the total value of the exhibition plus the highest single item value at least eight weeks in advance.

Note: Hereford Museum & Art Gallery meets government indemnity standards for security, has CCTV, is securely locked and alarmed, with a five-minute response time from the Fire Service.

If invigilation of the Art Gallery area is required, the exhibitor must arrange this, front of house staff will be on duty whenever the site is open to the public, but are based at the museum desk.

• Exhibitors need to take advice from an appropriate source on valuing and pricing their works.

VAT
Exhibitors must inform the Design and Display Officer of their VAT status by stating their VAT number on this form if they are they registered

Group Exhibitions
• For exhibition sales the Museum & Art Gallery can only deal with one nominated member, i.e., the treasurer, for example.  The VAT rating for the entire group will be based on the VAT status of the nominee.  All the correspondence concerning sales will be dealt with through that person, who will be responsible for distributing any sales monies from the exhibition to the other members of the group.

Individuals exhibiting as a group
For exhibition sales the Museum will collate sales information at the end of the exhibition and will process payments 28 days after the closing date.

 
Labels, text and other exhibition information
The exhibitor, or group co-ordinator, must supply titles and text for the art works, as in the sample below, on disk or by email, at least eight weeks before the exhibition opens to enable Museum and Art Gallery staff to create caption labels for works.  The panel reserves the right to edit this information in accordance with museum professional standards in editing text for different audiences.   Please supply this data by email or on electronic format if possible, or else as a typed list.  Should the exhibitor wish to create their own labels and interpretative panels these must comply with Heritage Services guidelines on text size, font and legibility which can be provided upon request.

Sample: John Smith - View of Hereford - Watercolour - £469

The Museum and Art Gallery seeks to interpret exhibitions in more than one format to serve the needs of our diverse community of visitors.  It has equipment and expertise to create Braille text, tactile images and audio interpretation.  Recorded interviews with artists explaining the concept and creation of art works have been popular with all our visitors.  Material to interpret the exhibition in this way or an interview recording is required eight weeks in advance. 

• A catalogue may be produced by the gallery, with prior agreement only. The relevant information to be supplied by the exhibitor, on disk or by email only.

Supporting material
The Museum and Art Gallery offers the facility to sell items relating to the exhibition in the shop, these will be accepted on a sale-or-return basis.  Selling prices will be at the discretion of the Museum and Art Gallery and will be in line with pricing of regular shop stock.

Any publications, books and/or postcards supplied for sale must be delivered to the Museum and Art Gallery five working days before the exhibition opens together with a full list of titles, cost prices and quantities.  This material becomes the property of the Museum and Gallery during the exhibition and must not be treated as a source of promotional gifts by exhibitors

Publicity
• The exhibitor must supply publicity images and information, at least eight weeks before the opening date, for the Design and Display Officer to produce a poster and invitations and for use on the Council's website.

• The exhibitor must also supply the gallery with a press release, on disk or by email, at least four weeks before the opening date. The panel reserve the right to edit this press release in consultation with the exhibitor.

Private Views
• If the exhibitor wishes to have a private view, this can be arranged at their cost but must be agreed at least eight weeks in advance with the Museum and Art Gallery.  If you wish the art gallery to organise a private view on your behalf we will invoice you accordingly.  Details of charges can be provided on request.

• If an exhibitor wishes to invite personal guests to a private view, an invitation list of up to 50 guests must be supplied by the exhibitor, on disk or email, so that it may be cross-referenced against the gallery's mailing list to avoid duplication and extra postage costs.  This must be supplied at least four weeks before the opening date.  Personal invitations will then be added to those that the Museum and Art Gallery will post for your exhibition.  In future the art gallery will send out invitations via email where possible, so please provide email addresses for your guests if you have them.

• It is the exhibitor's responsibility to order and pay for drinks, glasses, and/or refreshments for the Private View, although again this can be arranged by gallery staff and invoiced to the exhibitor.  The Museum and Art Gallery will provide staff and washing up facilities but will expect help in tidying up at the end of the event.

 Private Views are normally held on a Friday evening prior to Saturday opening.  If exhibitors wish to have the preview on any other day, this must be agreed with the Design and Display Officer.

OBLIGATIONS OF THE MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

Hanging
• Hanging is carried out by Museum and Art Gallery staff.  Exhibitors must make staff aware of any specific hanging/display requirements or requests, which will be acted upon at our discretion.
Insurance
All exhibits by individual artists are insured by Heritage Services up to a value of £20,000.  For values above this figure the Museum and Art Gallery will need to arrange additional cover.

Opening days and hours
Exhibitions will be open to the public on standard published opening hours and days of the week, please note that this changes between summer and winter.  Heritage Services makes every endeavour to ensure that temporary exhibitions receive priority on staffing rotas, but very occasionally, shortages may result in the site having to close at short notice.  Heritage Services accepts no liability for closing.   

Invigilation
Front of House staff will be on duty in the building whenever the Museum and Art gallery site is open to the public; they will normally be located in the museum area.

During hanging and take-down the Art Gallery area and lift are closed to the public.

Take-down
Take-down is carried out by Museum and Art Gallery staff.  Items will be re-packed in the same style as they were delivered to site. 

Publicity
• The cost of producing posters will be met by the Museum and Art Gallery, as well as the cost of producing a catalogue, where deemed necessary by Heritage Services staff.

• The Museum and Art Gallery will promote the exhibition through press releases, printed publicity and on-line event listings

Private Views
• The Museum and Art Gallery will act as host for a private view (if a private view is requested).

• The Museum and Art Gallery provides the venue and staff cover for a private view (if a private view is requested).

Commission
• Exhibitors will receive any sales money due (less commission) only after the Museum and Art Gallery has acquired the full purchase price from the buyer and the total has been processed by the Herefordshire Council's Accounts Department.

For more information or to apply please contact

Peter Young, Hereford Museum & Art Gallery, Broad Street, Hereford, HR4 9AU
Tel: (01432) 383 592 - Email: plyoung@herefordshire.gov.uk  - Fax: (01432) 342 492

Please note: failure to fully comply with the rules above may reduce your chances of re-selection for another exhibition