The loan of an artwork is an important opportunity to increase its value and its recognisability: knowing the documents that are required in this process is fundamental to protect the safety of the works and their conservation.

[signinlocker id=4040] There are specific documents to request a loan for an artwork and legally relevant formulas that bind the parties involved to mutual commitments in the common will to safeguard the good in its artistic and economic value.

The theme is so central within today’s debate on exhibition planning, that AXA ART, with  LCA Studio Legale and APICE, have created IN & OUT Practical Guide to the loan of works of art.

Among the professionals that the requesting body involves in this delicate phase there are the Exhibition Manager and the Registrar.

According to the curatorial role of the exhibition, these two professions are responsible for writing the documents to be sent to the lender, such as:

• Loan request letter: includes the title of the exhibition, the opening dates, the location, identifies the Curator and the Scientific Committee, the Organizing Body and specifies the importance of the work (s) required for the exhibition;;
• Scientific project of the exhibition: a text edited by the Curator and / or the Scientific Committee in which the key points of the exhibition are analyzed, the cultural and historical-critical relevance, as well as the context and motivations that underlie its realization and possibly the involvement of other artists and / or works that contribute to guaranteeing its importance;
• Loan Agreement: contract with loan specifications such as: duration, mode of transport, insurance policy, conservation and details of the installation, use of images and legal aspects;
• Facility Report: a document that describes the exhibition venue and provides a precise report on the building security systems;
• Loan form: loan form containing the personal data of the lender, in addition to the technical sheet of the work being loaned, the confirmation of the rights to use the images for catalog, communication, etc.

The documents showing the conditions of the loan must always be signed by both parties involved and the letter of request must be addressed to the figure who is in possession of the rights on the work; in the case of a notified good, it is necessary to write to the Superintendency or to the Ministries.

For the works notified in Italy there are precise rules that protect them when they are considered cultural assets or have a cultural interest, whose execution dates back more than 70 years or are of an author no longer living, whose value exceeds € 13,500.

As regards their circulation, it is necessary to refer to the MiBAC if the work circulates on the national territory, otherwise it is necessary to go to the Export Office to request all the specific documentation in relation to the Country from which the loaned work comes to whom it is intended to be sent.

For works carried out over the last 70 years, by a living author or not of cultural interest, self-certification is valid as documentation useful for the movement of goods and subject to sample verification by the competent bodies.

It is essential to remember that the artwork, in the process of moving towards a temporary exhibition site, must always be accompanied by the Condition Report, a document generally provided by the lender to the lending institution, and showing the conservative status of the work at the time of sending.[/signinlocker]

Underestimating even one of the single documents that you will receive on the occasion of a loan application, can cause damage to you and your artwork; knowing its peculiarities will help you to carefully evaluate their compilation.

And you, are you ready to lend your work?