Assess

If an artist or art centre is approached by, or reaches out to, a business to create a product, it’s important to consider several factors. Ensuring that artists’ rights are protected, they receive fair payment and artists and art centres have the necessary resources to manage the process.

• Have you worked with them before?
• Have they worked with any other art centres? Consider checking with those art centres and understanding their experiences of working with this business.
• Does their brand, reputation or approach align with your own?
• Does the quality of their existing products meet your expectations?
• Can they provide sample products?
• What sort of product/s do they want to make? For which markets? Do those product types and markets align with your own values and qualities?
• How will the artwork be used? Will it be the whole image? Will it be altered in any way?
• Is Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property acknowledged and how is it treated?
• What price points will the product/s sell for?
• What quantities and what distribution are planned?
• What sort of branding, packaging and labelling is proposed?
• How will the product/s be promoted? Can the art centre be included in any of those promotions (for example, having the art centre logo on the product packaging or the business’s website)? Will any cultural or artists’ information be included in the promotion and/or packaging?
• Will the artist or art centre be able to stock and sell the product/s? What sort of consignment or wholesale arrangements would apply?
• What licence fees are proposed? (Take a look at the business case information below for more details.)
• Are there any other benefits that can be negotiated? This may include non-financial benefits, for the artist, art centre or community. For example, the artist may be involved in the design or marketing, the art centre may get free advertising, or there may be a contribution to a community project or outcome.
• What sort of permissions and approvals process is being proposed to ensure the artist’s informed and prior consent? Will there be a multi-step permissions process, ensuring the artist approves the product before production, as well as during the design and promotional stages?
• What sort of reporting is being proposed? And how often will reporting be provided? This reporting tells the artist about the volume and value of sales and their payments.
• Is the business supportive of the artist/art centre getting independent advice or legal assistance?

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Business case

If an artist or art centre is working with a business to create a product, it’s important to think about the costs, potential profits, and whether the partnership is a good fit.

A business case helps decide whether to go ahead. It’s not a complicated report, just a simple way to weigh the pros and cons.

Visit the Business case page for more information.

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Consult with artists (from Art Centre)

If an art centre is working with a business to create a product, discussions with the artist and their family should start early in the process, and, depending on the scale of the product or licence, may need to continue throughout the life of the project.

This is the opportunity for the artist to give or withhold their informed and prior consent. Is the artist happy with having their artwork reproduced on a product? Important things to consider include:

• Financial arrangements: Level and type of payments anticipated.
• Creative arrangements: How will the image be used? Arrange for a sample of the proposed use, for approval prior to printing/manufacturing.
• Other benefits: Are there any other benefits to the artist, art centre or community?
• Presentation: How will the product be presented? Does the artist want their image, story or information included?
• Cultural considerations: Are there any cultural sensitivities? Does the use of the image require any permissions, beyond the artist? Is consultation with the art centre board or community Elders necessary?
• How is Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property acknowledged?
• Does the art centre need to check for consistency against a strategy/protocol?

Is there a cooling-off period before production begins, allowing artists time to reconsider their decision or change their artwork selection?