How Museums Can Commission Creatives to Reach New Audiences

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland has been commissioning creatives to share archaeological finds in new ways. Its Dig It! team hired artists to respond to their finds for their annual Dig It! fieldwork campaign. Later photographers joined them in the field to capture unique perspectives on the fieldwork. Also, Dig It! commissioned a spoken word artist to create a poem inspired by a new site. The team also hired a tattoo artist to reimagine three scenes featuring Black figures in Scottish history.

At MuseumNext, Julianne McGraw and Sally Pentecost from the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland shared how they collaborate with creatives to create these imaginative experiences.

These examples of contemporary artists working with heritage explore further possibilities for interpretation.

Start with the audience and purpose

Your vision needs to make sense before you reach out to creatives. Think about your museum values, mission, and objectives and if the project will fit with the museum’s overall direction.

Also, look at your target audience and where it overlaps with other organisations or creatives. The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland was able to expand its reach by hiring a storyteller to participate in a storytelling festival. Using their hashtags, they were able to engage with the festival’s audience by engaging with the theme and releasing video content captured on the day of the festival.

It is also important to consider the medium to see what might get the best reaction from your target audience and the media. In the speakers’ account of Dig It!’s commissions, photography was the most successful medium, but also the most expensive. Consider the distribution method because some mediums may have limitations on where and how they can be distributed.

Hiring Creatives

The first thing you need to do is write a brief. Start with the basics and provide comprehensive information. Here are some things to think about before you write an ad, brief, and contract:

• What you are trying to achieve
• How you intend to use the artwork
• Where you intend to use the artwork
• How long you intend to use the artwork
• The type of file you want
• Method of communication
• Final deadline
• Fee and payment schedule
• Scope of work and revision process
• How many drafts you require
• Agreement withdrawal terms
• Copyright ownership and permitted uses to agree with the creative
• Examples of what you don’t want

Providing this information helps both parties agree what the commission involves and how it will be delivered. Creatives are not mindreaders, and while you are hiring them for their creativity, they do need some guidance.

De Pont’s partner-led takeovers show how a museum can set a theme while leaving partners room to shape the response.

Choose an appropriate recruitment route

There are two methods you could use to find creatives:

1. Source creatives individually
2. Hold an open call

Which method you choose will depend on a number of factors. Experiment with both and find out which works best for you and your museum.

Creatives are easy to find, especially on social media. Etsy is a great place to look for creatives as you can use the filters to find people in your location and view their past work. Approaching creatives individually is a lot less work than an open call, and it keeps the project private until you are ready to launch it.

Open calls can be useful if you are unsure of the type of style you want for the project. You will see applications from creatives that you may not have otherwise considered. It is also a great way to hire multiple creatives if you want a number of them to work on the project.

 

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Make applications accessible

Commissioning creatives is a great way to connect with underrepresented communities and find fresh perspectives on the subject matter. The Society’s team has valued the way creatives have interacted with the past, especially those without a heritage or archaeology background.

In order to encourage inclusivity, they included the following things in the ad:

• No minimum experience requirements
• Flexible response methods (text, video, or audio) to explain how their work would suit the brief
• No requirement to produce work for the application

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland hired an equality, diversity and inclusion consultant to help its team create a framework for hiring diverse creatives. The team sought guidance on compliance, and the consultant also informed its adverts, briefs and approach to future projects. One useful contribution was a list of places to advertise opportunities to reach a diverse group of creatives.

Build relationships and pay fairly

A repeat commission can build on trust, but it still needs a clear agreement. Set out the fee, payment stages, work required, revision process and intended uses of the finished material. If promotion by the creative is part of the plan, discuss it as part of that scope rather than assuming access to their audience comes with the artwork.

 

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A post shared by Dig It! (@digitscotland)

Plan enough time for the commission

If you are considering commissioning creatives for your museum, Julianne McGraw and Sally Pentecost had these 6 tips:

1. Link the project aims with the larger objectives of the museum. These provide context for what you are trying to achieve.
2. Give yourself plenty of time for the commission. McGraw and Pentecost advised allowing at least three months; the time needed depends on the brief, recruitment process and production requirements.
3. Don’t underpay creatives. Do some market research to identify a fair wage for the work you are commissioning. Underpaying creatives can result in subpar work and will make your hiring practices less inclusive.
4. Look for partner organisations to expand your reach. This will help your project gain more traction without large advertising costs.
5. Choose the hiring practice that works for you. Weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of various hiring practices to find the best match for you.
6. Follow the creative’s lead. Embrace the ideas they present and allow them creative freedom. You have hired them for their skills.

Julianne McGraw and Sally Pentecost from Society of Antiquaries of Scotland spoke about their work at MuseumNext in 2021.