Free Art for the Office? Not So Fast
The idea free art for the office sounds like a smart business decision at first glance but watch out, hidden costs, potential conflicts and even lawsuits might occur.
Running your office space like a gallery can start out as a way to save money on office decor but in the end turn around and bite you with personal distractions and disruptions your business.
The Pitch
The basic idea of “free artwork” is that your blank walls need decorating and there are plenty of artist’s looking for places to display their art. You get fresh art on your walls to liven up the office and the artists get some free exposure and perhaps a sale of their work if someone sees it and wants to buy it.
But the whole process is laden with all kinds of potential pitfalls. Staff time is required to coordinate with arts organizations, artist, building maintenance crew and management to select and curate the artwork. Also to deal with problems that might arise. Such complaints might be:
- Complains from employees or visitors about the artwork
- Individual artists wanting their artwork back randomly
- Damage to the artwork
- Conflicts between an artist and a buyer which spills over to the organization
A Better Way
A better way to decorate an office is through an art rental company such as Turning Art. These professional companies take all of the hassle out of decorating the office with curated artwork from pre-screen artists.
You can learn more with this article on the hidden costs of free art – http://blog.turningart.com/the-hidden-costs-of-free-art