Attention Visual Artists!

DC Advocates for the Arts wants to let visual artists know about an issue their are currently pursuing.

Since July 2001, DC has had no provision that pertains to artist/gallery transactions involving works of art. In the absence of a statute, works of art owned by artists but in the possession of galleries (e.g., loaned for exhibition or otherwise in a gallery's inventory) can be seized by creditors of the gallery if a gallery goes bankrupt. There have been several recent high profile cases where artists, collectors, and estates of artists have been screwed by this.

DC used to have such a law (DC Code Section 28:9-114), but this section was omitted when the new Uniform Commercial Code Secured Transactions Revision Act of 2000 was adopted.

Over two dozen states currently have statutes that govern consignments of works of art with galleries. Several more are working on them. We are working with a lawyer, who is working with councilmember Cheh, and we have a draft of a bill that would fix this loophole. But we see this as a chance to educate visual artists also about what they need to do to protect themselves.

For more info check out DC Advocates for the Arts.