19. EXHIBITION-RELATED CONSULTANTS

19.1 INTRODUCTION

From time to time, all museums rely on buying-in skills or resources to mount exhibitions. Even large institutions with numerous professional staff, need to retain additional, outside expertise. Accordingly, there is an extensive range of independent museum professionals who provide their services on a project by project basis. The include: exhibition designers, catalogue designers, lighting designers, commissioned contributors to the catalogue, installers, security experts, conservators, photographers and curators.

Even where the museum has this expertise in-house, it may choose to hire a consultant to provide the service. It may do so because its employees are already fully committed with other projects, to promote a new voice or approach or for financial reasons.

All consultants must be properly contracted. The terms of the agreement must very clearly articulate the expectations of both parties. In particular the brief must be fulsome and unambiguous.

19.2 MODEL CONSULTANCY AGREEMENT 

Museums are great users of consultants: they need to be because they have a continual need for diverse skills and no museum, however wonderfully resourced, has the internal intellectual richness to meet the entire range of demands upon it. The following is an agreement drafted for a major museum to use when retaining the services of consultants providing creative services such as the curator or designer of an exhibition or the author of a catalogue essay. The commentary provided, will assist to understand the significance of the clauses.

 

Model Consultancy Agreement with Commentary

Click here to view the Agreement (PDF).


Schedule

The model contract will then have a Schedule that sets out the nitty gritty that assists the administration and supervision of the contract. For example, the above contract may have a Schedule that looks like the following. Just make sure that all of the items set out in the Schedule are actually referred to in the principal agreement.

SCHEDULE
Item 1: CONTRACTOR DETAILS

Name: (referred to as ‘the Consultant’)

Address:

Telephone: Fax: Email:

Key person who is to deliver the Services:

Item 2: BRIEF:

Item 2.1: The Brief: [description of the project/activities for which the Contractor is contracted]

Item 3: PRICE AND DELIVERY
Date(due COB) Deliverables/Milestones Format /Conditions Payment ex GST AUD GST(if applicable)
31 August 20xx Report on visitors to Museum – June – July 20xx Word or compatible format 2 x hard copy version x000.00 x00.00
5 September 20xx Meeting with Museum Executive to brief on outcomes of report To be held in Museum board room Nil
10 days from delivery of the Work by Author. Acceptance by the Museum of all Deliverables x000.00 x00.00

 

Item 6: APPROVED BUDGETED EXPENSES:

Detail of expense Maximum amount to be reimbursed by Museum
TOTAL
Item 7: TRAVEL EXPENSES:
Detail of travel (eg: flights to and from & carrier & class)
Item 8: MATERIAL AND FACILITIES TO BE PROVIDED BY THE MUSEUM:

(eg: access to work facilities, conference rooms, meetings with staff)

Item 9: SPECIAL CONDITIONS:
Item 10: BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS

The Museum will make payment via electronic funds transfer into the following account:

Name of account:
Institution:
Bank State Branch (BSB) no.
Account no:

 

Australian Business Number:

The Consultant’s ABN is ………………………………………………………..

Item 15: REQUIRED INSURANCES

[1] The insurance requirements change depending on the kind of services that are being delivered. These can be specified in the Schedule.

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