I think that one can find conflict in almost any situation if one looks hard
enough. The "value" of anything associated with an exhibit usually increases -
whether it is an object owned privately on loan, a museum object that for
whatever reason is sold at a later date, or even the resume credit or cache that
goes with identifying oneself with a product (e.g., exhibit).

Museums increasingly use this product identification to amplifying their own
marketing and monetary status.

I think that the relevant thing here is that those involved (if they are
guest curators, artists, designers, whatever) don't excessively promote themselves
until after the exhibit is done, and not overtly during the show. I think
that's about all you can expect. A good barometer is the past performance of the
people involved - get a track record and references and have long
conversations with the people and institutions who have worked with them before.

The real question to answer is whether these are the type of people with whom
you would be proud to have associated with your museum.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).