Access to the Arts

The Fourth and final of a few cartoons relating to the same art exhibition - where beautiful yet delicate pieces of vellum were displayed in the open on plinths, secured by pins. First cartoon here. Second cartoon here. Third cartoon here. 

The artist insisted that the pieces not be boxed up or roped off, which may have worked well in a dedicated arts venue, but in a mixed heritage site/local museum/visitor attraction it just attracted the wrong kind of attention. 

After many incidents where members of the public had touched, poked or outright picked up the pinned down artwork, a very serious conversation was held with the artist. The artist offered to come and make good any damage which took place during the period of the display. But would charge us for that service, which could be understandable, as it is their working time.  As a venue with limited resources, the balance of not enough staff to man the room full time, refusal to allow us to restrict access, and fee to fix damage was a troublesome issue to manage. 
I was very thankful to not be our boss during these negotiations.