We stress that artists and venues must work out a “Hosting Agreement” before the artist secures space within a venue (download the template). ArtPrize won’t police if a venue and artist actually signed the agreement. Artist and venue could come to a verbal agreement, but we strongly suggest you get it on paper. I’ll use a tacky analogy about online dating to explain why.

Nancy Artist is looking for a relationship and stumbles across Alan Venue’s profile online.

• Nancy Artist finds Alan Venue appealing
• She clicks “Connect” to let Alan know she’s interested
• Alan is notified that Nancy is interested
• Alan checks out Nancy’s profile
• He likes what he sees

This is the point where the Hosting Agreement comes in. Alan Venue could just say, “Meet me at the Casbah,” but he knows that wouldn’t be prudent. He wants the terms of the relationship to be clear before things get serious, so he doesn’t shock Nancy when he demands she get rid of her cat on the third date.

The Hosting Agreement is a template to address all details an artist will want to know about a venue before deciding to show work and vice versa. It covers things like:

• A description of the work to be exhibited
• How much space it will take up in the venue
• When the artist can start installation
• Specific requirements for the work (like lighting)
• Specific description of the location within the venue
• Any additional open hours beyond the required minimum
• Who is responsible for work removal and how it will be removed
• Who pays for shipping, installation, promotional materials (if any)
• Who is responsible for insurance and security during the event
• Whether or not the artist will give a scheduled talk
• Any fee the venue wants to charge (so far we haven’t heard of a venue charging a fee)

The above details are the ones that—without a Hosting Agreement in place—could be easily missed or miscommunicated and create a real strain between artist and venue, leading to a nasty break up.

Artists and venues are expected to negotiate the terms until both parties are comfortable with the details. Then, let the dating begin!

Download Hosting Agreement template

Note that names can simply be typed like this /Nancy Artist/ into the signature section at the bottom of the Hosting Agreement. It constitutes a valid signature, so the entire agreement can be done through email without having to print it out, sign it and fax or mail it back and forth.