Lend thousands of works for exhibitions every year. MiBACT sets rules for loans

In 2018, as many as 9,600 works belonging to the Italian state moved for temporary exhibitions in Italy and abroad (655 in all), while for the first eight months of 2019 we are already at 4,200 works for 333 exhibitions. In order to order this conspicuous flow of works moving in every direction, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism has issued a circular, signed by the director general of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape Federica Galloni, which contains clarifications on the lending of works for exhibitions, also in the wake of the recent reorganization of MiBACT itself decided this summer with the Bonisoli reform. The reform, in particular, meant that decisions on loan authorizations for exhibitions reverted to the exclusive competence of the General Directorate of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape (with the Franceschini reform, on the contrary, a partial delegation granted to the superintendencies was established, which could therefore proceed to issue authorizations autonomously: the delegation did not exist only in cases of particular delicacy, for which the decision was still up to the General Directorate).

The reform thus provided an opportunity for a re-examination of the procedures, also due to the fact that the MiBACT investigations, in addition to the large numbers of the phenomenon (we are talking, as we have seen, about thousands of works), revealed critical issues arising from the poor compliance with the timing and evaluation requirements required by the law, and in addition, overlaps and confusions of similar procedures were detected. The circular thus intervenes to bring order to the matter.

Meanwhile, the circular establishes that authorizations are again delegated to superintendents: however, the delegation only concerns authorizations for loans to exhibitions taking place in Italy, and for works that do not constitute cases of particular delicacy and relevance. The latter are identified according to size, constituent materials, technique, and state of preservation: in cases where all of the above require special precautions with regard to conservation, handling, and transportation, the decision rests with the Directorate General. In particular, the latter does not delegate to the superintendents decisions involving boards exceeding 150 cm in either dimension, canvases exceeding 300 cm in either dimension, stone, metal or ceramic sculptures exceeding 100 cm in either dimension, plaster sculptures of any size, sculptures of any material weighing more than 100 kg, works that are difficult to handle in relation to weight, detached frescoes, wall paintings or mosaics greater than 150 cm, objects of fragile materials (e.g., works of wax, paper, parchment, textiles, feathers, goldsmithing, installations or environmental works), and even works that are fragmentary or reconstituted as a result of calamitous events.

The circular also excludes delegation to superintendents in the case of goods that belong to the main core of a museum or collection or constitute a characterizing element of an architectural or monumental context, and still iconic works in relation to public perception and expectations, goods to which is attributed a particular symbolic or identity value by a community or collectivity, sets of goods that come from the same contexts, goods that lend themselves within the framework of agreements entered into with foreign institutions, goods that have been moved more than twice within the last three years. Finally, it is also up to the Directorate General to decide on loans of special difficulty, for which the superintendencies deem it appropriate to request the prior opinion of the Directorate.

The circular also establishes the criteria and instructions for the conduct of preliminary investigations and the issuance of delegated authorizations, referring to the Guidelines for the issuance of authorizations for the loan of works of art contained in the Ministerial Decree of January 29, 2008. In particular, it is recalled that reasons for lending include the possibility of “contributing to an important exhibition or an interesting educational project or one that involves new audiences; deepening knowledge of a work or taking the opportunity to restore it; temporarily reuniting objects that time has separated; showing works usually kept in storage and therefore difficult to use; learning about new cultures; and reciprocating loans from other museums.” Instead, reasons for not lending, “in addition, of course, to those related to risks from the point of view of the safety and physical preservation of the object, include those related to the circumstance that the subject matter of the exhibition is too limited or commercial to justify moving the requested object; that the scholarly project is confusing or unable to clearly demonstrate the need to include a particular object in the exhibition; that the added value in lending the object is not relevant.”

The basic elements for deciding on a loan, however, remain basically two: the conservation condition of the work and the appropriateness of its removal from its current location (the first of the two being of primary and direct importance for the decision). MiBACT also recommends that special attention be paid to the examination of the scientific design of the exhibitions. The guidelines state that “the prevailing reasons must always be the necessity on the research front, the scientific nature of the project, and the cultural appropriateness of the initiative” and that “the loan of a work of art must be subject to the verification of the coherence and cultural quality of the event for which the loan is requested, justifying the temporary renunciation of the work itself in the name of cultural advancement.” A scholarly project, the circular further specifies, “cannot disregard the clear indication of the curator(s), the members of the scientific committee and the organizing committee of the exhibition, a complete list of the works with an explication of the lenders, and information about the presence or absence of the catalog.”

Finally, the last point concerns procedural and operational instructions for the issuance of authorizations, since, the text of the circular states, “the handling of cultural goods for exhibitions and expositions constitutes a very critical activity from the point of view of the preservation of the goods.” Therefore, whether the superintendencies directly authorize or instead operate by preparing the preliminary investigation for the issuance of the final measure by the Directorate General, the superintendencies themselves are required to observe a number of points. Meanwhile, they must notify the Directorate of the contact person for exhibitions (and this ten days within the issuance of the circular). Strict rules on timing as well: loan authorizations must be submitted to MiBACT at least four months prior to the start of the exhibition, with an indication of the person responsible for custody. The superintendencies must then forward the loan application to the Directorate General no later than ten days after its receipt, all with relevant indications: “date of receipt of the request and qualification of the person who submitted it; title (even if provisional)of the exhibition; period of performance, with indication of the day scheduled for the opening; place and location, or subsequent locations in the case of traveling exhibitions; complete list, even if provisional, of the works intended to be exhibited; list of works requested on loan; scientific project with indication of the names of the curator(s) and the scientific committeeand the organizing committee; loan form (loan form) duly filled in and signed by the owner-lender; indication of the name and contact details of the person in charge of the custody of the works in the exhibition and the person in charge of the custody of the works lent abroad; indication [to the] Directorate General of any need for the advisory opinion of the competent technical-scientific committees; indication of the name and contact details with telephone numbers and email addresses of the official(s) in charge of the preliminary investigation; indication of the name(s) and contact details with telephone numbers and email addresses of the contact persons of the owner-lenders and the organizers.”

The preliminary file must be constantly updated, and in addition, within the maximum period of sixty days, the statement on the legal status of the property, the legitimacy of the provenance and possession with particular regard to archaeological goods must be submitted; the copy of the measure of declaration of cultural interest in the case of privately owned works; the guarantee of return at the end of the event issued by the host/organizer for exhibitions held abroad; theabroad; in case of loan abroad, the note signed by the homologous ministry of the host state certifyingthe jurisdictional immunity enjoyed by the Italian state; for requests with a number of more than seven pieces, an excel list of the works that are the subject of the request, with relevant photos; the loan conservation sheet; the names of the specialized firms for logistics (handling, picking, handling, packing, transporting, setting up and vice versa); the names of the insurance companies. Finally, no later than twenty days after the opening of the exhibition, and in any case before the handling of the pieces, the Directorate General must acquire all the necessary documentation, especially that which is perfected close to the departure dates of the goods (thus, all changes to the project must be documented; in addition, the reports of the transporters must be provided, insurance certificates, restorers’ reports in case of interventions required for the move, explication of the export and customs offices from which transit is required, dates of departure and setting up of the works, indications of collection, storage and transit points, receipts and receipts of payment of the insurance premium, and the time schedule).

Lend thousands of works for exhibitions every year. MiBACT sets rules for loans

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