Golden rule number four: Agree a commission.

Or not as the case may be. Some houses don’t take any money from their artists at all. However, you will have had to pay out at least a couple of hundred pounds yourself for various things. We used to split our immediate costs between all artists exhibiting in the house (i.e. advertising costs, trail fees, all equally split) and then take a 10% commission on any sales made. I never had an artist who thought this was unfair – because it isn’t. Some houses hire a carpet cleaner at the end of the Festival to re-clean their house carpets and charge that, too. It’s up to you but make sure you and your artists know well in advance what the charges are going to be.

I really think a commission charge is the best way to do things. Most artists appreciate the upheaval you’re going through on their behalf and are happy to agree to splitting the immediate costs upfront allied with a commission payment.

Golden rule number five: Agree installation dates.

Arrange one or two days prior to opening for your artists to come and install their work. I would advise doing this a few days before the event, too, to allow for the inevitable ‘oh, I forgot to bring…’ scenario which will require the artist to pop back before the first opening weekend and put in that vital piece of work or the price list that they forgot. Everyone forgets something.

Golden rule number six: Arrange a rota for invigilation.

Avoid the ‘I thought you were supposed to be here on Sunday morning, not Saturday?’ type of conversation. Give all your artists a Rota sheet and ask them to fill in the dates they will be available. Most houses open for six hours on the weekend and split each day into two, three-hour shifts. We used to allow one person per open room and one other ‘floating’. The floating wasn’t easy but meditate enough and you’ll get it…