STEP 1: CURATE YOUR COLLECTION
“Someone who’s looking to establish a gallery will have doubtless been collecting for a number of years; they’ll have a history,” says Benjamin Hampe, consultant and curator for the ASEAN Secretariat and its gallery, and a private advisor with Arndt Art Agency. Hampe believes the collector should resist the urge to simply buy big-name “blue chip” art and, instead, follow their tastes, exploring and supporting work by rising artists.
“If a museum is a personal enterprise, it should be reflective of the person who is supporting the institution,” he says. “A really good example is the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Tasmania. That museum is truly a reflection of its founder, David Walsh, and his personality—and it is quite a personality. Visitors get a sense of why Walsh collected the works, and that’s really interesting.”
The founder and CEO of contemporary art and design consultancy The Artling, Talenia Phua Gajardo, also advocates freethinking. When a collector is accumulating the art they’ll display in their private museum, she says, “Generally it starts where their passions lie and there are no set rules. That’s the beauty about private museums—owners create their own realities.”
However, as the museum owner should be looking to display at the very least 200 works, with a minimum total value of about US$20 million, it’s prudent to consult an advisor like Phua Gajardo or Hampe to ensure funds are wisely deployed. “We can help you identify artists worthy of your support, finding avenues for them to continue working and creating sustainable careers,” says Hampe. “That’s an area in need of a boost in Southeast Asia.” Phua Gajardo adds an art advisor could assist with “connecting the client to other art institutions, artists or galleries, helping to develop the museum’s curatorial programme, and bringing other patrons to the fold.”