EΜΣΤ COLLECTION POLICY
PURCHASES, GIFTS, BEQUESTS & LONG-TERM LOANS

THE COLLECTION
EMΣT collects Greek and international works of contemporary art, with a focus on the 21st century. The EMΣT Collection in the main comprises conceptual art and socio-politically oriented works.

In terms of media, the Collection includes painting, sculpture, mixed-media constructions and installations, drawings and engravings, photography, video art and works incorporating contemporary audio-visual and/or other technological means, and performance documentation.

The remit of the Collection encompasses works by contemporary Greek artists active from the 1960s onwards that illuminate the history and key developmental stages of the contemporary tradition both within Greece and beyond its borders. This policy of collecting contemporary Greek art also supports and showcases younger generations of artists who represent the dynamic here and now of the arts in Greece.

When it comes to international art, the collection policy is centred around the wider Mediterranean region and Greece’s strategic geographical location in south-eastern Europe: in the Balkans and in close proximity to the Middle East and North Africa. It is a locus rich in narratives, rooted in the multi-cultural, historical, and socio-political dynamics of the Mediterranean, Southern Europe, and the region once known as the Levant.

The five (5) criteria governing acquisitions:
Operating in accordance with its rules of governance, mission statement, and the present stated policy, EMΣT is growing its collection by means of purchases, gifts, bequests, and long-term loans.
The acquisition criteria are as follows:
1. RELEVANCE TO THE COLLECTION
EMΣT seeks to acquire works of art that complement, frame, and enrich the Collection, in line with the points outlined above.
More specifically:

• Seminal works by major Greek artists not currently represented in the collection, recognised for their contributions to Greek art history and the development of contemporary art in Greece from the 1960s onwards.
• Works by Greek artists representative of the rich -though sometimes overlooked or as yet undiscovered- artistic production and avant-garde legacy of the Greek diaspora, a large part of which has never received the recognition it rightly deserves or has been marginalised.
• Works by mid-career and young Greek artists that enrich the collection, offering up both alternative, multi-faceted takes on political and cultural life in Greece, and tools for better understanding the current polyvalent and constantly changing global context.
• Works by international contemporary artists that align with ΕΜΣΤ’s present Acquisitions Policy as outlined here, which itself centres on Greece’s geopolitical position in South-Eastern Europe and the European South.
• Works by international artists who have conducted long-term research into Greece and have produced pieces relating to the country’s recent history and culture.

2. CONDITION
Acquired works ought to be in good condition, though exceptions can be made. For example, these might include cases where the artist acknowledges the degradation of materials as acceptable, where works can be replicated by mechanical processes, or where a work is considered so important that a high risk of deterioration is deemed acceptable.

3. MANAGEABILITY
ΕΜΣΤ’s capacity for conserving and storing the works in accordance with the best possible museum standards and practices.

4. DISPLAY POTENTIAL
The potential for exhibiting the works, taking into account spatial requirements and technical parameters.

5. LOAN POTENTIAL
The potential for loaning the works to other institutions, both in Greece and abroad, and the possibility this affords for forging fruitful partnerships.

ACQUISITIONS PROCEDURE
EMΣT expands its collection by means of purchases, gifts, bequests, and long-term loans.

ACQUISITIONS

• As regards purchases in particular, the artistic director, working in collaboration with the in-house curatorial team, drafts proposals for acquisitions, which are then submitted to the museum’s Board for approval. This same process also applies to long-term loans.
• ΕΜΣΤ does not purchase works directly from artists when they have professional representation. Instead, it actively supports commercial intermediary platforms (i.e. galleries or commercial art centres).
• ΕΜΣΤ pledges not to purchase works without first performing due diligence to ensure that their suppliers (artists and/or art dealers) are in full compliance with all legal and tax-related obligations relevant to each transaction at hand.
• ΕΜΣΤ does not purchase works from artists or collectors who are also members of its staff or sit on its Board.

GIFTS

As for gifts, EMΣT accepts these selectively and only on condition that the works gifted are of high quality, align with the museum’s Collection Policy, are in good condition and were acquired by their donors in accordance with all relevant legislation in force at the time of their acquisition.

• Any proposed gift must be documentarily substantiated and shall be subject to review by the academic and curatorial team at EMΣT in order to evaluate its merit.
• EMΣT reserves the right to accept only select works from any proposed gift. Such proposals are reviewed twice a year. No acceptance of a gift is final unless it has been ratified by the museum’s Board.
• This same process also applies to bequests.
• EMΣT maintains archival documentation that includes a work’s inventory number, legal status and ownership history, condition report (produced upon inspection), high-resolution images of the work, loan and exhibition history, copyright agreement, and acquisition agreement.