Gallery Fair Practice Code

The Fair Practice code as applied by OpenArtExchange

1. The gallery shall record in writing the relationship between the gallery and the artist, including agreements regarding the duration of the agreement, prices and any applicable discounts. Other matters that may be recorded in this document include: monitoring and evaluation of the agreements, both parties’ targets (e.g. regarding international visibility), the relationship with a second gallery, agreements regarding the settlement of any discounts, regarding commissions from third parties, or the settlement of other expenses such as for transport, photography, insurance or the construction of an exhibition. OpenArtExchange works with standard 2-year contracts that address all relevant mutual rights and obligations between gallery and artist, including but not limited to pricing, commission, costs, invoicing and settlements and cover all fair practice code principles unless reasonably agreed and disclosed otherwise.
2. The artist remains the owner of their work until the full amount is paid to the gallery, with the exception of secondary trading. This also applies in the case of gallery bankruptcy or attachment. OpenArtExchange has included an explicit clause in its artist-gallery agreements to this effect and commits to only deliver the art works unless payments have been fully received or are fully guaranteed to the artist.
3. The gallery shall transfer the full artist’s share of the sales price agreed with the customer within 60 days following the sale of the artist’s work, and provide the artist with the buyer’s name and address details, and a copy of the invoice. OpenArtExchange commits to a 30 days term.
4. Unsold artworks in the charge of the gallery must always be returned to the artist within a month, if requested by the artist. In the standard 2-year contract of OpenArtExchange this is subject to a mutually agreed minimum assignment period of 9 months related to the timing of subsequent representation of the artist on (inter)national art fairs.
5. The relationship between galleries may involve competition and rivalry, but in the case of different galleries representing the same artist, the galleries should in all respects remain loyal to the interests of the artist in question. If a gallery exclusively represents an artist, thereby acting as their ‘mother gallery’, and another gallery would like to organise an exhibition with this artist, the involved parties should make written agreements regarding the conditions under which the exhibition can be held.
6. The gallery is expected to be professional and competent, and to maintain this professionalism and competence. OpenArtExhange has translated this professionalism in seven key values that drive our behaviour, being leadership, diversity, development, community, commitment, reasonability and fun. Read more.
7. The gallery vouches for the authenticity of the work that they are selling. In the case that a work is adjudged to be fake by a recognised independent party, the customer may return the work to the gallery owner and have the amount paid for the work refunded. As such, OpenArtExchange provides authentication certificates signed by the artist with all art works above EUR 300.
8. A gallery shall state the following on their website: their objectives, programme, working method and the artists that they represent. On the About us page you can read more about the mission, objectives and values of OpenArtExchange. The Artists page shows an overview of all represented artists and other artists we work with, which navigates to individual artist pages. 
9. A gallery is expected to act in accordance with the Fair Practice Code, which includes an assurance against inappropriate behaviour at the gallery and elsewhere. OpenArtExchange has addressed mutual respectful communication in its standard artist-gallery contracts and fully commits to its values and the endorsement of the principles in the Fair Practice Code.