Collecting Cultural Material: Principles for best practice

A resource for collecting institutions

Information

Collecting Cultural Material: Principles for Best Practice has been developed by the Heads of Collecting Institutions (HOCI), which is a forum of the Chief Executives of the National Collecting Institutions within Australia.

Australia's collecting institutions vary and include large government funded agencies, as well as small volunteer run community organisations. However, they share common objectives of collecting, researching, preserving, and exhibiting cultural material from Australia and around the world.

They also share a concern that their collections are acquired in a manner that meets the highest standards of legal, ethical and professional practice. These guidelines are intended to assist cultural institutions within established legal and ethical frameworks.

The booklet contains several checklists, which are available for separate download from the Appendices page.

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Introduction

Australia's collecting institutions vary and include large, government funded agencies, as well as small volunteer run community organisations. However, they share common objectives of collecting, researching, preserving, and exhibiting cultural material from Australia and the world.

They also share a concern that their collections are acquired in a manner that meets the highest standards of legal, ethical and professional practice. These guidelines are intended to assist cultural institutions to work within established legal and ethical frameworks.

Collecting Cultural Material: Principles for Best Practice (the Principles) has been developed by the Heads of Collecting Institutions (HOCI), which is a forum of the Chief Executives of the National Collecting Institutions within Australia. A full list of member institutions is available under HOCI Membership.

The term “collecting cultural material” relates to the purchase, gift or bequest of objects of cultural material. The Principles represent the agreed standard that the HOCI members will apply in collecting cultural material and are consistent with their individual collection acquisitions and disposal policies.

The Principles may also be of interest to members of the broader collecting institution sector to assist them in their roles as custodians of our culture.

These Principles are designed as guidelines for institutions acquiring cultural material. They are not intended as regulations to be complied with in every individual acquisition made.

Institutions are encouraged to refer to their own collections and risk management practices when deciding whether further provenance research should be undertaken.

HOCI would like to acknowledge the invaluable information used in the preparation of these guidelines, in particular information developed by the United Kingdom Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), the International Council of Museums (ICOM), and the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD). Specifically, HOCI acknowledges:

  • DCMS's publication Combating Illicit Trade: Due Diligence Guidelines for Museums, Libraries and Archives on Collecting and Borrowing Cultural Material, which is Crown Copyright material in the UK and constituted a primary source document in developing the Principles.
  • Various checklists commissioned by MLA and administered by Collections Trust (available at www.culturalpropertyadvice.gov.uk). These formed a primary reference for the checklists on managing due diligence in acquiring objects for institutions.

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About the resource

Collecting Cultural Material: Principles for Best Practice has been developed by the Heads of Collecting Institutions (HOCI), which is a forum of the Chief Executives of the National Collecting Institutions within Australia.

Australia's collecting institutions vary and include large, government funded agencies, as well as small volunteer run community organisations. However, they share common objectives of collecting, researching, preserving, and exhibiting cultural material from Australia and the world.

They also share a concern that their collections are acquired in a manner that meets the highest standards of legal, ethical and professional practice. These guidelines are intended to assist cultural institutions to work within established legal and ethical frameworks.

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About the Principles

The term “collecting cultural material” relates to the purchase, gift or bequest of objects of cultural material. The Principles represent the agreed standard that the HOCI members will apply in collecting cultural material and are consistent with their individual collection acquisitions and disposal policies.

The Principles may also be of interest to members of the broader collecting institution sector to assist them in their roles as custodians of our culture.

These Principles are designed as guidelines for institutions acquiring cultural material. They are not intended as regulations to be complied with in every individual acquisition made.

Institutions are encouraged to refer to their own collections and risk management practices when deciding whether further provenance research should be undertaken.

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Related Links

Further information regarding provenance, due diligence and combating the illicit trade in cultural material can be obtained from numerous sources. The following list of websites is not exhaustive but may serve as a useful starting point.

The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) is the lead strategic agency for museums, libraries and archives in England.

The Collections Trust is the UK's lead organisation on documentation and information management for museums.

CollectionsLink is a national advisory service for collections management.

Cultural Property Advice provides advice to assist in ensuring due diligence in acquiring cultural material.

Culture UK links to the UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport publication 'Combating Illicit Trade: Due diligence guidelines and museums, libraries and archives on collecting and borrowing cultural material' and related information for collecting institutions.

The Commission for Looted Art in Europe monitors and promotes international progress in the implementation of international agreements for dealing with looted cultural property and its restitution.

The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and the The Illicit Antiquities Research Centre provide useful links and reports including 'Stealing History: The illicit trade in cultural material' (2000).

Museums Australia's 'Code of Ethics for Art, History and Science Museums' 1999 provides guidance on acquisitions, particularly in relation to provenance. The Museums Australia policy Continuous Cultures, Ongoing Responsibilities: Principles and Guidelines for Australian museums working with Australian and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage provides detailed guidelines for policy and procedure for dealing with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the management of their cultural property and heritage.

The International Committee of the Blue Shield advises on the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict and works to protect the world's cultural heritage by coordinating preparations to meet and respond to emergency situations. The Blue Shield operates under the Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict 1954.

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HOCI Memebership

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Legal Disclaimer

This publication was authorised and published by the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

These guidelines do not constitute legal advice. To the extent legally possible, the Heads of Collecting Institutions (HOCI) and the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, and their employees, officers and agents, disclaim all liability arising by reason of any breach of any duty in tort or as a result of any errors, omissions or misleading statements contained in this document.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2009.

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth. Requests an inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to:

Commonwealth Copyright Administration
Attorney General's Department
Robert Garran Offices
National Circuit CANBERRA ACT 2600

Or make a request online at www.ag.gov.au/cca

For more information contact: hoci@pmc.gov.au

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