Deaccessioning as Artistic Gesture

Museums are responsible for collecting and preserving artworks. It is less often discussed what happens when a museum decides to remove artwork from its collection. The Deaccessioning as Artistic Gesture project aims to make these processes and decisions both collaborative and visible to the public.

The project focuses on time- and site-specific art and its distinct collection management needs. Time- and site-specific art refers to art that is tied to a particular time, place or situation. In the case of performance art, for example, a museum may need to consider what it is actually acquiring for its collection: documentation of the performance, instructions for presenting the work, or the right to perform the work again.

Our aim is to develop a new way to position the life cycle of time- and site-specific art in the center of our collection management, as well as to create a practical operational model for planning the lifecycle of an artwork.

An artwork’s life cycle encompasses all the stages of its existence, from acquisition and preservation to its possible removal from the museum’s collection. Identifying the life cycle helps us plan how artwork will be cared for at its different stages.  The goal is for the life cycle of an artwork to be mapped out with the artist as part of acquisition process.

At the heart of the project is performative deaccessioning, which explores a new way of removing artwork from a museum collection. Deaccession means the permanent removal of an artwork from a museum collection. One of the most common reasons for it is the poor condition of artwork. Removal is always carried out in accordance with the museum’s collection policy and professional ethical guidelines. Even when an artwork is removed from the collection, information about it and its history remain part of the museum’s collection records.

Performative deaccession turns the removal of an artwork into an artistic act. The deaccession is planned together with the artist and carried out as a public event. In this way, deaccession becomes a visible part of the artwork’s life cycle.

The project uses the DISGRACE! graffiti in the Artsi collection as the first example of a new approach to deaccession. The work was created by artists Deos and Hende in 2016. Originally painted on plywood panels at the Myyrmäki graffiti wall, the work was later acquired by the museum. By the time it entered the Artsi collection, the condition of the panels, which had been kept outdoors for a long time, was already so poor that their deterioration could no longer be stopped.

Now DISGRACE! will be deaccessioned from the museum collection because of its poor condition. The deaccession is being planned together with the artists and will take place as a public performative event during the exhibition Fragile Surface (18 November 2026–30 May 2027).

For the upcoming exhibition, Artsi is also commissioning a new work from Hende and Deos that continues the story of the DISGRACE! graffiti. The life cycle of the new work will be planned at the time of acquisition. Its future deaccession will also be considered as part of the work’s life cycle.

Project duration: 3 August 2026–31 January 2027

The Finnish Heritage Agency supports the project through a grant for innovative museum projects.

Upcoming

Performative Deaccessioning

As part of the Fragile Surface exhibition, a performative deaccessioning will take place in which the DISGRACE! graffiti from the Artsi collection will be deaccessioned in collaboration with the artists Hende and Deos. Rather than taking place as a closed administrative procedure, the deaccessioning will be made public as an event and as part of the work’s lifecycle.

The exact date and programme of the event will be announced at a later stage.

Webinar for Museum Professionals (in Finnish)

In early 2027, a webinar will be held to present the observations, experiences and working model developed during the Deaccessioning as Artistic Gesture project. The webinar will focus on how the lifecycle of time- and site-specific art can be considered as part of museum collection work, and how deaccessioning can be developed into a planned and transparent process carried out in collaboration with artists.

The detailed content, programme and date of the webinar will be announced at a later stage.

Contact information

Ulla Reinikainen

Project Coordinator | Deaccessioning as Artistic Gesture

ulla.reinikainen[at]vantaa.fi

+358 503 146 273