Joint Acquisition and Shared Custody in Art Museums: The Case of the National Gallery of Canada

Abstract

In the age of networks, museums are increasingly turning to collaborative practices and partnerships. While often at work in exhibition projects, collaboration can also infiltrate acquisi­tion projects and disrupt traditional collecting practices. This article examines two types of collaborative musealization: joint acquisition and shared stewardship. While joint acquisition re­fers to the shared ownership of a work by several (non-)muse­um institutions, shared stewardship refers to a sharing of deci­sion-making authority over a work in the collections, without transfer of ownership. The first part of this article sets out the theoretical underpinnings of these two concepts, then considers them through the case study of the National Gallery of Can­ada. Its institutional history will be examined to highlight its propensity for collaboration and partnerships, paving the way for renewed collaborative practices.