Sing the praises of the art world’s unsung heroes on December 11th. Presented by Atelier 4, a recognized leader in fine art logistics, the first annual Registrar of the Year Award (ROTY), celebrates these masters of collection management, with an evening of awards and entertainment. The winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and be crowned 2019’s Registrar of the year during the event, this year at the newly-renovated Artists Space in New York City.
The evening comes on the heels of a two-month long online nomination and voting process, during which time friends and colleagues wrote passionate testimonials for fellow registrars, and invited the public to vote for the most deserving nominee. Of a field of nearly 40, only twenty will go on to the final stage of the process, where Clynton Lowry founder and editor-in-chief of Art Handler magazine and jobs.art, determines the final winner. Lowry will be on-site to make the grand announcement that evening.
This year, ROTY honors Cherie Summers for her registral work at museums such as the Guggenheim, MoMA and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. She is a tireless advocate for the field, as a mentor, and valued contributor to the Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists (ARCS). “We are the unsung heroes of the museum,” says Cherie Summers. “When you see exhibitions and all the art on the wall, the registrar is the one who got it there.”
If the art handlers who transport the work are the arteries of the art world, then the registrars and collections managers are its nerves. These logistical masterminds often possess a superhuman attention to detail coupled with an encyclopedic knowledge of all the works coming their way; from the paper it is printed on down to how that paper ages, and the best way to ensure it travels safely. Yet through all the condition reports, insurance forms, late night emails and solved mysteries, the stalwart registrar is often in the shadows.
“They’re our liaisons with the museums, and our lifeline to business contracts in the field we excel in. It makes sense to recognize these absolutely essential cogs in the wheel of culture.” says Jonathan Schwartz, Founder and CEO, Atelier 4.
Event festivities will include music will be provided by Sound Dart (Ed Potokar, Terry Dame, Scott Williams and Mark Schaaf), along with plenty of food and drink.