There are many ways how you can damage art—breaking, scratching, chipping, cracking, smashing, just to name a few. As simple as it may sound, moving fine art is actually harder than it looks and sounds. That’s why the role of an art handler is fundamental to the entire industry. Thanks to them and other art professionals, you have a luxurious possibility to look at magnificent artworks at art galleries, art salons, art museums, art fairs, streets, and many other places. The question is, what do art handlers do?
Inside the life of an art handler
An art handler is an umbrella term. These people are usually thoroughly qualified in different fields simultaneously, which makes their job pretty demanding because you never know what challenges you will face. The core responsibility of a handler is to ensure the safety of a piece of art by any possible means. Art preparators—that’s another term for art handlers—should deal with all sorts of risks on a regular basis. They pack, move, unpack, and install works of art. That’s the very basic definition of a handler.
Surprisingly or not, there is not an official degree that makes you a handler. It is an experience-based job. People with different backgrounds become art handlers, but as a rule, almost everyone is somehow connected with the world of art. However, you won’t become a professional if you have only naked creativity under your belt. Technical skills are, in fact, a must because you have to know how to find plausible ways of realization of sometimes too abstract ideas.
Showing beauty through mechanical work is the raison d’être of an art handler. Because of its high level of responsibility and work ethics, this job is considered to be one of the most important yet particularly difficult in the entire art logistics domain. Now you understand how important it is to hire true professionals when you want to ship artwork to another city or country.