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Editor’s Note: This article is also featured in our .ART Odyssey: SUCCESS, now on sale on Amazon. 

What Is Assemblage?

Assemblage (assemblage.art) is an organization that helps artists, collectors, and their circle (families, relatives, and other stakeholders) to strategically envision, plan, and cement their legacy. Assemblage’s people-centric approach begins with the artist or collector’s vision and intent, progresses through in-depth discussions, and culminates in the formation of a strategic plan that ensures that their creative legacy will remain alive, relevant, and engaging sustainably with a wide audience in the long term.  

Who is behind Assemblage?

At the heart of Assemblage is its founder’s passion and commitment to the arts, archives, and legacy. evlyne Laurin cites a devastating heartbreak, the exhibition Deadline (Musée d’art moderne de Paris, 2009–2010), and a long family history of loss, hospital visits and cancer as Assemblage inception story. From photography as her first art crush to printmaking, and then a career as an artist and photographer, she came to realize her preference was for supporting artists rather than creating her own art. Today, evlyne combines writing and curating with working to shine a light on overlooked artists, their practices, and their bodies of works. In the past, she has worked at as an artist liaison, at  the Canada Council Art Bank as an artist liaison and with Global Affairs Canada Visual Art Collection, as well as for several institutions and museums in Canada and abroad. In addition to being a legacy steward, she is also a fine art appraiser and a curator. Recent projects include co-publishing Gelsy Verna: Truth, Memory and Fiction for The Gelsy Verna Estate, and curating the exhibition Mémoire Matérielle for the Plural Art Fair in Montréal.  

evlyne holds a Master’s degree (Merit) in Contemporary Art from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London, England, and a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (Distinction) with a major in Print Media, a minor in Photography, and a minor in Art History from Concordia University in Montréal. She is also an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers.  

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We hear about it more and more: recognized artists, and some who were less well-known, are passing away. It seems a day doesn’t go by without the art news or Instagram announcing, shockingly, that a contributor to our art history is no longer with us. Faith Ringgold, Frank Stella, Bill Viola, Alex Janvier — these are but a few names among many. Each time an artist leaves the world, whether they were prolific or not, their art blue-chip or folk, we lose a fragment of (art)history.   

No one wants to imagine the day their soul will leave their body, but life’s one constant is that the end will come, sooner or later. Avoiding thinking about it or planning for it can lead to various issues. Legacy planning isn’t always surgical and clean: it can be messy and emotional, like taking a rollercoaster you haven’t experienced though you’ve heard its rattle and the screams of excitement and fear it prompts. But legacy planning is critical. 

This is where legacy stewards come in. We work hard, in the shadows, because we recognize the importance of collecting not only art, but also the stories, the narrative, and the inspiration behind your practice. One thing to consider is that, unless you leave some instructions, you risk that all your emails or even your diaries aka becoming public, as there might not be time to read through all and sort it out.  

I’m based in Montréal, but my clients come from all over the world. I’ve witnessed some denying that the end would come, even when, in some cases, they were well aware that it was coming. I knew that the worst thing an artist or collector can do is nothing: to leave no plans for the future of their art. By failing to plan, they rob themselves of the opportunity to champion their vision, their life, and their legacy.  

As a legacy planner, no two workdays are the same. I may be delving into someone’s archives, carrying out research, having a conversation with a client, or creating a strategic plan based on a conversation about the artist’s vision. From here, I formalize the goals that have emerged, whether they involve museum acquisition, cataloguing, placing your archives, creating a philanthropic mechanism in your name or other objectives. I talk not only with the artist, but also with family members, gallery staff, lawyers, notaries, assistants, collectors, and institution representatives. Some of those conversations are short, while others start early and end late, but all help me hone in on the artist’s wishes. I’ve cried tears of both joy and sadness in the process, but then I remember why I do this, and feel grateful for being able to see legacies put in place.  

Recently, I travelled to Europe for the opening of a solo artist exhibition.  Nothing exceptional here except that this artist has been gone for more than 15 years and that I worked closely with their estate. Working collaboratively with a French gallery to present this exhibition was one of the main achievement to revive their legacy. Because, despite never meeting them, they became someone I felt I knew and understood intimately, both personally and professionally. Throughout discussions with their estate representative, and by talking to those who knew them, I hashed out a strategic plan for their art to take its place in (art)history. But how many times did I wish they had written down a little something about what they themselves had wanted! Was I violating their privacy by reading their notebooks? Was I planning what they had wanted? I gained a great deal in being allowed to be something of a custodian of this great artist’s legacy. In Saint-Germain-des-Prés, I made a toast to their memory. Despite the artist not being there to talk about their art and introduce it in their own way, I experienced firsthand how it touched people. Facing a body of work that is so relevant today, they recognized that it could easily have fallen into oblivion.  

The field of legacy stewardship is growing and the very few of us that are working already are more in demand as more people see the tragedy of artists or collectors passing away without having plans in place.

While many I have spoken to in the past year agree that the worst approach is to do nothing, leave nothing, plan nothing, it’s artists and collectors who need to realize that, unless they plan their legacy — or as a minimum, discuss it with someone trustworthy or put their preferences in writing (they can even record a voice memo) — then their works may never be discovered. Others will have to guess at their preferences as best they can. I would ask you, then, to describe a series or why you created it, to avoid the person working on your legacy filling in the blanks and, quite possibly, replacing your vision with something you would have found flawed, false, or simply at odds with your practice. All legacy planners ask is that you do a little planning.  

While cost may be a deterrent for artists or collectors, I’m also aware of the burden others feel on inheriting an artistic practice and archives. Putting your instructions in writing costs little, and having discussions with your family or with relevant institutions, whether these are local, provincial, national, or international, will cost you only time. There are many resources available, and more are emerging regularly as the need for them grows. Artists associations also offer support, as do art or artist legal advice services. An initial conversation with a legacy steward or an organization such as Assemblage which may provide the direction you need in finding the best resources. Starting slowly is good. After this first step, I can help you at any stage, as you head for the end goal –that is, putting your legacy in place so that your art will endure. 

Thank you for your interest in this article. It’s also available in the second editon of our .ART Odyssey Publication. Purchase a physical copy or download onto your kindle from Amazon today.