Arts organization auction item ideas that actually sell

For the general list, see our 100+ silent auction item ideas. An arts organization sells the work, access to how it is made, and experiences that are not for sale at any price.

Access to process, which is not purchasable

• Attending a rehearsal, a technical run or a dress
• A studio visit with an artist while they work
• Watching a set build, a costume fitting, a lighting plot
• A seat in the pit, or beside the sound desk, during a performance
• A conductor's, director's or curator's walkthrough of a programme
• A hang — helping install an exhibition, which people find fascinating

This is the strongest category and it costs almost nothing. Access to process is the thing a subscriber cannot buy with any amount of money and wants most.

The work itself

• Donated pieces from artists, with reserves
• A commission — a portrait, a piece to a brief, a work for a specific wall
• Prints and editions, which let several bidders buy
• A piece by a resident, an emerging artist or a student
• Work by a name associated with the organization's history

Terms and pricing: asking artists and pricing and reserves.

Being in it, briefly

• A walk-on part, a supernumerary role, or a name in the programme as a character
• Singing with the chorus for one number at a concert
• Naming a character, a prop, a set piece or a lighting cue
• Your face in a crowd scene, a portrait, or a mural panel
• Choosing an encore, a programme item or a colour

The walk-on is a reliable winner where the production and the performers agree to it. Check with the director and the company first, and keep it genuinely small.

Tuition and expertise

• A lesson or masterclass with a company member
• A portfolio review for an emerging artist
• A workshop for a group — a company away day, a school, a book club
• A collector's evening — how to start collecting, taught by somebody who knows
• Framing, conservation or installation advice

The building and the season

• Season tickets, a box, or best seats for a run
• A private event in the gallery, the foyer or on the stage
• The rehearsal room or studio for a day
• Naming a seat, a rehearsal room, a piece of equipment
• A programme advertisement or a season sponsorship

What to check or keep out

• Anything accessioned, where the organization holds a collection
• An artist's or performer's time without asking them directly, and without checking contract or engagement terms
• Anything implying a donation affects programming — commissions, slots, casting, selection or a show
• Work donated without a reserve where a low price would damage the maker
• Reproductions or images the organization does not have the rights to use
• Anything involving a licensed production that the licence does not permit — a walk-on in a licensed musical may not be yours to sell

The licensing point catches producing organizations out. A performance licence governs what may be done with the work, and adding a paying member of the public to the stage is a question for the licensor rather than the box office.

General information, not legal or tax advice. The treatment of an artist's donation of their own work differs from a collector's donation of the same piece, and appraisal and substantiation rules are technical — artists and donors should take their own advice.