Is your studio going to survive a major flood?

I've just been updating my Insurance for Art and Artists page for the 1,000 year flood in Houston.  

Those who already know it, will know that I do case study features to show what happens when the "these things always happen to somebody else - not me" event actually happens! The case studies feature

• fires in art schools (Pratt Institute Feb. 2013; Glasgow School of Art May 2014)
• fires in artists studios (Bastrop County Complex Fire September 2011)
• tornados and artist studios (Oklahoma Tornado May 2010)
• floods and art galleries (Superstorm Sandy 2012)

and now

• floods in Houston (Hurricane Harvey August 2017)

The situation in Houston

Here’s a List of Emergency Resources for Houston Artists:https://t.co/vgEHcMQYf7 pic.twitter.com/m4KTWCVMAn

— Glasstire (@Glasstire) August 28, 2017

What's really interesting is that most of art museums seem to have learned the lesson from Superstorm Sandy - which saw art galleries in the Chelsea area of New York flooded and lots of stock lost and the galleries closed for a significant time while plaster and floors were ripped out and the interior was reinstated.

The art groups seem to have thought through what to do. Or have moved very fast since. There's now an Emergency Resources for Artists in Houston Google Spreadsheet that can be found here

Not so the artists. I've seen a number on social media who have lost their studios - and never ever anticipated they would be affected by flooding. Sadly I gather some/many are also not insured for flooding. 

Has your art group thought about to respond to an emergency?

The time to think about how best to respond to an emergency is BEFORE it happens. It's called "risk management". 

• Has your local art group thought about what's unlikely to happen but it would be devastating if it did - and how they would respond?
• ​The National Coalition for Arts’ Preparedness and Emergency Response have Essential Guidelines for Arts Responders Organizing in the Aftermath of Disaster 

Will your studio survive a major flood?

Have you thought what you would do if your studio was destroyed along with your equipment, materials and stock of artwork?

Do you insure your art business for unexpected and catastrophic events?
Have you even thought about you might need to insure for? (You may be surprised).

I RECOMMEND you have

• a read of my page about insurance for art and artists and
• a think about what you would need to do to start earning again - if you suffered one of those "things that always happen to somebody else - not you" events.