---
title: "Decommissioning"
description: "The planned end of an artwork's public display, covering its removal, the restoration of the site, and the disposition of the work itself."
glossary: "https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary"
source: "https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/decommissioning"
---

# Decommissioning

> The planned end of an artwork's public display, covering its removal, the restoration of the site, and the disposition of the work itself.

Glossary: https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary  
Source: https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/decommissioning

Decommissioning belongs in the original contract, not in an email thread
three years later. The questions are always the same: who removes the work,
who pays for it, what condition the site returns to, whether the artist gets
first refusal on the object, and who keeps the documentation. Agreeing on
that while everyone still likes each other costs an afternoon; negotiating it
after a deadline or a dispute costs considerably more.

It is not a synonym for deaccession. A temporary installation that was never
formally accessioned can still be decommissioned, and a permanent work can be
deaccessioned without anyone touching it for months. Decommissioning
describes the end of the public-facing life of the piece, which is the part
audiences notice and the part programs most often forget to record.

Related terms: [Temporary public art](https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/temporary-public-art), [Deaccession](https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/deaccession), [Deinstallation](https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/deinstallation), [Commission](https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/commission)

## Mentioned in

- [What Happens When Public Art Goes Away](https://www.civiccollection.com/blog/what-happens-when-public-art-goes-away)