---
title: "Deinstallation"
description: "The physical act of taking an artwork down, including rigging, transport, and making the site safe, as distinct from the decision to remove it."
glossary: "https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary"
source: "https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/deinstallation"
---

# Deinstallation

> The physical act of taking an artwork down, including rigging, transport, and making the site safe, as distinct from the decision to remove it.

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

Deinstallation is the highest-risk moment in most works' lives. More damage
happens during handling, lifting, and transport than during years of weather
on site, and outdoor works are especially vulnerable because they were
engineered to sit still rather than to be moved. A condition report before
the work comes down and another after it lands gives everyone an honest
record of what the move cost.

The other discipline is photographic. Once a work is off its base, the
relationship between the piece and its site exists only in pictures, so the
last hour before deinstallation is worth more documentation than the whole
year preceding it: the work in context, the sightlines, the footings, the
signage, and any damage already present. Crews are focused on the object,
which is why somebody should be assigned to the site.

Related terms: [Decommissioning](https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/decommissioning), [Relocation](https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/relocation), [Condition report](https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/condition-report), [Conservation](https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/conservation)

## Mentioned in

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