Concern over artist protections after San Mateo County Center theft

“We went to go take [the exhibition] down, and she's counting the pieces and is like, ‘I think I'm miscounting.’ Then I was counting them, and I was like, ‘oh my gosh, one’s gone.’ Then the whole thing spiraled out. It was horrible,” said Shawna Ahern, the former art curator at the Office of Arts and Culture, the agency who runs the center’s exhibition program.

While the building is secure, it is open to the general public, including residents coming to and from the courthouse, making it a comparatively unique gallery space. The suspect, Shanta Barden, was allegedly seen on camera taking the $1,900 piece off the wall and rolling it up into her purse. She has a track record of similar charges and was caught stealing more than $1,000 worth of goods soon after taking the art piece as well, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. 

Most private galleries carry insurance for artists during shows, meaning if someone steals or damages a piece, the artist is justly compensated. But to showcase art at the San Mateo County Center — along with many city spaces — artists are required to sign a waiver absolving the county of any costs associated with potential harm or theft. Such an arrangement has its perks, as counties typically won’t take a cut of sales like other galleries, Cook said. The downsides, however, can be quite costly and affect who agrees to show their work.

Ahern said that when she started her position several years ago, there was enthusiasm about expanding and diversifying the exhibiting artists. But she quickly ran into hurdles upon learning the county does not provide insurance coverage for the displayed work, significantly impacting the number of artists who would be willing to take such a risk. She had been in talks with Cook for about two years before the Daly City-based artist was comfortable enough showing her paintings at the Redwood City building, as she happened to secure insurance coverage through a home insurance policy. 

“I thought that was interesting because any place I've ever worked at where the public can see the artwork, you just have insurance,” Ahern said. “I thought that that was really strange.”

For established artists, electing a space that has insurance over those that don’t is a no-brainer, and that partially explains why the city and county programs often attract up-and-coming artists who don’t have the same access and connections to private galleries in the area. Boris Koodrin, who was also a curator at the county until 2022, said such venues are a blessing and a curse to young artists, giving them exposure they may not otherwise have, but he said it also limited him in how far they could expand the program. 

“Generally the artist is at a loss there. Most amateur artists don't have the funds to get insurance to cover their artwork,” he said. “In one sense it keeps the program from going forward, because you’re taking people who have no other other options … with [insurance] coverage, there’s a good 30% more artists we could have brought in.”

There had been about three instances of theft during Koodrin's seven-year tenure, and in 2018 a child knocked over and broke a sculpture. Aimee Shapiro assumed her role as the executive director at the county's Office of Arts and Culture a few weeks ago but said she has only been made aware of one such incident in the last 10 years.

Cook received reimbursement through her insurance, but she recognizes that many artists are not in a position to do so, and such a theft could have dealt an even bigger blow to a less established artist. Law enforcement has still not recovered the piece, which is Cook’s ultimate goal, and the suspect is not in custody. 

Shapiro said while the situation is unfortunate, it’s also an extremely rare occurrence, and the agency is working toward preventing a similar situation by implementing more secure hanging structures and discussing coverage options. While the process has been underway even prior to the theft, she added they will soon be moving to a new building that will see less foot traffic from the general public. 

“It's a different population that will be using the building. A lot of people going through here are going to trial, going for court proceedings, going to jury duty, so it's not going to be open to the public in the same way,” Shapiro said. “The whole exhibition program will be updated and redone as part of the move and part of me coming on is sort of updating what has been done in the past.”

Though Cook is well-versed in showcasing her paintings, exhibiting them in private galleries has proved more difficult since COVID-19. Not only have more spaces shut down post-pandemic, she said, but many now seek art with explicit political themes. Her work, by contrast, is apolitical, which is largely why she has sought more showings in city and county spaces, such as Redwood City, Millbrae and San Bruno. 

But by taking on the added risk, she said it’s becoming harder not only for amateur artists, but for those with successful careers as well. 

“Artists that are perhaps working extra to get their foot in the door are, I would say, more likely to run into this issue than other artists who are farther along in their career,” she said. “But this is my livelihood. It’s not just a hobby I do on the side.”

alyse@smdailyjournal.com

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