Hey im new to this forum and just seeking some advice / venting my stress. So a gallery was doing an open call for artists and i submitted some work which they accepted. They pay an artists fee (meaning they are paying me roughly £200 just to display my work) this seemed really cool.

The work is a sculptural piece using thread, its extremely delicate as the thread is tied to the ceiling and attached to frames on the floor. Many of the galleries employees are constantly touching the thread, or otherwise acting quite recklessly around it. Due to its angle and material the artwork actually appears invisible from certain angles, something i was quite proud of.

So over the course of a week i have heard employees constantly say they have walked into the work by accident, i just feel like saying 'could you be more careful?' but i forgive and attempt to forget. I finished installing the work yesterday, and because i was so worried about it i decided to ask the curator if it would be possible for him to put hazard tape around the less visible areas, just until we figure something out. So today he texts me and tells me one of his employees stepped on the artwork and destroyed part of it.

Its been a reoccurring theme throughout the whole installation process, and its really become too much for me. It seems to me my only option is to say if it gets destroyed one more time i am pulling out of the show - but then i am the one who loses because i dont get to promote my work, i dont care about the money. Isn't there anything i can say or do to gain some sort of compensation because the gallery destroyed my artwork ? The opening is very soon and i'm even more worried about the public if the curator cant help but damage it !

Many Thanks for any and all responses !