The artist and the medium are chosen according to the nature of the commission and its context. The selection is also based on the validity of the project within the artist's oeuvre and on their actual availability. Any creative field can be considered : visual arts, architecture, design, music, theatre, literature, dance, etc.

The choice of the artist is made by the mediator. One of the artists' major contributions is offering their knowledge in the field to the patrons who don't necessarily have that background. This implies that formulating a wish to commission art doesn't require any particular artistic knowledge. The choice of the artist must be endorsed by the patrons. They are entitled to question the choice in the same way that an artist is free not to accept to work on the project. In that instance, the mediator proposes another artist.

The artist is called upon to be involved early on in the debate about the patrons' objectives and the most adapted mode of intervention. Therefore there is no open call since that would not enable this type of dialogue. Indeed it is the deep-rooted thinking process concerning the raison d’être of a project that will allow the patrons to be entirely convinced of its key and grounded validity and therefore defend it at each stage. In addition, mediators would not be able to expect the patrons to take their responsibilities if they discharged theirs on a jury of experts who would not be aware of the details of the context.

The artist then submits a draft proposal which is debated with the patrons. The patrons trust the artist and take on the all the risks linked to the creation of an artwork and, as such, they have similar requirements. Once the project is agreed upon, a budget is established for the production and, once the funds are obtained, the artwork can enter the production phase. If, for various reasons, it cannot be realised, sometimes the work is produced by other patrons for whom it is fully suitable.

Artist fees are always distinct from the technical costs for the project’s realisation. Regardless of their reputation, the artists accept to take the given financial restrictions into account. It is here that the work of art emancipates itself from the status of a commodity, to gain a value that is no longer speculative, but dependent upon its use within society. Insomuch as this economical demand develops, it might become a principal source of income for a great number of talented artists, as it has always been throughout art history.