Art Fund Collect shortlist
Eight museums and galleries shortlisted for share in £75,000 scheme for contemporary craft
The Art Fund and the Crafts Council today announce which eight museums and galleries are in the running to win a piece of contemporary craft through Art Fund Collect, the Art Fund and Crafts Council’s annual £75,000 scheme bringing outstanding objects to UK public collections.
Art Fund Collect offers curators the chance to pick a unique piece of craft at COLLECT, the Crafts Council’s international art fair for contemporary objects. Successful curators win a share of £75,000 to buy their chosen object outright on behalf of their museum or gallery.
The following curators are shortlisted to take part in Art Fund Collect this year:
1. Fiona Slattery, Curator of Applied Arts at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
2. Rachel Conroy, Assistant Curator at National Museum Wales – Amgueddfa Cymru
3. Penny Sexton, Curator & Holly Morgenroth, Assistant Curator of Natural History at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter
4. Polly Putnam, Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts at Leeds Museums & Galleries
5. James Beighton, Curator at mima Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art
6. Francesca Vanke, Curator of Decorative Arts and Dr Andrew Moore Keeper of Art and Senior Curator at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
7. Pamela Wood, Keeper of Decorative Arts and Deborah Dean, Visual Arts and Exhibitions Manager at Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery
8. Alison Cooper, Assistant Keeper of Art at Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery
Stephen Deuchar, Director of the Art Fund, said: “It’s fantastic to see that Art Fund Collect continues to draw some of the UK’s most talented curators, and we’re pleased that this year’s shortlist includes past competitors as well as some new names. This is a fantastic opportunity to snap up outstanding pieces from international makers at the top of their field, on behalf of the public collections across the UK. We wish all competitors the best of luck, and as ever encourage them to be bold and ambitious in their choices.”
Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director of the Crafts Council, said: “Art Fund Collect is such a significant scheme for contemporary craft in the UK. As the Crafts Council celebrates its 40th anniversary this year by focusing on, and developing, our own collection it is heartening to see the desire of curators across the UK to collect world-class contemporary craft for their institutional collections.”
Art Fund Collect takes place on 5 May 2011, the preview day of COLLECT which is being held at the Saatchi Gallery for the third year running.
The shortlisted curators will access the fair ahead of private buyers and VIPs, and one day before doors open to the public. They will have just one hour to go around the 37 international galleries represented at COLLECT and pick one object they wish to add to their museum or gallery’s public collection.
This year, for the first time, curators are required to justify their choice in a verbal presentation to the panel of judges. Winners are selected according to the vision and ambition they demonstrate. The Art Fund buys the winning objects on behalf of each museum or gallery.
Art Fund Collect takes place each year at COLLECT. This unique funding initiative was set up by the Art Fund and Crafts Council in 2008 as a way of boosting public collections with the best of international contemporary craft. To date, the scheme has contributed £200,000 towards the purchase of unique works for the public to enjoy.
A total of 18 institutions applied and the judging panel met on 23 March to draw up the shortlist.
Three of this year’s institutions have previously competed successfully in Art Fund Collect. James Beighton, Curator at mima, won the intricate gold Bracelet by Giovanni Corvaja in 2009 (£27,750) and in 2008 walked away with a dramatic, large-scale pot, Monumental Vase V by Julian Stair (£25,263). The Royal Albert Memorial Museum’s Penny Sexton took part in 2010 alongside colleague Tony Eccles, winning Golden Fields of Rice by Mutsumi Suzuki, an exquisite piece of Japanese lacquer ware worth £17,000. In 2009, Andrew Renton, Head of Applied Art and National Museum Wales – Amgueddfa Cymru won glass sculpture Red Stripe by Rachael Woodman, worth £6,500.
In 2010, five curators won an object for their public collections at Art Fund Collect. The winners were: Aberdeen Art Gallery; the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter; Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead; and the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester. A total of eleven museums and galleries were shortlisted.
COLLECT 2011 is open to the public from 6-9 May 2011.
Ends
Notes to Editors
The Art Fund Collect judging panel is chaired this year by Anthony Griffiths, Art Fund Trustee and Keeper of the British Museum’s Print Collection. The other Art Fund Collect judges are: Stephen Deuchar, Director of the Art Fund; Sir Nicholas Goodison, Ex Chairman of the Crafts Council and the Art Fund; Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director of the Crafts Council; Tanya Harrod, author and craft expert and Jonathan Marsden, Art Fund Trustee and Director of The Royal Collection.
COLLECT: the international art fair for contemporary objects, Saatchi Gallery, 6-9 May 2011.
COLLECT is one of the most important annual fairs for contemporary craft in Europe, presented by the Crafts Council, showcasing work by 400 artists represented by 37 international galleries. Visit www.craftscouncil.org.uk/collect
The Art Fund is the national fundraising charity for works of art and plays a major part in enriching the range, quality and understanding of art in the UK. It campaigns, fundraises and gives money to museums and galleries to buy and show art, and promotes its enjoyment through its events and membership scheme. Current initiatives include sponsoring the UK tour of the ARTIST ROOMS collection, and running a major campaign in partnership with the National Trust to raise £2.7 million to save Brueghel’s The Procession to Calvary for Nostell Priory. The Art Fund is funded by its art-loving and museum-going members and supporters who believe that great art should be for everyone to enjoy. Find out more at www.artfund.org. Press contact | 020 7225 4888 | media@artfund.org
The Crafts Council’s goal is to make the UK the best place to make, see, collect and learn about contemporary craft.
• We believe that craft plays a dynamic and vigorous role in the UK’s social, economic and cultural life.
• We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to make, see, collect and learn about craft.
• We believe that the strength of craft lies in its use of traditional and contemporary techniques, ideas and materials to make extraordinary new work.
• We believe that the future of craft lies in nurturing talent; children and young people must be able to learn about craft at school and have access to excellent teaching throughout their education.
• 12% of the UK population visited a craft exhibition in 2009/10, and 18% participated in craft activity in the same year (DCMS/ACE Taking Part data update August 2010; Taking Part is an ongoing survey being carried out by Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Arts Council England (ACE)
• More than 2.8 million visits were made to the Crafts Council website in 2009. To find out everything you need to know about where to make, see, collect and learn about contemporary craft visit www.craftscouncil.org.uk
• The Crafts Council is supported by Arts Council England. Arts Council England works to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people’s lives.
