Art Fund
International 
The Art Fund has set up a new £5 million initiative aimed
at developing the collections of international contemporary art in UK regional
museums and galleries.
Is this really necessary – are museums guilty of having been too insular in their outlook? Or should we aim to nurture our home grown artistic talent rather than look overseas?
Undoubtedly in the past, international artists have been overlooked: there is a conspicuous absence of works by non-British artists like Picasso, Kandinsky and Hopper in our museum collections.
The Art Fund is keen to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated in the 21st Century hence the creation of this separate fund of money with the specific aim of enriching the contemporary holdings of UK regional collections.
But is this initiative too risky? Should the Art Fund be using its money to acquire works of art by emerging artists or is it safer to wait until they are established and the worth of their work confirmed?
Will this really make an impact considering the prices that international contemporary works of art are attracting? Would the money have been better spent if put towards acquiring export stopped works of art?
The scheme recognises the changed role of the museum curator – one which takes a more proactive approach to researching and implementing a collecting strategy. Will this help to secure a vibrant future for regional museums or could the suggestion of asking participants to collect within ‘discrete areas’ lead to the polarisation of collections and create rather than avoid gaps in future collections?
We invite you to have your say...
Topic posted: 3 April 2007
I want to add my voice to those who don't think it a good idea to spend on contemporary art.... If only the typical modern(ist) curator/s could be trusted but alas with present non-existent criteria, the art fund (which need not have modernised its name either) should continue to save art that is more likely to be regarded as art in centuries to come... I feel strongly enough about this to volunteer to be on relevant selection panel/s if such 'reactionary' views are not now to be universally suppressed...
Comment posted by: Professor Edward Chaney. (16th April 2007).
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