Call for Entries: Art Fund Collect 2013
British curators invited to apply to develop contemporary craft collections
The Art Fund and the Crafts Council are delighted to announce Art Fund Collect 2013, the £75,000 scheme which offers UK museums the chance to add an outstanding work of new international contemporary craft to their collections.
Art Fund Collect was set up jointly by the Art Fund and the Crafts Council in 2008 as a way of boosting public collections with contemporary craft, and developing curatorial expertise and networks within the museum sector.
From 18 February 2013, curators from museums and galleries across the country are invited to apply for the opportunity to select a work for their museum from COLLECT, Europe’s leading art fair for contemporary objects. The curators will be competing for a slice of the £75,000 funding made available by the Art Fund.
Shortlisted curators will visit the galleries from across the globe that are exhibiting at the fair and select one object they would like to see join their museum’s collection. The curators will then present their selection to the Art Fund Collect judging panel on the day of COLLECT, who will then decide which objects have been best presented by their curatorial advocate, and will have the greatest impact on their respective museum collections.
Curators will be invited to a preview event on the evening of Thursday 9 May and the Art Fund Collect event itself will take place on Friday 10 May. Winners will be announced on the same day.
COLLECT celebrates its tenth year in 2013. It will take place at London’s Saatchi Gallery and is open to the public 10 – 13 May 2013. This is the sixth year that Art Fund Collect has taken place as part of the fair and will be the final year of the scheme.
Curators have until 25 March 2012 to submit their applications; visit the Art Fund website for more information. The shortlist, compiled by the judging panel, will be announced in April.
The judging panel for this year’s Art Fund Collect is:
- Stephen Deuchar, Art Fund Director
- Sir Nicholas Goodison, Former Chairman of the Crafts Council and former Chairman of the Art Fund
- Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director of the Crafts Council
- Anthony Griffiths, Art Fund Trustee and former Head of Department of Prints & Drawings, the British Museum
- Tanya Harrod, writer and Associate Research Professor at Bath School of Art and Design
In 2012, five curators won an object for their public collections at Art Fund Collect. The winning institutions were: Edinburgh, National Museums Scotland; Manchester, Whitworth Art Gallery; Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery; Museums Sheffield and Touchstones Rochdale.
Stephen Deuchar, Art Fund Director, said: “We need to encourage our museums and galleries to invest in contemporary craft and design. Our Art Fund Collect scheme - a long-running collaboration with the Crafts Council - has helped considerably by giving almost £350,000 to 27 museums since 2008 and we are delighted to be building on this legacy once more in 2013.”
Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director of the Crafts Council, said: “Art Fund Collect has been an invaluable scheme in enriching many public craft collections across the UK. These objects have had a significant impact on their respective collections and the scheme has paved the way for more ambitious acquisition of contemporary craft.”
For more information and to apply for Art Fund Collect 2013, visit the Art Fund website.
For further information please contact:
Caroline Hunt, Press Relations Manager, Art Fund chunt@artfund.org, 020 7225 4804
Lizzie Clark, Press Relations Manager, Art Fund lclark@artfund.org, 020 7225 4804
Jill Read, Communications Manager, Crafts Council, media@craftscouncil.org.uk, 020 7806 2549
Notes to Editors
About the Art Fund
The Art Fund is the national fundraising charity for art, helping museums and galleries across the UK to acquire great works of art and develop their collections, and encouraging the public to make the most of all there is to see. Over the past five years we have given £24 million to enable over 200 museums, from ancient sculpture and treasure hoards to Old Master paintings and contemporary commissions, and supported a range of programmes which bring art to wider audiences. We also work with collectors to help place gifts of art in suitable museums and galleries. We are independently funded and the majority of our income comes from 95,000 members who, through the National Art Pass, enjoy free entry to over 200 museums, galleries and historic houses across the country as well as 50% off most major exhibitions. For more information please go to www.artfund.org
The Crafts Council’s goal is to make the UK the best place to make, see, collect and learn about contemporary craft. The Crafts Council believes that craft plays a dynamic and vigorous role in the UK’s social, economic and cultural life and everyone should have the opportunity to make, see, collect and learn about craft.
The Crafts Council is supported by Arts Council England who work to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people’s lives. For more information on the Crafts Council contact Jill Read, Communications Manager, Tel 020 7806 2549 Email media@craftscouncil.org.uk or visit www.craftscouncil.org.uk