Museums Sheffield, Aberdeen City Art Gallery and National Museum Wales are among nine museums in the running to acquire a piece of contemporary craft through the Art Fund Collect funding scheme.
The £75,000 fund will see a curator or curatorial team from each museum attending a preview of the Craft Council’s annual fair. Each museum has one hour to explore the fair and select an object they would like to see added to their museum’s collection, before making their case in a presentation to a panel of experts.
The successful museums will then be able to purchase the object outright, from a fund worth £75,000.
The nine museums taking part in the 2012 round of the scheme are: Aberdeen City Art Gallery (Alison Fraser); Beaney Art Museum and Library, Canterbury (Krystyna Matyjaszkiewicz); National Museum Wales, Cardiff (Rachel Conroy); National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh (Rosina Buckland); Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter (Tony Eccles and Holly Morgenroth); Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester (Jennifer Harris); Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery (Francesca Vanke); Museums Sheffield ( Lucy Cooper); and Touchstones Rochdale (Yvonne Hardman).
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.
Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, said: “The calibre of applications to this edition of Art Fund Collect was exceptional, and the final shortlist speaks superbly of the range and sophistication of curatorial talent in the UK working on the collection and interpretation of contemporary craft.
"We can’t wait to see how each curator will respond to the opportunity presented by the scheme.”
The judging panel for this year’s Art Fund Collect is chaired by Anthony Griffiths, Art Fund trustee and the former head of prints and drawings at the British Museum. Other judges include Rosy Greenlees, executive director of the Crafts Council and Jonathan Marsden, Art Fund trustee and director of the Royal Collection.
Art Fund Collect will take place on 10 May at London’s Saatchi Gallery, with the winners to be announced at 7pm that evening.
The £75,000 fund will see a curator or curatorial team from each museum attending a preview of the Craft Council’s annual fair. Each museum has one hour to explore the fair and select an object they would like to see added to their museum’s collection, before making their case in a presentation to a panel of experts.
The successful museums will then be able to purchase the object outright, from a fund worth £75,000.
The nine museums taking part in the 2012 round of the scheme are: Aberdeen City Art Gallery (Alison Fraser); Beaney Art Museum and Library, Canterbury (Krystyna Matyjaszkiewicz); National Museum Wales, Cardiff (Rachel Conroy); National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh (Rosina Buckland); Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter (Tony Eccles and Holly Morgenroth); Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester (Jennifer Harris); Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery (Francesca Vanke); Museums Sheffield ( Lucy Cooper); and Touchstones Rochdale (Yvonne Hardman).
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.
Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, said: “The calibre of applications to this edition of Art Fund Collect was exceptional, and the final shortlist speaks superbly of the range and sophistication of curatorial talent in the UK working on the collection and interpretation of contemporary craft.
"We can’t wait to see how each curator will respond to the opportunity presented by the scheme.”
The judging panel for this year’s Art Fund Collect is chaired by Anthony Griffiths, Art Fund trustee and the former head of prints and drawings at the British Museum. Other judges include Rosy Greenlees, executive director of the Crafts Council and Jonathan Marsden, Art Fund trustee and director of the Royal Collection.
Art Fund Collect will take place on 10 May at London’s Saatchi Gallery, with the winners to be announced at 7pm that evening.
