Proposals for a radical rethink of current practices and attitudes to partnership working, commissioning, acquisition, disposal of works and risk, are among the issues raised for consultation in a new draft national strategy for strengthening public collections of contemporary art. Drawn up by the National Contemporary Art Collections Working Group, a coalition of arts organisations and museums, the strategy reveals a vision for all public collections of contemporary art to work together in partnership as a single national resource. It proposes prioritising the needs of those who use these collections, and extending access to them, thereby ensuring that the role of contemporary art in public life is maximised. Arts Council England (ACE) has told AP that it has “started the consultation process with all those with an interest or stake in the future of our contemporary art collections”. However, it has released the draft strategy to only a selected list of organisations, and has refused to allow AP to make it more widely available. Copies can be requested from Ross Head at ACE. The online consultation will close on 19 June.
e: ross.head@artscouncil.org.uk
w: http://www.tinyurl.com/qzrjkm
Published: 01-06-2009