about us
our work with public collections
National Network
National Network Members
Gifts & Bequests
Acquisitions Scheme
The Annual Award
Research & Policy
Museum Members
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Our Work With Public Collections
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Our work with public collections is at the core of the organisation's mission.
We work to aquire new contemporary works for our sixty-four Member Museums and Galleries across the UK, and our National Programmes extend through a comprehensive National Network to build capacity and knowledge within and about these collections.
The Contemporary Art Society has accumulated a comprehensive overview of the opportunities and issues affecting museums and galleries now; their ability to develop expertise and knowledge, mount contemporary exhibitions, develop their collections, commission and acquire new work.
The museums and galleries that hold collections, both historic and contemporary, sit within the broader ecology for contemporary art. The National Programmes recognises that this varied and changing landscape, and the relationships with artists and other arts providers, will generate the partnerships and collaborations for the future development and use of our national collections.
For further information please contact:
Head of National Programmes
Lucy Byatt
Direct dial: +44 (0)20 7831 3222
lucybyatt@contemporaryartsociety.org
Curator, National Programmes
Lucy Bayley
Direct dial: +44 (0)20 7831 3221
lucybayley@contemporaryartsociety.org
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National Network
National Network Membership offers access to the only UK wide programme that generates new ideas and shares existing knowledge relating to the institution of the museum and the development of public collections of contemporary art.Join
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National Network Members
The National Network is working strategically as a sustainable professional network for our membership.
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Gifts & Bequests
Gifts, bequests and legacies are a vitally important part of the Contemporary Art Society’s work to develop public collections in the UK.
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Acquisitions Scheme
The Contemporary Art Society exists to support and develop public collections of contemporary art in the UK. In doing so, we support artists through the purchase and acquisition of new works, which are gifted to public collections in museums and galleries across the UK where they are enjoyed by the widest possible audience.
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The Annual Award
The aim of the Contemporary Art Society’s Annual Award is to support museums to commission new work that will remain within the museum’s permanent collection.In offering this significant investment the Contemporary Art Society wishes to reflect how vital it is for museums to gain the greatest proximity to artists and the development of their practice.
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Research & Policy
The National Programmes works on the development of research for policy and evaluation relating to public collections.
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Museum Members
Do you want to develop your permanent collections with contemporary art? Are you interested in developing your collection through a gift of a work of contemporary art from the Contemporary Art Society or through our commissioning programmes? Join