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Art Fund Collect 2010

Part 3. Winning!

Posted by Kate Gillespie Monday 17 May 2010

Thursday was the eagerly anticipated day of Art Fund Collect. I set off at 7.45am in high spirits knowing that the volcanic ash wasn't interfering with my 9.25am flight. I had my fingers crossed that there would be no delays as I had to be at the Saatchi Gallery in London for 12.15pm sharp.

Everything seemed to be going swimmingly until we reached Heathrow when the captain's voice came over the tannoy to announce that the runway was very busy and we would have to circle in the air for 20 minutes until a space became available to land. At that point my heart was in my mouth as I knew that any delay in the air might make me late.

Finally we landed 30 minutes later and I rushed to catch the train and underground to get to the gallery. I called ahead to explain I was behind schedule and I was reassured that the other curators taking part were having a drink and mingling before the day officially commenced.

On arrival at the Saatchi Gallery, which is located at the Duke of York's HQ, Chelsea, I was welcomed by The Art Fund team and introduced to the other curators and The Art Fund Collect judging panel. I had a very interesting conversation with the ceramicist Edmund de Waal, one of the panel members, who showed great enthusiasm for the contemporary collection at Aberdeen.

After this introduction official photographs were taken and we had a half hour lunch break before returning at 1.45pm for a briefing before we were granted access to the fair. After a fairly nervous lunch we all returned to the gallery where we were told we had one hour to select one object from the fair, which was then to be nominated to the panel with a justification as to why The Art Fund should purchase it for the representative's museum or gallery. Considering there were over 400 artists showing work at Collect this was quite a task. I have to say it felt like being in an episode from The Apprentice!

With much anticipation, at 2pm we entered the fair, at this point the press hadn't even seen the show, so it really was a pre, pre-view!

My first tactic was to target the galleries that I knew had work by artists I was interested in and felt had particular relevance for Aberdeen's collection.

This was exciting, but in some cases a little disappointing as some of the artists had produced work which did not meet my expectations. After visiting my selected galleries I then went for a general look around the other galleries' stands. At this stage it was easy to become overwhelmed and distracted as there were so many wonderful objects to choose from. This is also when I saw the other curators make their choices and a slight feeling of doubt about my shortlisted objects crept in.

Regaining my focus I returned to the objects which had caught my eye and narrowed down my selection to two examples of glass by Japanese makers. I felt both were really exceptional pieces and sat well within Aberdeen's Japanese collection of contemporary glass and metalwork. With five minutes until the deadline I selected Spin, a glass sculpture by Ritsue Mishima from Katie Jones Gallery. Mishima works in collaboration with Venetian glass-makers on the island of Murano and draws inspiration for her pieces from nature and the effects on light on surfaces. I thought the piece would add a contemporary context to the collection of historic Venetian glass which was bequeathed to the art gallery by James Cromar Watt in 1941. I also knew the sense of movement and rhythm that the sculpture captures would fascinate visitors to the gallery.

So with my final decision made at 3pm I presented the object to the panel for their deliberation, as did the other ten participants. It was then time for another round of official photographs, this time with our selected objects.

At 4pm feeling exhausted and somewhat relieved all the curators headed off to the gallery café for some well deserved tea and scones to share our experiences and the choices we had made. Knowing we had an hour or two before we heard who had won we chatted anxiously about our jobs, collections and the forthcoming projects that we are working on.

An hour passed and still no news on the decision so we dispersed, either back to our accommodation or to return home. As I walked to my hotel I received a call on my mobile explaining that my choice had been selected as one of the five winners. I screamed down the phone with excitement and hurried to my hotel to call friends and family with the good news. I still had no idea who the other winners were, but I didn't have long to wait as the private view began at 7pm where Stephen Deuchar, the Director of the Art Fund announced the winners of the competition. The other four successful curators to share the £75,000 prize were representing The Shipley Art Gallery, Whitworth Art Gallery, Ashmolean Museum and Royal Albert Memorial Museum.

A celebratory drink amongst the curators ended a very successful and challenging day. The adrenaline that had kept me going all day was running out and I headed back to my hotel feeling proud to have acquired another piece of contemporary craft for Aberdeen.

Spin will be on display at Aberdeen Art Gallery in the near future….

For more information...
Aberdeen Art Gallery Wins for 2nd Year Running

Part 2. Looking Ahead

Posted by Kate Gillespie on Tuesday 11 May 2010

Only a few days now until I begin my journey down to London to take part in the competition.

I'm starting to get a little nervous, not only about picking the work, but about getting there. This volcanic ash seems to be so unpredictable with flights being cancelled at the last minute. If my flight is cancelled, I may have to take the sleeper train to London the night before the competition! The other participants don't have this concern as they are all based in England, so can get to London quickly by train.

There are ten other curators taking part in Art Fund Collect this year, they are from MIMA, The Shipley Art Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery, Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, The Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Walker Art Gallery, Whitworth Art Gallery, Ashmolean Museum, Harris Museum and York Art Gallery.

I am looking forward to meeting everyone and this year The Art Fund has organised an afternoon tea for us all to meet after we have selected our work, so it should be a good networking opportunity.

We only find out if we have been successful in the competition late on Thursday afternoon. Last year I remember receiving a phone call while I was at my hotel explaining the work I had picked was one of the winning pieces, it was a funny moment because I was so excited and happy, but I was on my own so had to phone family and colleagues to tell them the good news.

On the evening of the competition I'll be attending the opening night preview, where the winners will be announced to the public. It's a fantastic event where there's the opportunity to meet many other gallery professionals, journalists and artists. The preview also allows you to view the work on show in a much more relaxed way, without the pressure of having to select a single work.

So fingers crossed this year will be another success for Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums. The Art Fund explained that the standard of applications was very high so I may be in for some tough competition. I have no doubt that on the day there will be an abundance of great work to choose from.

Next instalment…. the result

Part 1. Research Begins

Posted by Kate Gillespie on Wednesday 14 April 2010

Some of you may remember that last year I took part in a competition called Art Fund Collect
where I was selected to visit the contemporary craft fair Collect at The Saatchi Gallery, London, along with ten other curators from museums and galleries throughout the UK.

We were given one hour to dash around the art fair before it was open to the public and select one piece of outstanding work for our collection. The chosen objects were presented to The Art Fund Collect panel and if they agreed that the object was an innovative and ambitious choice The Art Fund purchased the piece and gifted it to the representative's gallery.

I was one of the successful five and my choice, a gold and enamel Neckpiece by the British born, Italian based jeweller Jacqueline Ryan, was presented to Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums. The piece is a significant addition to our modern and contemporary metalwork and jewellery collection and has proved a very popular piece, attracting many visitors to the gallery and generating a great deal of publicity. It is currently on loan to the exhibition Beauty in Repetition at Blackwell House in the Lake District.

In February I submitted an application to take part in Art Fund Collect again this year and I recently found out that I have been shortlisted to participate again. The competition takes place in May so with less than a month to go I'm busy researching the artists that I have my eye on…..

To be continued

For more information visit;

Jacqueline Ryan

The Art Fund Collect