As the boundaries between public and private in the art museum become increasingly blurred, this debate asks what is to be gained – and what might be lost or threatened– in the process.
Private collectors across the globe are opening their doors to a wider audience, assuming a similar role to the public art museum. Meanwhile, museums are establishing ever closer dialogues with collectors, and bringing private collections into their temporary exhibition programmes. As government funding for public museums diminishes, sponsorship becomes increasingly difficult to secure and art market prices push works beyond the reach of public acquisition budgets, is this development inevitable, and welcome?
In this coincidence of public and private interests and aims, what are the motivations on each side? What can each learn from the other? And whose interests are being served?
Part of the Museum Debates series.
Speakers
Louisa Buck
Art critic Louisa Buck writes for a number of publications and is the Art Newspaper’s contemporary art correspondent.
Her books include Market Matters: The Dynamics of the Contemporary Art Market (Arts Council 2004) Owning Art: The Contemporary Art Collector’s Handbook (Cultureshock 2006) and Commissioning Contemporary Art: A Handbook for Curators, Collectors and Artists (Thames & Hudson 2016) ‘Going Public’ her report for Museums Sheffield on public institutions and philanthropic funding will be published later this year.
Luiz Augusto Teixeira de Freitas
Based between Lisbon and London, collector Luiz Augusto Teixeira de Freitas has developed a significant interest in the deregulated nature of the art market. He has addressed the subject during various keynotes including ‘Private to public, public to private: what are the new professional practices?´ CIMAM (International Committee for Museums and Collections) 2014 conference in Doha, and ´The Challenges of Museums in the 21st Century´ UIMP (Menéndez Pelayo International University) Santander, 2015.
Julia Peyton-Jones
As co-director of the Serpentine Gallery for the past 25 years, Julia Peyton-Jones has led the Serpentine’s expansion into the Serpentine Sackler Gallery as well as spearheading the annual summer pavilion commission. Fundamental to this has been significant fundraising, with 17 percent of the gallery’s income coming from public funding and the remainder raised from alternative sources.
Gregor Muir
Currently director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Gregor Muir has had a diverse career in both the commercial and public sectors. Previously a director at Hauser and Wirth, Muir took over at the ICA in 2011, as it was facing serious financial issues.
Kirstie Hamilton
As Head of Exhibitions and Displays at Museums Sheffield, Kirstie Hamilton was instrumental in the organisation of Going Public (2015), in which five Sheffield institutions collaborated with international art collectors to take contemporary artworks out of their private collections and put them on display for the city’s public. The project culminated in an international summit, bringing UK museum professionals into conversation with art collectors from across the globe.