LONDON.- Today Art Fund announced funding to help expand and diversify museum collections. It will enable museums such as the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, to collect contemporary works by indigenous artists which address the colonial history of the organisation and National Galleries of Scotland to commission new photographic portraits that reflects the diversity of Scotland’s population.

Five rising curators have been awarded the funding through Art Fund’s New Collecting Awards.

The New Collecting Awards give curators 100% funding to research and buy works that grow their museums’ collections in new directions or deepen existing ones.

The scheme has awarded a total of 35 curators over £1.8 million during the past six years. Each winning curator receives a budget for acquisitions alongside funding for research, travel, and training, plus the support of a mentor and Art Fund staff and trustees.

The 2020 winners are:

Louise Pearson, Curator (Photography), National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh
Louise Pearson will use Scotland’s census data to identify groups which are underrepresented in the national photography collection and address these gaps by acquiring and commissioning photographs that reflect the true breadth of Scotland’s population. These groups are likely to include single parent families, people of a mixed ethnic background, individuals from the Pakistani and Polish communities and residents of the Scottish islands.




Marenka Thompson-Odlum, Research Associate, Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford
Marenka Thompson-Odlum will collect new works by indigenous artists from around the world to question and interact with the colonial past of the museum’s collections and find new ways of telling stories. The project will focus on the following indigenous cultures: Ainu (Japan), Haida (North America), Edo (Nigeria), and Polynesian (focusing on Hawaii). It is an extension of Thompson-Odlum’s Labelling Matters project, which explores the often-problematic historic language used within the Pitt Rivers Museum when referring to objects. The new indigenous works will focus on language and self- determination and include works that use written language, textile works, sculptures and performance art (video / digital art).

Andrew Ferrara, Project Curator, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Norwich
Andrew Ferrara’s project will build a collection of exemplar medieval East Anglia coins, ranging from the 7th to 12th century, which will help expand the numismatic collections of Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery and deepen the understanding of the region’s medieval history.

Xiaoxin Li, Curator (China), V&A, London
Xiaoxin Li will research and collect contemporary Chinese studio craft, a field significantly under-represented both inside and outside China. Li will help expand the V&A’s expertise on the field by acquiring applied art works created using craft techniques from the 1980s to today.

Catherine Troiano, Curator, National Photography Collections, National Trust
Catherine Troiano will develop a collection of photography since the 1970s, that represents diverse experiences of British heritage and speaks to local, regional and national histories. The project seeks to expand the Trust's existing national collections of photography, which are richest in material from the 1840s to the mid-twentieth century. Collecting will focus on emerging and established photographers working in Britain, whose work engages with varied perspectives of identity, land and history.

Jenny Waldman, Art Fund Director, said: “Supporting curators and their development is core to Art Fund’s charitable programme. Museums have been closed for much of this year due to the pandemic, but curators are still caring for, researching, and expanding museum collections for the benefit of audiences. During a year in which we all are reflecting more deeply on critical issues including equality and diversity, we are delighted to support projects broadening representation in UK collections.”

Art Fund’s programme allows museums to bring works of art and objects into public view and invests in the curatorial talent which is key to driving them forward.

The charity is also fundraising to support museums through the urgent crowdfunding appeal Together for Museums, aiming to raise £1m to help museums adapt to Covid-19 and evolve in the future.