The Contemporary Art Society’s Collections Fund at Frieze London this year will be purchasing a major work at the fair for The Box, Plymouth, a new museum and art gallery opening in 2020 that brings together six of the city’s collections into one venue.
The Contemporary Art Society’s Collections Fund was set up in 2012 and is designed to support the acquisition of significant contemporary works for Contemporary Art Society museum members across the UK, drawing together the knowledge and experience of private collectors with that of museum curators.
The Collections Fund at Frieze was awarded to The Box after a competitive application process open to the Contemporary Art Society’s 70 Museum Members across the UK. The work acquired through the Collections Fund at Frieze will be announced at 15.00 on 3 October 2018 in the Reading Room at Frieze London.
The Box, Plymouth will open in 2020 as a collections-based institution for the 21st century, uniting historic objects, film, photography and archives from across the region with international contemporary visual art. Located on the South West coast of the UK, Plymouth is a significant maritime and naval port, a point of departure and arrival for voyages of all kinds. The work acquired at the fair will therefore consider the journey as an unbroken process of discovery and explore narratives of the ocean as a plane of possibilities, investigating current social, political and ecological discourses on identity, belonging and transformation.
Caroline Douglas, Director, Contemporary Art Society, said: “The Box is a wonderfully ambitious project that will triple the size of the existing museum. It is going to be a major player in the region and we are delighted to have the chance to make a landmark new acquisition that will be an exciting part of the reopening displays. Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery has been a member of the CAS for 90 years so we are very proud to be working with them as they embark on a whole new era.”
Peter Smith, Deputy Leader for Plymouth City Council which is leading the development of The Box said: “This prestigious award comes at a watershed moment for us and is a fantastic piece of affirmation for The Box in its role as a contemporary visual arts leader. We are thrilled to have been selected and are looking forward to working with the Contemporary Art Society on an acquisition that will provide the catalyst for a really exciting contemporary art collection for Plymouth and the South West.”
The work acquired through the Collections Fund at Frieze will be announced at 15.00 on 3 October 2018 in the Reading Room at Frieze London.