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 their practice. Commissioning to collect enables a close and highly rewarding working relationship between museums and the artists they wish to work with.
As museums develop their contemporary collections the process of commissioning new work is likely to become a more regular feature within ongoing programmes. This Award will assist in testing various models of commissioning and help generate the skills required for such ambitious new approaches to expanding public collections.
The Award is open to all of the Contemporary Art Society’s Museum Members. Proposals are welcomed from museums that have not yet commissioned new work as well as from those with more
experience. Museums must be able to commit at least £5,000 towards the development of a publication or catalogue.
The Annual Award is offered to support the work of an artist who is at a stage in their career where they are showing regularly nationally and internationally but may not yet have major works acquired in to public collections. The Award is not limited to the work of UK based artists.
For further information with regards the application process, including the application process and how to submit an outline proposal, please click here to view the Contemporary Art Society Annual Award for Musuems 2010 poster (pdf).
For further information on the Annual Award please email nationalprogrammes@contemporaryartsociety.org or call +44 (0)20 7831 3221.