Memorandum submitted by the Contemporary
Art Society (CAS)
BACKGROUND
— CAS is a charity that buys works
of art by living artists for its member museums and has done so
since 1910.
— CAS' individual members are largely
collectors of contemporary art.
— CAS earns income through advising
companies on how to purchase or commission works of art from artists
or their dealers.
— CAS also earns income, and supports
artists, through an annual art market, ARTfutures, at which works
of art are for sale on behalf of artists.
— CAS has run a £3.5 million Special
Collections Scheme in England (with £2.5 million from the
Lottery through ACE and matching funds from museums) which made
substantial purchases for public collections; a similar scheme,
the National Collecting Scheme for Scotland currently operates
with Lottery funds from the Scottish Arts Council; no funds have
been forthcoming, yet, for the continuation of the English scheme
to the detriment of artists, museum audiences and dealers
in Britain.
— CAS has recently set up two membership
groups for young collectors: blood in London and Spin, in partnership
with the National Galleries of Scotland and, soon, a second branch
with a public partner in Glasgow.
VIEWS
— There is a large potential collector
base in Britain as both recent ACE research (Market Matters/Taste
Buds) and the success of Frieze Art Fair/Zoo indicate.
— Without a substantial national market,
dealers seek to sell outside Britain through carefully managed
museum and auction sales; exponentially, museums can never catch
up with increased prices.
— Without active public collections,
private individuals are not given the confidence to begin collections
or develop relations with museums as potential donors; the situation
is bad in London and severe in the regions and in Scotland.
— Implementing droit-de-suite is less
important than changing the laws governing tax relief on gifts
of art to museums during the donor's lifetime; the income and
recognition that accrue from museum acquisitions is more valuable.
RECOMMENDATIONS
— Re-establish adequate purchase funds
for museums, both national and regional, preferably through the
creation of endowments.
— Change the tax system to encourage
more major purchases to be made in Britain by British tax payers,
if works could be subsequently given to museums, and not just
national museums, in lieu of tax during the donor's lifetime.
— Re-establish funding for CAS Special
Collections Scheme and widen it to the waiting list of museums
so that carefully designed collections and commissions of contemporary
art and craft can support artists, develop regional audiences
and extend the number of active supporters and collectors of contemporary
art in areas beyond London.
— Establish which DCMS-funded organisation
has collections of contemporary art as its remit: ACE does not
have museum collections as its focus although it maintains its
own loan collection; MLA does not focus on contemporary art nor
have specialist staff in this area.
— Increase the matched funding for
contemporary art purchases within the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant
Scheme.
— Look at the success of artists' initiatives
and commercial galleries in Glasgow, and subsequently Edinburgh,
and use evidence as a template for the development of public collections
and a collector-base in Manchester and beyond.
February 2005
|
|
