Memorandum submitted by Fosterart
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to
your inquiry. I am a relative newcomer as an art market professional,
having had a 25-year career in IT and banking prior to starting
this business two years ago. A collector for a number of years,
I started the business to "foster art", ie to develop
additional audiences for contemporary art. My goal was to get
more great work into circulation by breaking down the barriers
that prevent people from experiencing art in the first place,
including reducing the cost and risk of the "art transaction".
After looking at several alternative ways of
meeting this objective, we decided to go down a new path by establishing
a "virtual" collection of artist-owned work that is
vetted by a panel of experts and available for borrowing or purchase.
We've called it the Fosterart Collection. Because we have established
relationships with like-minded artists that want to have their
work in the public domain, the Collection is a reliable source
of high-quality work.
(Diagram not printed here.)
A. PROACTIVE
DISTRIBUTION SERVICE
FOR ARTISTS
Artists are invited to submit work. If selected
by an independent panel of experts, the work is included in the
Collection and then actively placed with subscribers. This service
is an additional income-generating channel for artists and is
maintained alongside any existing gallery arrangements. (Collector-owned
work is not precluded from being in the Collection, but the focus
is on Artist-owned work.)
Participation in the Collection is intended
to be prestigious, with an ethos of public service, lifetime relationships
with artists, quality work, and economic sustainability. The project/exhibition
space at 20 Rivington Street, in collaboration with members of
the selection panel, is used to profile artists participating
in the Collection.
AN ART
MANAGEMENT SERVICE
FOR SUBSCRIBERS
Art in the Fosterart Collection is proactively
placed with institutional or private subscribers on either a hire
or purchase basis. Subscribing to the Collection is a good way
to support contemporary artists on a long-term basis, continually
experience new work, and invest selectively. The goal is to form
long-term relationships with companies and public institutions
and manage some or all of their art collections.
We have agreements with several NHS Trusts that
allow them to borrow work from the Fosterart Collection, provided
that sponsorships can be arranged to fund the subscriptions. We
have already installed work in two locations and are actively
seeking sponsors. If this programme is successful, thousands of
health service workers and members of the public will have the
privilege of experiencing some of the best contemporary art available
in a less reverential setting. Hopefully, companies will be inspired
to both sponsor work in the NHS and borrow work from the Collection
to benefit their own employees.
CURRENT STATUS
The Collection is officially launched with the
first exhibition on 3 March 2005, at 20 Rivington Street. The
selection panel has been formed and the first round of invitations
and selections took place in late January with over 50 artists
participating. Five companies are currently subscribing to the
Collection.
A copy of the artist agreement is enclosed (not
printed).
12 February 2005
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