Patrons Group Research

As part of the National Collecting Scheme Scotland Phase Two 2007-2010, Kirstie Skinner has been awarded funding to research the viability of a new Patrons Group that is responsive to Scotland’s collecting context and is tailored to the supporters of Scottish culture at home and abroad.

The research has been originated by Kirstie Skinner. She is being funded by the Scottish Arts Council through the History of Art Department, University of Glasgow and is due to deliver her findings on 31 March 2010. 

Kirstie’s programme of research has developed in response to and alongside the Contemporary Collections and Collecting in Scotland Series – a series of linked events initiated by the University of Glasgow as a strategic partner in the National Collecting Scheme Scotland.  

Research Aims

 The purpose of the research is to investigate the potential for a flexible and innovative independent patrons’ group in Scotland , which could

• purchase works of contemporary art for public collections in Scotland , and seek to engender an excitement around private support for collections
• be aimed at novice and experienced collectors of art, as well as other individuals who wish to engage with, and enhance, Scotland ’s collecting culture;
• be able to promote the inherent rewards of contributing to a shared culture;
• consist of a number of different ‘funds’ so that it could work with a variety of curators and institutions, and could respond to new ideas and shifting contexts in the future. 

Research Context

Following a Scottish Arts Council audit of collecting activity in Scotland conducted in 2003 and 2004 by the Contemporary Art Society, two schemes were set up. The National Collecting Scheme for Scotland aimed to develop the public holdings of contemporary art by offering funding and research support to curators, and the National Galleries’ Spin members’ group promoted the enjoyment of contemporary art through regular and informal discussion.  Because the scale of private collecting in Scotland was revealed to be minimal, it did not seem viable to develop a patrons’ scheme at that time. 

Now, however, capitalising on discussions as part of the Contemporary Collections and Collecting in Scotland series, and thanks to the ongoing impact of the afore-mentioned initiatives, the marked rise in the confidence of the commercial galleries in the Scottish sector, the advent of the d’Offay legacy, and a new director at the SNGMA, Scotland’s collecting culture is characterised by new vigour and increasing sophistication. A new patrons group would not simply reflect this excitement: by quickly becoming a highly-regarded entity in itself, it could seek to enhance the profile and prestige of Scottish collecting in the wider art world.  

Research meetings 

As part of Kirstie’s research programme, two meetings will be hosted by the History of Art department at the University of Glasgow.

12 November 2009

Preliminary meeting, to introduce research aims to a group of invited participants.

2-4.30pm
Hepburn Room
7 University Gardens
University of Glasgow

The agenda for the meeting is available here: NCSS Patrons Group Agenda Nov 12 

For summary notes from the meeting, contact ncss@arthist.arts.gla.ac.uk

4 March 2010

‘Patrons, the work of emerging artists, museum collections’

1-5pm
Yudowitz Seminar Room
Wolfson Medical School Building
University Ave
University of Glasgow

The programme for this is available here: NCSS Patrons Group Programme March 4