12 January 2012
Art fund give £100,000 grant to build D'Arcy Thompson collection
The University of Dundee Museum Collections have been awarded a grant from the Art Fund of £100,000 to build a collection of art inspired by D'Arcy Thompson, the University's first Professor of Biology.
Curator Matthew Jarron explained: “D’Arcy was a brilliant polymath whose work laid the foundations for the science of biomathematics but who also had an extraordinary influence on art and design that continues to this day. Many famous artists such as Henry Moore, Richard Hamilton and Jackson Pollock drew on his work and we’re keen to get today’s artists using his surviving collection in our Zoology Museum as a further source of inspiration.
"We’re absolutely delighted to have been awarded this grant, which will allow us to acquire some 20th century artworks as well as working with contemporary artists to create new pieces for our collection.”
The Museum Collections will work in partnership with various other organisations to create a programme of exhibitions and events around the project, including Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee Science Centre and the Slade School of Fine Art in London.
The grant was awarded through the Art Fund’s RENEW programme, which gave a total of £600,000 to six UK museums in 2011 to establish new collections of art, collections which connect, in exciting and creative ways, with their existing holdings and current audiences. The University of Dundee Museum Collections is the final museum to be accepted into the scheme, which has been made possible through support from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation as part of its 50th birthday celebrations.
Notes to editors
The Art Fund is the national charity for art, helping UK museums and galleries to buy, show and share art. Over the past 5 years, the Art Fund has given £24 million to buy art and supported a range of projects and programmes aimed at helping more people enjoy art. It is independently funded by nearly 90,000 supporters who purchase a National Art Pass, costing from just £37.50, which gives free entry to over 200 museums, galleries and historic houses across the country as well as 50% off major exhibitions. Find out more about the Art Fund and how to buy a National Art Pass at www.artfund.org.
RENEW, funded from a £600,000 award from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation as part of its 50th birthday celebrations, aims to build future centres of excellence by supporting fresh areas of collecting of fine, decorative or applied art in museums and galleries. It provides 100% funding for six museums to establish exciting and creative new directions in their collecting strategies.
- Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology awarded £100,000 towards building a collection of modern prints and works on paper from Australia, Canada and South Africa
- University of Durham Oriental Museum awarded £50,000 towards the creation of Made in Japan, a collection of contemporary Japanese art
- Glasgow Museums awarded £100,000 towards developing a collection of South Asian art
- Wolverhampton Art Gallery in partnership with the Imperial War Museum, London awarded £150,000 towards building a collection about conflict in Israel,
Palestine and its implications in the wider Middle East
- York Art Gallery awarded £100,000 towards the creation of a collection of contemporary fine art which focuses on flesh and artists’ responses to the human body
- University of Dundee Museum Collections awarded £100,000 to build a collection of art inspired by D'Arcy Thompson, the University’s first Professor of Biology
For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07800 581902 |
