THE GATHERING
Building the Arts Council Collection 1973 – 2009
4 March – 18 April 2010
Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Longside Gallery
West Bretton
Wakefield WF4 4LG
United Kingdom
www.artscouncilcollection.org.uk
The Gathering, a new exhibition at Longside Gallery, delves into the archives of the Arts Council Collection. The exhibition looks at how a number of key works came to enter the Collection over the past 36 years; who was involved and why these particular pieces were acquired.The Gathering is the first exhibition to come out of the new Select.ac scheme launched by the Arts Council Collection in 2008. This new initiative is a curatorial competition for post-graduate students, which invites them to create an exhibition drawn from the Collection. From its outset the intention of the Collection was to support artists at the beginning of their careers, in the same vein, Select.ac aims to support and nurture a new generation of curators. The selected exhibition, The Gathering, has been curated by Robert Dingle, who graduated this summer from the Masters Fine Arts (MFA) in Curating at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Featuring 31 works by 21 artists and with historical text and interviews, it traces seminal moments in the Collection’s history and captures the voices of the artists and selectors involved in the acquisition process. Artists represented include David Batchelor, Victor Burgin, Adam Chodzko, Keith Coventry, Tony Cragg, Martin Creed, Peter Doig, Gilbert & George, Richard Long, Rebecca Warren, Catherine Yass and Bettina von Zwehl.
A mini-site featuring extensive interviews and historical information about the collection, as well as images and video, will be available from 4 March, via the main collection website at www.artscouncilcollection.org.uk
Caroline Douglas, Head of the Arts Council Collection said:
“This exhibition reflects the work of the many individuals who have given their time and energy over four decades, and whose contributions define the character of the Collection, as well as providing a reflection of the history of British art itself.”
Andrew Renton, Director of Curating at Goldsmiths, University of London said:
“The Curating MFA is a practical programme set within the context of the Department of Art. Students make things, rather than merely talk about them. In the curators’ case it is exhibitions. This approach to learning does not set out orthodoxy of the history of curating, but enables ways in which rigorous thinking around artworks may be conducted in an original manner. The Select.ac competition and The Gathering, Robert Dingle’s response to it, offer a brilliant example of how this type of research can work. The opportunity to enter so freely into the Arts Council Collection is a rare privilege.”
