Recommendations on purchasing works of art that reflect artistic practice in Britain today are made by a changing group of external advisors to the Arts Council Collection Acquisitions Committee.
Acquisitions are made through a committee of eight individuals. The internal members of the Acquisitions Committee are Deborah Smith, Director, Arts Council Collection, with Ralph Rugoff (Director, Hayward Gallery), and Peter Heslip (Director, Visual Arts, Arts Council England). Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair of Arts Council England, acts as Chair to the Committee.
The external advisers to the Acquisitions Committee usually include an artist, a writer, and a curator, and are appointed for a fixed two-year tenure. There is also an external advisor from one of the Arts Council Collection’s partner galleries; this position is for one year only.
The external advisers to the Acquisitions Committee for 2021-22 are: Simeon Barclay, artist, Alistair Robinson, Director of Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Martha Barratt, writer and editor and Dr. Zoé Whitley, Director of Chisenhale Gallery.