Announcing Our New Acquisitions 2021-22

23 August 2022

Arts Council Collection, one of the widest shared national loan collection of modern and contemporary art, announces that it has acquired 58 artworks by 32 artists for the nation, through funding from the National Lottery. 

Through the acquisition of these new works, the Arts Council Collection continues to support and promote artists living in Britain today, by buying their work at an early or critical stage in their career. The Collection team then works hard to make it immediately available for loan to the nation’s museums and public institutions including schools, universities, hospitals and charitable associations. 

This year’s acquisitions focus included artists working outside of London: Nicola Ellis (Manchester), Louise Giovanelli (Manchester), Sharif Persaud (Hastings), Vinca Petersen (Ramsgate), Nina Chua (also Manchester), and Theo Simpson (Lincolnshire). 

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Jadé Fadojutimi's paintings offer an insight into the artist's quest for identity and self-knowledge. Using the canvas as a sounding board, she grapples with memories of everyday experiences, both good and bad. Through this process Fadojutimi examines how her sense of self is constructed so that her paintings communicate forms of emotion which are impossible to convey through language. 

Placing himself at the centre of his work, Sharif Persaud explores identity through his experience of contemporary life and autism. His practice spans video, photography, drawing, painting and printing, and he is a part of a collective of neurodiverse artists and activists at Project Art Works. 

Vinca Petersen’s images juxtapose the sense of escapism and euphoria of a cultural moment – with the oppressive political climate which outlawed the lifestyles of those participating in Britain’s rave scene.

Nicola Ellis’ work is shaped by relationships between people, materials and processes. She explores complex ecosystems and environments, in order to understand how their internal workings interact to function as a whole. Works were made during her residency at Ritherdon & Co Ltd., a family owned manufacturer of steel enclosures based in Darwen, Lancashire.

 

The Arts Council Collection : Announcing Our New Acquisitions 2021-22
The Arts Council Collection : Announcing Our New Acquisitions 2021-22

Nicola Ellis’ work is shaped by relationships between people, materials and processes. She explores complex ecosystems and environments, in order to understand how their internal workings interact to function as a whole. Works were made during her residency at Ritherdon & Co Ltd., a family owned manufacturer of steel enclosures based in Darwen, Lancashire.

Louise Giovanelli’s delicate, luminous works inject vitality into historical subjects, weaving together visual clues surrounding a specific moment or event. In Wager, 2021 (pictured), Giovanelli renders two shimmering gold blouses framed tightly together. The viewer can’t see who wears them or if they are merely hanging side by side, unworn. Their fabric is reminiscent of sparkling suits worn by game show hosts or drapery from TV theatre, the structure of their supple folds defined by rich, fluid hues. 

Nina Chua makes drawings predominantly using marker pen on paper. Varied in style and form, they propose different ways of thinking about and through drawing, whilst maintaining an emphasis on aesthetic qualities. 

Theo Simpson draws on his everyday environment, investigating how the typology of the landscape, technological innovation, history, and past political events helped shape current and future events. (Pictured left: Nations, Irish Sea, 2019).

Recommendations to purchase innovative 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. The new Acquisitions Committee this year includes Harriet Cooper (Head of Visual Arts, Jerwood Arts), Marie-Anne McQuay (Head of Programmes, Bluecoat, Liverpool) and Vanessa Peterson (editor, photographer and writer). The Committee researches artists and makes recommendations from within and beyond established gallery networks and are responsible for including the most innovative and progressive works, ensuring a broad range of artists are considered each year. 

The external advisers to the Acquisitions Committee for 2021–22 were: Simeon Barclay, artist, Martha Barratt, writer and editor, Alistair Robinson (Programme Director, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art) and Dr. Zoé Whitley, Director of Chisenhale Gallery. 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, is Chair to the Committee.

FULL LIST OF ARTISTS WITH WORK ACQUIRED BY ARTS COUNCIL COLLECTION 2021-2022

Ain Bailey, Alvaro Barrington, Ashanti Harris, Ayo Akingbade, Edwin Mingard, Everlyn Nicodemus, Jasleen Kaur, Joseph Buckley, Kira Freije, Louise Giovanelli, Michael Armitage, Mohammed Sami, Nicola Ellis, Nina Chua, Phoebe Collings-James, Rene Matić, Rhea Storr, Sharif Persaud, Somaya Critchlow, Theo Simpson, Vinca Petersen, Vivien Zhang, Alfred Cohen, Erika Tan, Dennis Mitchell, Rose Hilton, Terry Frost, John Wells, Richard Billingham, Jadé Fadojutimi, Dean Kenning.

For more information on the artists and works listed, please go to the Collection webpage.

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The Arts Council Collection is the UK's most widely seen collection of modern and contemporary art.

With more than 8,000 works by over 2,000 artists, it can be seen in exhibitions and public displays across the country and beyond. This website offers unprecedented access to the Collection, and information about each work can be found on this site.