The Arts Council Collection is one of the largest national collections of modern and contemporary British art in the world. The Collection was formed in 1946 by the Arts Council for the purpose of promoting and enriching the nation’s knowledge and appreciation of contemporary art, through touring exhibitions and loans to galleries and public buildings throughout the country, and internationally on request. Since then, it has consistently acquired works by contemporary artists who are living and working in Britain. The Collection currently consists of more than 8,000 works by nearly 2,300 artists and is stored in both Yorkshire and London.
ACC is an asset of Arts Council England, whose trustees on National Council are effective trustees of this nationally significant collection. It has been expertly managed by a team based at Southbank Centre since 1986, a relationship spanning almost 40 years. In the last year, despite a reduced service in preparation for a change of storage location, 708 works from the Collection were seen across 57 exhibitions by one and a half million people. Work has been shown in exhibitions including Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970 – 1990, currently on display in Edinburgh, and the Arts Council Collection’s own touring exhibition Found Cities, Lost Objects curated by Turner-prize winning artist and cultural activist Lubaina Himid CBE. The Collection comprises work by artists including David Hockney, Dame Tracey Emin, Sir Antony Gormley, Yinka Shonibare, Melanie Manchot, Sir John Akomfrah and Sir Grayson Perry.
Current Storage and the Move to Coventry
Currently the Arts Council Collection is managed across two sites in Yorkshire and London. Arts Council England (ACE) is consolidating these two facilities into a new purpose built logistics hub in the Coventry which is likely to be operational in 2026/27. This project is known as the Coventry City Centre Cultural Gateway (CCCCG); it is a flagship legacy of the Coventry City of Culture. The move has provided a good opportunity to review the ongoing arrangements for the management of the Collection. ACE has decided that management of the Collection in the future is best undertaken by a new organisation located in Coventry. Southbank Centre is currently supporting ACE with the process of establishing the new organisation.
About the Coventry City Centre Collection Cultural Gateway
The Centre will occupy the former city centre IKEA building which is being refurbished by Coventry City Council. ACC will share the purpose-fitted facility with Coventry City Council collections, Coventry University and the British Council Collection. For the ACC, this is not a public facing gallery, rather a central hub for its busy national and international loans programme. For more information see City Centre Cultural Gateway – Coventry City Council
The Opportunities that the New Hub Will Provide
Coventry is an excellent strategic location for a collection which lends and tours exhibitions to a variety of venues in England, across the UK and beyond. The new facility gives the Collection better capacity to deliver its ambitious programme. This is an opportunity for the Collection to develop new partnerships across the Midlands and play and active role in that regional economy and visual arts ecology.
About the New Organisation
A new independent organisation will enable the Collection to fulfil its mission. It will enable the Collection to grow its public impact through an ongoing programme of innovative touring exhibitions devised in close collaboration with galleries of all sizes. It will continue to support the sector via responsive, low-cost lending at a time when gallery budgets are constrained like never before. It will work with partners outside the traditional arts sector such as schools and hospitals, to bring this national collection to the widest possible range of people across the country. The new organisation will have strong roots in Coventry and the Midlands, offering employment and skills development there. The Collection will remain the asset of Arts Council England and as such, National Council members are effective trustees of the Collection.
Arts Council England has commissioned Southbank Centre to support the establishment of a new, Coventry based organisation which will take on the responsibility for future long-term management of the ACC. This organisation will be established during the current financial year and will need to swiftly devise a business plan and enter into start-up phase so as to take on responsibilities from Southbank Centre during 2026/27 and 2027/28. It is expected that the new organisation will develop a new business model that includes Arts Council England grant funding, tax relief income, touring fees, and a mixture of other contributed and earned sources of income. It is expected that it will use its new independent status to develop a new, entrepreneurial business model and extend the sources of support for its work.
About the Chair
We are seeking an inaugural chair of the organisation who will take a hands-on role in the first 6 months of start-up phase with the following objectives:
- Register the new organisation with Companies House with required paperwork prepared by an external consultant.
- Recruit a full board of trustees with due consideration for broad skills and diversity.
- Recruit the first Director, who will in turn be responsible for recruiting the staff team.
- Support the new Director to establish the organisational strategy and business plan, and other best-practise operating policies.
- In a governance role, ensure the new organisation is fully established and prepared to operate in the new facility in readiness for the the collection arriving in 2027.
- Ensure the Collection is well managed and set up to meet all collection standards and deliver an outstanding artistic programme that serves both the sector and the public.
Press and Media Links to Find Out More About the Arts Council Collection
5 key works from the Arts Council Collection – Art Fund