Collecting Conversations : Future Collect

WATCH LIVE HERE

Join Iniva on 12th June 2023 for a day of conversation on transforming the culture of commissioning and collecting in British galleries and museums as we reflect on three years of Future Collect alongside our project partners. 

Future Collect is a three-year programme initiated by iniva, which partnered with a different gallery each year to commission and collect works by artists of African or Asian descent, who are British-born or based. In the first year (2020), we partnered with Manchester Art Gallery to work with artist Jade Montserrat, in the second year (2021) with The Hepworth Wakefield to work with Emii Alrai, and in the third year (2022) with Towner Eastbourne to work with Maria Amidu. In addition to the commissions and public programming, the project has supported an early career curator at each of the institutions, as well as making space for Future Commons: a peer-led curatorial network. These commissions and public programmes have given our selected artists an opportunity to develop their practice and to be collected and exhibited by a major institution, as well as contributing to a wider public debate on collections and whose heritage is being preserved.

The Event

To mark the end of the project, we are hosting a gathering by the coast. Here, we will hold conversations with the curators, artists, and teams involved in creating the Future Collect commissions. Additionally, there will be panel discussions featuring other similar projects that aim to disrupt museum collections across the UK. Collecting Conversations is an opportunity to explore models of commissioning and collecting works by artists from the Global Majority and other underrepresented backgrounds.

Session I:

Future Collect: Reflections on the commissioning to collect model

Screening of the Future Collect film directed by Anthony Badu.

Panel featuring contributions from Future Collect project participants.

Session II:

In-Conversation with the Future Collect Artists

In this panel, we will hear from the Future Collect Artists about their commissions and the distinct challenges they posed to the commissioning institutions.

Session III:

Commissioning, Collecting, and Traineeships – Disrupting Institutional Narratives

In this panel, we will hear from projects that are working to acquire and commission new works, as well as disrupting museum collections through curatorial interventions, all with the intention to platform artists and communities who have been systemically marginalized within the cultural sector and historically excluded from museums. Featuring contributions from EXPLORERS project,  Mother Tongue and Art X-UK.

To register your interest in attending Collecting Conversations please REGISTER HERE. For those who are unable to join us in person, we will be live-streaming the gathering, so you can join us remotely.

For more information about the Future Collect project see here.

We hope you are able to join us!

Livestream + digital-only participation:

We will be livestreaming all key panel discussions. This will be accessible to a wider public via a livestreaming link. If you cannot attend in person but would like to receive information about the livestream, please fill out the registration form. 

Access + Bursaries:

We have a number of bursaries available and are particularly interested in supporting early-career curators and artists to join this event. If you work with or host any emerging creatives, trainees, or interns who would benefit from this opportunity please pass this invitation on to them. If you require a bursary please make a note of this in your registration.

We will have BSL interpretation available on the day. The venue is wheelchair accessible. We have funds available to cover childcare for those with caring responsibilities who would like to attend the day. 

If you have any questions please email Anahi@iniva.org for more information.

REGISTER HERE

Image I: Jade Montserrat, Constellations Care and Resistance, Manchester Art Gallery 2021 | Photo: Nikita Gill

Image II: Emii Alrai, A Core of Scar, The Hepworth Wakefield 2022 | Photo: Michael Brzezinski

Image III:  Maria Amidu, episode(s), 2022