Andrew Cranston, Sullen Art. From EASTinternational 2007 at Norwich Gallery and School of Art and Design, 14 July - 18 August 2007

Ten UK museums and galleries have been selected to go forward to round two of The Art Fund’s new collecting scheme, Art Fund International.

In April, The Art Fund announced it was committing £5 million to a new initiative aimed at developing the collections of international contemporary art in UK regional museums and galleries.

A total of 29 institutions responded to the call for entries, setting out how they would use the money to build a collection of contemporary works representing international artists. Applicants were also asked to establish a partnership with at least one other non-collecting organisation such as a commissioning agency or exhibition space.

Up to five projects will be selected in 2007 and allocated funding to spend over the next five years.

mima opened in January 2007. Courtesy mima

“We have wonderful museums and galleries packed full of historic art from all over the world, but over the last 100 years we’ve all too often turned our backs on the most exciting works being made by living artists from overseas,” said David Barrie, The Art Fund’s Director, speaking about the new initiative.

“It’s too late to put that right but this scheme is designed to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes going forward. Art Fund International represents a major new investment in building the heritage of the future.”

The ten selected partnerships that will go through to the next round are:

• Marischal Museum, Aberdeen, in partnership with the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich, and Orkney’s Pier Arts Centre

• Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and New Art Gallery Walsall in partnership with Ikon, Birmingham

• Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives in partnership with the Arnolfini, Bristol

• University of Essex Collection of Latin American Art in partnership with Firstsite:Newsite and El Museo del Barrio, New York.

Kourish Adim, Veil. From an exhibition of international artists' responses to the Muslim veil at the New Art Gallery, Walsall, in 2003. Courtesy the New Art Gallery

• Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne in partnership with Photoworks, Brighton Photo Biennial and ArtSway, Hampshire

• Falmouth Art Gallery in partnership with The Eden Project, The October Gallery, London, The Penrose Collection and other supporting institutions

• Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow in partnership with The Common Guild

• mima (Middlesborough Institute of Modern Art) in partnership with The Drawing Centre, New York and a number of other institutions

• Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery in partnership with EASTinternational, Norwich School of Art and Design

• Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston in partnership with Sandbox (UCLan)

The final list of museums and their proposed collecting areas will be announced in November 2007.

Read more about the scheme on The Art Fund website.