The British Council Collection has no permanent gallery and has been referred to as a ‘museum without walls.’ The Collection consists of around 8,800 works of modern and contemporary British art, from an exciting range of artists including world-renowned names such as Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Anish Kapoor and Damien Hirst. We sat down with Head of Collection, Moira Lindsay, to find out more.
Can you explain why the British Council Collection was created?
Firstly it would be helpful to provide some context on what we stand for and the values at the British Council, as they relate to why we started the British Council Collection. The British Council was founded in 1934, and the British Council Collection was started in 1938, coinciding with the opening of the first British Council offices globally. The British Council was set up by the UK government in the 1930s during a time of worldwide instability.
Our aim outlined in our 1940-41 report was ‘to create in a country overseas a basis of friendly knowledge and understanding of the people of this country, of their philosophy and way of life, which will lead to a sympathetic appreciation of British foreign policy, whatever for the moment that policy may be and from whatever political conviction it may spring.’
Since 1940, our work has evolved and we continue to strive to make a positive contribution to the countries we work with. Today, we uniquely combine the UK’s deep expertise in arts and culture, education and the English language, our global presence and relationships in over 100 countries. We also offer unparalleled access to young people and influencers, enhanced by our distinctive creative flair.
The Collection was essentially created to offer artworks that are easily accessible for our enriching cultural relations work, for example, in international exhibitions that travel around the world and are also displayed to showcase British culture in some of our buildings.
Before forming the Collection, the British Council borrowed works of British art from other museum collections, dealers and artists for international exhibitions. However, our need and the lead time required for these works became challenging for lenders who also needed to cater to their own audiences. Having the British Council Collection is crucial because it guarantees consistent access to renowned modern UK artists and styles, which not only strengthens our ability to foster cultural exchange but also enhances our role in sharing British culture and creativity on a global scale.
The Collection contains around 8,800 works of modern and contemporary art by 1,500 artists. Our approach to collecting is practical and focused rather than attempting to be exhaustive. As well as collecting new trends in British culture, the Collection reflects British Council themes and values. The artists selected are not defined as British by birth or by passport, they are artists who contributed to the UK visual arts scene at the time of acquisition.
The British Council has offices in over 100 countries and delivers work in 200 countries around the world, reaching an annual audience of 600 million people. Owning our Collection ensures independence from external influence. We leverage its diverse cultures and expressions, guided by our visual arts team's expertise, to foster appreciation of contemporary UK art. The Collection empowers us to showcase the finest UK culture worldwide through collaborative partnerships in loans, exhibitions, festivals, research delegations, skills development, and digital innovation programmes.
Using our Collection as a tool, we connect the UK and the global visual arts sector through innovative international collaborations to inspire positive change through arts, such as with our International Seasons which celebrate and deepen the UK’s relationship with partner countries. The Seasons develop the UK’s relationship with strategically important countries and often respond to specific opportunities created by international sporting events, significant anniversaries and World Expos.
What are the benefits of not having a permanent gallery space?
Not having a permanent gallery space gives us greater flexibility and opportunities. This approach ensures that the artworks in the British Council Collection are accessible, prepared, and prioritised for our cultural relations programmes globally. Most importantly, having a permanent gallery space in one location could impact our ability to work in all the countries where the British Council works.
Our aims are for our museum and gallery partners to use our Collection works in their programmes and for their audiences. Working in these different contexts and locations brings exciting new perspectives, re-interpretations and juxtapositions for our works, which would not be possible in a permanent single space. This is because each setting offers unique cultural dynamics, interactions with local audiences, and collaborative opportunities that enrich the way our Collection is experienced and understood globally.
Our role is not to curate as such but to offer access and invite other voices to explore, show and use the Collection, often through the collaboration of multiple international partners and showing alongside work by artists from their locality or country.
For example, macLYON in Lyon, France and Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, UK have collaborated this year as part of the British Council UK/France Spotlight on Culture season, highlighting both UK and French cultures. Together, they have curated a bilateral exhibition titled ‘Friends in Love and War’ on the theme of friendship and the intricate bonds that tie France and the UK. The exhibition brings together works from the British Council Collection alongside those of French artists from the macLYON collection. One of the questions that the exhibition explores is ‘How do society, politics, culture and social media influence friendships?’.
With digitisation and the internationalisation of the museum world, are physical art spaces less important than before?
Digitisation, online platforms and access have certainly opened up the British Council Collection to audiences in different ways. To give you an example, the Museum Without Walls series of five experimental online exhibitions from 2017 to 2021 reached over 1 million people. The curators offered dual or multiple language interpretations, British Sign Language and audio description methods of access. The 2020 iteration was in Turkish, Ukrainian, Georgian, Russian and English and the multiplicity of the online exhibition was best suited to an online format rather than a physical space.
British Council Arts work in a hybrid way, and certainly, we deliver a lot of programmes and networking activity online, which is more sustainable, and enables greater connectivity, innovation and responsive working. However, we work in cultural relations which is about bringing people together, and we strongly believe that face-to-face collaboration and experience of artworks in person are fundamental. There is always the need and place for face-to-face engagement and collaboration, and we plan face-to-face exhibitions and events with a considered approach.
Physical spaces are important as they have the profile, community engagement reputation and trust of their audiences and partners. We also know from our experiences during the pandemic that people the world over want to reengage with physical activities that get people out of their homes and off their computer screens. Art galleries are essential for audiences to appreciate scale and texture in a work, as well as being great social and learning spaces as well.
