The
Public Eye: 50 Years of The Arts Council of Northern Ireland Collection
by Brian Ferran The Arts Council Collection tells a story of the visual arts in Northern Ireland; the Collection growing organically, through long periods of turbulence which it often reflects, responded to the preoccupations of the art community and to the changing cultural environment. Starting a collection was deemed by the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts(CEMA) the Arts Council's predecessor, to be one of its highest priorities. At its formation in February 1943, one of CEMA's first actions was to purchase paintings as its 1944/45 annual report explained 'with a view to encouraging local artists and for the purpose of forming a permanent collection of its own, the Council decided to allocate a small sum of money for the purchase of pictures by local artists’. £118 was spent and a further £100 was set aside for purchase in 1945/46, the intention being to circulate pictures within the public domain. In 1944 'talks were given in country towns and in Belfast factories by Kathleen Bridle, Sidney Smith, John Hewitt and John Hunter ….whether by a brief exposition of the merits of each picture or by question and answer - for both methods were used - these talks achieved their aim and did much to awaken interest.' All four were artists of reputation, committed educators and informed critics. By 1947 the Council had frequently and publicly announced its policy of forming 'a permanent collection and at the same time endeavouring to extend some patronage to local artists.' This purchasing policy brought the collection to a total of 16 works and the hope was expressed that 'it may be possible somewhat to extend the scope of this scheme but for financial reasons it has not been possible to do so in the year under review.' Restraints on the acquisition budget became a recurring problem. From the beginning it was intended that pictures purchased should be circulated 'through-out the country in accordance with the Council's policy of paying attention to 'the needs of the smaller centres of population.' To build a local audience for the contemporary visual arts it became essential that the Council open a gallery and present an exhibition programme. The first Belfast gallery was at Donegall Place, and then in 1960 a new CEMA gallery opened in a basement in Chichester Street. By 1968 plans were laid for re-location to the highly successful Bedford Street Gallery which remained in operation until the early 1990s. These CEMA exhibitions were helpful to artists, encouraged the development of a visual arts audience and provided an impetus for the collection. A gallery facility was the overwhelming wish of practising artists at this time. The practice of purchasing work or works from most gallery exhibitions was continued for forty years, the majority of the works in the collection being purchased from local exhibitions. Selection of works was made by the Council's art advisory committee and responsibility was delegated to members in various groupings ranging from the full committee to one member. Most frequently, purchase was made by two or three committee members, sometimes with board members. |
