Arts Council publishes details of artworks to be recovered

With the full co-operation of the Arts Council, the Northern Ireland Audit Office published a thorough report in August 2006 on the Arts Council’s management of its art collection (1943-1999).

Following the transfer of manual records to the new electronic collection management system, we are trying to ascertain the whereabouts of 50 works from the collection, with a current market value totalling £21,500.

The value of the works in the collection is small by international comparison. However, it is of value in terms of their contribution to Northern Irish art history, and we are doing everything in our power to recover the missing works.

We have contacted all former and current borrowers, other institutions and collections, and will now be contacting auction houses. This takes time and the co-operation of others, but we are confident that we will recover many of the missing works. We are pleased to report that two works have already been recovered.

The Arts Council today published the complete list of remaining 50 works from the collection, and asks for wider public assistance in the recovery process. If you are aware of the location of any of the works on the list, please contact the Arts Council’s curator, Suzanne Lyle, on T: 028 90385200 or email: slyle@artscouncil-ni.org

Please note:

The purpose of the collection was to support and promote living artists from Northern Ireland and to raise awareness of and interest in contemporary visual arts here. By its nature, works from the collection were and are available to the public, on display across many public buildings such as schools, hospitals and other community venues, and they carry risks that are markedly different to those of a museum-style collection.

The Arts Council accepts and regrets that there have been historical failures in its management of the collection. We now have a 21 st-century electronic system in place and a curator with the skills to help us keep track of and manage over 1,200 works of art. The current system has removed the majority of criticisms made by the NIAO, a fact that is recognised and welcomed in the report.

The Arts Council will publish a full account of works retrieved and action taken to recover works by 31 March 2007.

To view the list, please click HERE (PDF format).

Updated Information - March 2007 - can be viewed by clicking here