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| You are in National Portrait Gallery | Around the Country | Strategic Commissioning: Policy | |||||||||
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National Strategy A policy review paper prepared by Sandy Nairne, Director and Kathleen Soriano, Head of Exhibitions and Collections Management 1 Introduction In addition to these country house partnerships the NPG has developed an extensive programme of long-term loans to other houses and historic locations in which portraits can be seen in the settings for which many of them were intended, such as Gawthorpe, Lyme Park and Dove Cottage, and many others around the country. (See the Appendix for a list of current locations). Short-term loans are also made to temporary exhibitions created by museums and galleries throughout the UK. In any recent year the NPG has over 270 works on long-term loan and more than 100 works out on shorter term loan. To complement the loan programmes the Gallery has developed an energetic programme of touring exhibitions, some drawn from the NPG collections and some from temporary exhibitions planned for the St Martin's Place building and then made available for UK tour. Recent examples include Mirror, Mirror and Icons of Pop. Alongside these three strands, the Gallery has developed close working relationships with a small number of key institutions outside London, such as the Museum and Gallery Trust in Sheffield which runs the new Millennium Galleries. Developed as opportunities have arisen and as resources allowed, they offer great potential for collaboration with venues keen to develop the interests of their publics in the subject of portraiture. One example was the 'Living Lives' project based on the selection of photographs of 'heroes' from the NPG Collection by groups from the community in Nottingham for display in the Nottingham Castle Museum. Over the past year similar collaborations have taken place with the Hatton Gallery at the University of Newcastle, with the Bowes Museum in County Durham and with Dove Cottage. Strategic Commissioning funds obtained from DCMS this year will help us achieve more in this area during 2003-04. Recent exhibitions have also been shared with the National Museum of Film, Photography and Television in Bradford and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. Between 2000 and 2002 the Gallery spent some time exploring the possibility of forming a 'NPG of the North', focusing on the 20th century Collections. This involved a discussion with Middlesborough and the Cleveland metropolitan authority and then a longer exploration with Durham City and University. This did not lead to the identification of a suitable site nor to the sources of funding for such a venture. 2 Context Additionally, the DCMS has set on one side some funding (Strategic Commissioning) to support national collections in making more of their collections available to the UK. In earlier discussions, the Minister for the Arts had made quite clear that she is not expecting any new stand-alone developments in the form of 'out-stations' from national collections, but rather the development of collaborative ventures in the spirit of the 'Renaissance' report. 3 Future Development A A reinvigoration of the partnership with the National Trust using the renewal of Bodelwyddan as one model, seeking to make the displays more active, the NPG's contribution more visible, increasing the education programmes provided on site, and working together to identify mutually beneficial locations and occasions for collaboration. Beningbrough Hall is due for the refurbishment of the second floor in 2004 with a re-launch in spring 2005, and some funds have already been allocated from DCMS. New options, such as audio-guides, the use of the Woodward Portrait Explorer, and 'visiting portraits' each summer, will be explored. B The creation of a partnership scheme with regional museums. This scheme should complement the National Trust work by aiming to have partners open year-round and based in cities where access is easy and wide audiences can be sought. These partnerships would build on the collaborations already described and might take the form of 'portrait rooms' within larger museums where groups of work would be lent for periods of a year and then changed over. Durham and the North-East will wish to be considered as one of the museum partners, and informal interest has been expressed by Manchester and by Sheffield. A collaboration with the national institutions in Cardiff may also be a priority for consideration. The partnerships should be based on a presumption that choice of works will come from the regions, but that information sharing, curatorial development and technical training should be a declared part of the scheme. The partners should be selected on declared criteria, including regional spread, the creativity of collaborations proposed and the availability of resources. Wider research and consultation will be needed to identify the most appropriate actual partners for the NPG. C The development of the regional touring programme, with selected small thematic or monographic displays from the Collections, loan exhibitions of photographs and paintings and innovative educational displays. This will be complemented by continuing to collaborate where appropriate with the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and the Museum of Film, Television and Photography in Bradford on larger loan exhibitions, as well as offering these abroad and occasionally to other UK venues. D Continuing the programme of long and short-term loans, and creating special loans of groups or individual works which complement the longer term loans to country houses and museums, and where the relationship between the sitter and the place is worthy of special celebration or an anniversary or other special event is being marked. In these instances it is important that the NPG is keen to make this the 'national presentation' of an important work from the Collection for a period of time. Such special loans should include collaborative ventures with regional curators and communities where a full partnership is not appropriate or required. E Developing links for information sharing and the exchange of knowledge in the field of portraits. This is referred to in the 'Renaissance' Report as a national collection taking a lead in terms of its 'sectoral field of interest'. This may include web links, joint cataloguing and publishing projects, secondments, educational collaborations such as Self-Portrait UK, and includes the continuing goal (commenced with the Batsford Dictionary of British Portraiture) of mapping all public collections for portraits of British sitters and sharing expertise about them both with other specialists, in museums and universities, and with the wider public. 4 Next Steps Application will be made to DCMS for additional funding in the next round, as well as to other appropriate trusts and foundations. Some management and development work from NPG staff will be found from within the exhibitions and collection management department, and this work will be taken into account in the annual staff review. Sandy Nairne and Kathleen Soriano Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums A Room in View BP Portrait Award 1997 BP Portrait Award 1998 Glenys Barton: Portraits Henri Cartier-Bresson - Portraits:
Tête à Tête
Literati photographs by Mark
Gerson John Kobal Photographic Portrait
Award 1997 Private Eye Times Bruce Weber: Branded Youth
& Other Stories 1999 Icons of Pop
BP Portrait Award 1999 John Kobal Photographic Portrait
Award 1998 Henri Cartier-Bresson - Portraits:
Tête à Tête The Painter's Eye 2000 Faces of the Century BP Portrait Award 2000 Henri Cartier-Bresson - Portraits:
Tête à Tête
Photographs by Snowdon: A
Retrospective Gerald Scarfe Icons of Pop John Kobal Photographic Portrait
Award 1999 Return to Life: A New Look
At The Portrait Bust Defining Features: Scientific
and Medical Saving Faces: Portraits by
Mark Gilbert 2001 Henri Cartier-Bresson -
Portraits: Tête à Tête Photographs by Snowdon: A
Retrospective Polly Borland: Australians BP Portrait Award 2001 John Kobal Photographic Portrait
Award 2000 Gerald Scarfe at the NPG Icons of Pop Horst Portraits: 60 Years
of Style Rollie McKenna: Artists and
Writers Saving Faces: Portraits by
Mark Gilbert 2002 Mirror, Mirror: Self-portraits
by Women Artists
BP Portrait Award 2002 John Kobal Photographic Award
2001 Painted Ladies: Women at the
Court of Charles II George Romney (1734-1802)
Beatrix Potter to Harry Potter:
Portraits of Children's
Writers Mario Testino: Portraits Saving Faces: Portraits by
Mark Gilbert |
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