national-programmes / Centenary
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2010 is the Contemporary Art Society's centenary year. To celebrate, a Centenary Programme will take place in partnership with many of our sixty-three member museums and galleries across Britain.
In April 1909, a group of leading art figures, including Roger Fry, artist, lecturer, critic and DS McColl, keeper of the Tate Gallery, gathered at the home of arts patron, Lady Ottoline Morrell in Bloomsbury to discuss the foundation of a new society. Initially named the Modern Art Association, it aimed to promote the understanding and appreciation of contemporary art and to develop public art collections in Britain. In May 1910, the Contemporary Art Society was formally established.
The Contemporary Art Society continues to act as a catalyst for visual arts in this country, developing audiences, artists, curators,
collectors and collections alike. Over 100 years it has played a
pioneering and unique role and has donated more than 8,000 works to public collections in the UK, where it is enjoyed by tens of millions.
The Centenary Programme will be anchored in London at Tate Britain who have generously offered space within the Museum throughout the year. This has enabled us to invite three artists to create three displays. Using the list of over two hundred works gifted to Tate by the Contemporary Art Society as a starting point and through exploration of Tate's collections, each artist will develop ideas for these displays.
Elizabeth Price's Perfect Courses and Shimmering Obstacles will be followed by Yane Calovski's project in May and the Turner Prize winner Richard Wright in September.
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The Economist Plaza Commissions
The Economist Building provides the only outdoor public exhibition space in Central London committed to a continuous programme of sculptural works by contemporary artists.
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Perfect Courses and Shimmering Obstacles
Three artists will develop exhibitions for the display space at Tate Britain throughout 2010: Elizabeth Price, who is based in London; Yane Calovski from Skopje in Macedonia; the third artist is still to be confirmed. Taking the gifts to Tate as a starting point, they will interpret and consider the idea of ‘the collection’ through their own practice.
Price has selected a series of prints by Richard Hamilton, called Five Tyres Remoulded, as a point of departure. Donated by the Contemporary Art Society to Tate in December 1975, they are presented here alongside a selection of other works from Tate’s collection.
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Southampton City Art Gallery — The History of the Contemporary
To acknowledge the commitment of those who have had an influence on the collection, Alice Workman has invited seven former curators to select pieces from the collection that are, in their view, key works. These will be displayed throughout the year and will be accompanied by a programme of talks and debates.
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York Art Gallery - 100 Years of Gifts
100 Years of Gifts offers a fascinating snapshot of British art over the last decade, bringing together works acquired by Yorkshire galleries with the support of the Contemporary Art Society.
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Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery - Now for Tomorrow — 100 Years of Collecting
For the centenary, Now for Tomorrow brings together many of the artworks that the Contemporary Art Society has given to Nottingham Castle and looks at some of the stories behind these acquisitions.
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Wolverhampton Art Gallery — Seamus Harahan Holylands
Wolverhampton Art Gallery will be showing Holylands, the new acquisition made with the Contemporary Art Society.