On the Programme page we announce an Art Fund International exhibition at the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery from 6 October – 2 December called History.  More details to follow.  In the meantime, Julia Carver, the Collections Officer responsible for this area of the Fine Art Collection, has provided the following report:

“In 2010 the museum made a special new acquisition, A Ton of Tea by dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, as part of our Art Fund International project. In 2007
Bristol was awarded £1 million from the Art Fund to develop a new collection of international contemporary art. Altogether five regional art galleries, in Birmingham, Glasgow, Eastbourne and Middlesbrough as well as Bristol received the unique and prestigious award. The Art Fund invited each gallery to work in partnership with a contemporary art space, and pool together our different expertise: the museum’s partnership is with Arnolfini.

Bristol’s collection ‘Reflections and interactions’ is inspired by our international historic collections, ranging from Egyptology to the Designated Chinese glass and ceramic collections. Our aim is to acquire art which reflects on the regions represented in the museum collections from a local and contemporary perspective. So far we have acquired 24 pieces, by artists from Egypt, Iran, Morocco, Lebanon, India, Pakistan and South Korea, China, including Pakistani miniaturists Imran Qureshi and Shahzia Sikander, Egyptian video artist Hala Elkoussy and Lebanese conceptual artist Walid Raad. Watch  this space, we will be showcasing the new work in three exhibitions over the next three years”.

As a taster, the above are images of some of the works so far purchased with the Art Fund International award funding.

(Added 26 January 2012)