Art Fund Award Brings Neckpiece to Aberdeen

Aberdeen Art Gallery is one of the five winners of Art Fund Collect, a £75,000 award for curators to acquire a piece of contemporary craft for their museum or gallery.

Organised by independent charity The Art Fund and the Crafts Council the Art Fund Collect took place on the preview day of the Crafts Council's international fair Collect, held at London's Saatchi Gallery.

Kate Gillespie, assistant keeper (applied art) at Aberdeen Art Gallery, was among ten curators to take part in a nail-biting race around the fair, with just one hour to select a new work for their museum or gallery. An expert panel then selected the winning curators, awarding them a share of £75,000 to acquire their object outright.

Kate Gillespie selected neckpiece, 2009 by Jacqueline Ryan, for £26,550. Made from 18 carat gold, enamel and garnet, the necklace encapsulates Jacqueline's interest in natural formations and demonstrates her technical skill. She studied at the Royal College of Art before moving to Padua, Italy, where she shared a workshop with celebrated artist Giovanni Corvaja for nine years. She now has her own workshop in Umbria. This is the first piece of work deriving from the famous 'Padua school' of goldsmiths to enter Aberdeen's collection.

Kate Gillespie said “Without the support of The Art Fund, Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums would not have had the opportunity to acquire such an ambitious piece. It gives me great pleasure to bring the object to the North-east of Scotland where it will be enjoyed by a wide range of audiences for many generations."

Now in its second year, Art Fund Collect was set up in 2008 by The Art Fund, the UK's leading independent art charity, and the Crafts Council, the national development agency for contemporary craft, to encourage museums and galleries around the country to acquire the best in international contemporary craft.  The other winning museums and galleries were Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, Bilston Craft Gallery, Wolverhampton, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art and the V&A.