Outset Contemporary Art Fund


The Outset Contemporary Art Fund is an organisation dedicated to supporting new art by bringing private funding from its patrons, partners and trustees to public museums and art projects. Outset was founded in England in 2003 by Candida Gertler and Yana Peel. Since its inception the foundation has supported a range of projects at leading visual arts institutions, from exhibitions, education and residency programmes to publications and capital campaigns. Projects are selected in consultation with a trusted network of curators from across the world, exposing patrons to the most exciting and innovative developments within the arena of contemporary visual art. Outset supporters are a diverse group of individuals, comprising art enthusiasts, experienced collectors and professionals.
Outset has chapters in England, Germany, India, Israel, the Netherlands, Greece, Scotland and the United States.

Outset / Frieze Art Fair Fund to benefit the Tate Collection

In 2003, Outset established the world's first acquisitions fund connected to an art fair. The Outset/Frieze Art Fair Fund to benefit the Tate Collection is a unique partnership between Outset Contemporary Art Fund, Frieze Art Fair and Tate. The fund enables Tate to buy important work by emerging artists at the fair for the national collection. Since its inception in 2003, 90 works by 60 significant international artists have been acquired. Each year Tate invites two international curators to work as part of the selection panel for the Fund.
In 2003, the Fund raised £100,000 for the Tate to purchase work. Four artists were selected: Fikret Atay, Olafur Eliasson, Anri Sala and Yutaka Sone.
In 2004, the amount was £150,000 and the artists were: Pawel Althamer, Martin Boyce, Jeremy Deller, Alan Kane, Jesper Just, Mark Leckey, Scott Myles, Frank Nitsche, Henrik Olesen, Roman Ondák, The Atlas Group, Walid Raad and Pae White.
In 2005, £125,000 was raised with each donor giving £5,000 Work was bought from ten artists. These included Daria Martin, Jan Mot and Alexandre de Cunha. The selecting panel was Jan Debbaut, Director, Tate Collection, Paul Schimmel, Chief Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and Suzanne Pagé, Director, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris. One piece, which cost £20,000 was Time, a conceptual work by David Lamelas, which consisted of an idea—that people should stand in line and state the time to the adjoining person in the queue. Another purchase for £15,000 was a grey filing-drawer containing 1,000 blank index cards by Stanley Brouwn.
In 2006, £150,000 was raised and artworks acquired for Tate included work by: Rivane Neuenschwander and Cao Guimaraes; Anna Barriball; Trisha Donnelly; Thomas Hirschhorn; Gabriel Kuri; Philippe Parreno; Bruno Serralongue; David Shrigley; Simon Starling; Catherine Sullivan; and Christopher Williams.
In 2007, £150,000 was raised and artworks acquired for Tate included work by: Pawel Althamer, Mauro Restiffe, Andreas Slominski, and Armando Andrade Tudela.
In 2008, £150,000 was raised and artworks acquired by the fund for Tate included work by: Hurvin Anderson, Andrea Fraser, Bela Kolárová, Lorna Simpson, Tris Vonna-Michell, and Akram Zaatari.
In 2009, £150,000 was raised and artworks acquired by the fund for Tate included work by: Alice Channer, Zbigniew Libera, David Maljkovic, Gareth Moore, Marwan Rechmaoui, Artur Zmijewski.
In 2010, £150,000 was raised and artworks acquired by the fund for Tate included work by: Lorna Simpson, Jimmie Durham, and Julius Koller.
In 2011, £150,000 was raised and artworks acquired by the fund for Tate included work by: Helena Almeida, Melanie Smith, and Alina Szapocznikow.
In 2012, £150,000 was raised and artworks acquired by the fund for Tate included work by: Hideko Fukushima, Nicholas Hlobo, Caragh Thuring, and Jack Whitten.
In 2013, £150,000 was raised and artworks acquired by the fund for Tate included work by: Terry Adkins, Christina Mackie, James Richards, and Sturtevant.