The UK government is making plans to increase public access to its extensive art collection, aiming to broaden its reach beyond traditional venues.
Britain's state art collection needs to be more visible across the country while remaining a prized tool of soft power overseas, the arts minister has said. Sir Chris Bryant told the Financial Times that the Labour government was “tweaking the dial” of the Government Art Collection — which is 125 years old this month — in order to boost public engagement.
“In the past, it’s got a bit stuck in embassies, consulates and ministers’ offices, and we’re very keen to change that,” he said in an interview. “As a new government wanting to say: a bit more of this should not just be reserved for what might feel like rather posh venues, like my office, or the ambassador’s residence in Washington, and should be more available to the general public.” Founded in 1899, the Government Art Collection displays works of art in UK government buildings, including Downing Street, Whitehall departments and embassies. It comprises 15,000 prints, paintings, drawings and works in other media by artists such as JMW Turner, LS Lowry, Dame Paula Rego, Dame Sonia Boyce and Sir Grayson Perry. The GAC also lends to museums and galleries around the world; works that it owns will appear in two exhibitions in 2025 in Bradford, to mark the northern English city’s status as UK City of Culture, and in London for the second anniversary of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation. This year the Fabian Society argued that the collection should “be shared much more widely” with public buildings, including hospitals, schools, libraries and courts. The Labour-affiliated think-tank noted in a report that the GAC did not contain fragile objects and was “designed to be loaned”. Asked if the GAC planned to expand loans to the public buildings, Bryant said: “Art is not just an economic reality, it’s also part of our wellbeing . . . so the more we can get some of these works of art out in front of the public, the better.” However, he insisted that the collection remained vital to UK diplomac
ART COLLECTION GOVERNMENT ART COLLECTION PUBLIC ACCESS UK CULTURE SOFT POWER
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