Plus Tate has announced that the De La Warr Pavilion and 12 other visual arts organisations will join their network, taking the cohort of member organisations across the country to 48.

Rosie Cooper, our Head of Exhibitions says “We are thrilled to be part of the newest cohort of Plus Tate members. As an organisation that needs to be incredibly resourceful to present such an ambitious programme of new commissions, exhibitions and learning, it is invaluable for us to be connected to such a strong network of organisations across the UK who we can share learning and ideas with. It is a challenging time for the arts, and organisations are being held accountable in important ways. Working together with common purpose, we can create meaningful change.”

Launched in 2010, Plus Tate shares collections and expertise to build a network that exchanges knowledge, skills and resources to strengthen the contemporary visual arts ecology in the UK. The announcement comes alongside news that Tate has moved its national partnerships department to Liverpool under director Helen Legg.

The new members range in size and include universities, collection-based galleries and non-venue organisations, all with a commitment to better reflecting their local communities and developing close connections with a range of audiences. Among the new Plus Tate partners are Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts), whose programme reflects on the social and political impact of globalisation; DASH, a disabled-led organisation that creates opportunities for disabled artists to develop their creative practice; Void, a contemporary art space commissioning a diverse range of artistic practices which places participation, engagement and learning at its heart; and Autograph, which explores identity, representation, human rights and social justice through photography and film.

The reach of the network across the UK is demonstrated by its new members, with two galleries in Dundee and four in London, along with a host of institutions across northern England, galleries in southern coastal towns and another in Derry~Londonderry.

The new Plus Tate partners are: Autograph, Gasworks, Iniva and The Showroom in London; Cooper Gallery and Dundee Contemporary Arts in Dundee; DASH in Shropshire; De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea; Focal Point Gallery in Southend-on-Sea; Leeds Art Gallery; New Art Exchange in Nottingham; Site Gallery in Sheffield; and Void in Derry~Londonderry. Manchester Art Gallery will also join its sister gallery, the Whitworth, as part of the network.

The 13 new Plus Tate partners join the existing network of 35 organisations, which are:

Artes Mundi, Arnolfini, BALTIC, Camden Arts Centre, Centre for Contemporary Art Derry~Londonderry, Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art in Manchester, Chisenhale Gallery, Firstsite, The Fruitmarket Gallery, Glynn Vivian, Grizedale Arts, Golden Thread Gallery, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, John Hansard Gallery, The Hepworth, HOME, Ikon, Kettle’s Yard, Liverpool Biennial, The MAC Belfast, mima, MK Gallery, Modern Art Oxford, MOSTYN, Newlyn Art Gallery and the Exchange, The Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Nottingham Contemporary, The Pier Arts Centre, the South London Gallery, Spike Island, Towner, Turner Contemporary, Whitworth Art Gallery, Wysing Arts Centre and the four Tate galleries.

May 16th, 1941” Grace Pailthorpe (1883-1971), 1941. Photo © Tate. Presented as part of A Tale of Mother’s Bones: Grace Pailthorpe, Reuben Mednikoff and the Birth of Psychorealism, De La Warr Pavilion, 2018.

Posted by Laura Sayers on Friday 13 November 2020