Vizard’s Ark: a purposeful collection

I was teaching a course on the area and argued that if the collection was to be representative of the 1990s, then they needed to acquire beyond the urban indigenous work, which was already well represented.²

Difficult work was sometimes knocked back at the initial meeting and accepted at subsequent meetings. I’m not sure if Steve Vizard was initially dissatisfied with our account or whether he needed time to consider the issues and the work. He was open about being educated through the process.⁴

Artists and performers are best rewarded … not by doing something other than that which they want to do … Not by being paid to do some commission for something which is totally unrelated to where they see themselves, but rather by people paying them for precisely what they want to do in their artistic realm.⁹

The challenges of the 1990s will also be reflected in changing conceptions of history and museums. A contemporary Collection will explore innovative presentations of the story of Australian culture: new methods of presentation and display, new experiences of art works.¹³

Artists care about what happens to their work. To have someone looking after the work is fantastic. Context and interpretation are a blessing for an artist’s work. It’s great when work goes to go a home in the public arena.²⁰

Buying our art has been the most effective form of engagement and support, particularly given the collection’s profile … Mid-career artists don’t have the funds to produce the publications that the broader community require. As a teacher I find there is simply not enough documentation about contemporary Australian art.²¹