Arts Council Collection

Chair

Remunerated

The Arts Council Collection is one of the largest national collections of modern and contemporary British art in the world. For 79 years it has promoted and enriched the nation’s knowledge and appreciation of contemporary art, through touring exhibitions and loans to galleries and public buildings throughout the country, and internationally on request.

The Collection currently consists of more than 8,000 works by nearly 2,300 artists, including David Hockney, Dame Tracey Emin, Sir Antony Gormley, Yinka Shonibare, Melanie Manchot, Sir John Akomfrah and Sir Grayson Perry.

Today, Arts Council Collection is an asset of Arts Council England, whose trustees on National Council are effective trustees of this nationally significant collection. It has been expertly managed by a team based at Southbank Centre since 1986, a relationship spanning almost 40 years, and the art is physically located in 2 hubs in London and Yorkshire. ACE has decided that management of the Collection in the future is best undertaken by a new organisation located in Coventry. Southbank Centre is currently supporting ACE with the process of establishing the new organisation.

We are seeking a Chair to set-up and launch a new, independent, Coventry based, organisation which will take on the responsibility for the future long-term management of Arts Council Collection. It is expected that the new organisation will develop a new business model that includes Arts Council England grant funding, tax relief income, touring fees, and a mixture of other contributed and earned sources of income. Alongside this, the new organisation will use its independent status to develop a new, entrepreneurial business model and extend the sources of support for its work.

The inaugural chair of the organisation will take a hands-on role in the first 6 months of start-up phase with the following objectives:

• Register the new organisation with Companies House with required paperwork prepared by an external consultant
• Recruit a full board of trustees with due consideration for broad skills and diversity
• Recruit the first Director, who will in turn be responsible for recruiting the staff team
• Support the new Director to establish the organisational strategy and business plan, and other best-practise operating policies.
• In a governance role, ensure the new organisation is fully established and prepared to operate in the new facility in readiness for the collection arriving in 2027
• Ensure the Collection is well managed and set up to meet all collection standards and deliver an outstanding artistic programme that serves both the sector and the public

After this start-up phase, the Chair will lead the longer-term development of the new organisation.

This role will allow the Collection to grow its public impact through an ongoing programme of innovative touring exhibitions devised in close collaboration with galleries of all sizes. It will continue to support the sector via responsive, low-cost lending at a time when gallery budgets are constrained like never before. It will work with partners outside the traditional arts sector such as schools and hospitals, to bring this national collection to the widest possible range of people across the country.

Applications are welcomed regardless of gender, age, marital status, disability, religion, ethnic origin, political opinion, sexual orientation, or whether or not you have dependents.

Full details can be found here: https://micro.green-park.co.uk/acc/

Closing date: 11:59pm Sunday 8th June 2025

If you want to know more about the role, please contact Lucy Kythreotis or Jon Morrison from our Executive Search partners, Green Park by emailing: lucy.kythreotis@green-park.co.uk or Jon.Morrison@green-park.co.uk.