Transforming Collections: Art UK partner with UAL to platform underrepresented artists

University of the Arts London (UAL) has partnered with Art UK to spotlight the work of artists who have been historically underrepresented in UK collections. This groundbreaking collaboration has led to the addition of 10 new artists being featured on the Art UK platform, bringing forward voices and stories that have long been overlooked.

The partnership has been inspired by research undertaken at UAL’s Decolonising Arts and Creative Computing Institutes as part of the Transforming Collections project. Over the coming months, Art UK – the online home for every public art collection, will showcase this research through a series of curations and stories, illustrating exhibition histories and acquisition practices.

Art UK has launched the showcase with six articles – including curations from Transforming Collections researchers that feature works from the 19th century up until the 1990’s. Art UK has also added 10 artists who were not previously represented on the platform, as well as 65 new artwork records, and a total of 76 new images. This has been carried out in collaboration with 13 arts institutions and collections, increasing the visibility and accessibility of artworks in public collections.

Over the past 3 years, this major AHRC-funded project, which is part of the Towards a National Collection (TaNC) programme, has combined historical and museological research with creative computing and machine learning to surface suppressed histories in collections and amplify marginalised voices. At its core, the project has been underpinned by the belief that a ‘national collection’ cannot be imagined without addressing structural inequalities and systemic biases in the arts.

Museum x Machine x Me is a week-long public programme taking place across Tate Britain and Tate Modern from 2 to 6 October, to mark the Transforming Collections project as it draws to a close. This programme invites visitors to engage with the research, artworks and software that have been developed throughout the project, exploring how technology can help challenge, complicate and enrich existing collections data. Events and activities include a 2-day conference, artist displays, pop-up talks and conversations, a special Tate Late evening with performances across Tate Britain, and opportunities to get hands-on with the project’s machine learning tool throughout the week. Find out more and book your tickets to Museum x Machine x Me here.