Choose Art: A New Crowdfunding Campaign Supporting Museums and Artists across the UK

Contemporary Art Society has launched CHOOSE ART, a new crowdfunding campaign raising funds to buy art that will be donated to local museums and galleries across the country, as they prepare to welcome back their communities.

CHOOSE ART builds on the success of last year's CAS Rapid Response Fund, which raised over £230,000 to support UK museums during the pandemic.

Museums that are members of the Contemporary Art Society are invited to apply to buy art that will support their civic role when they reopen as the UK emerges from lockdown. The campaign is designed to support as many different artists and local museums as possible, based on the understanding that art and museums will play a vital role in helping communities across the nation heal following the Covid-19 pandemic. Money raised will be spent purchasing artworks by British-based artists, providing financial support to artists, technicians and art handlers, many of whom work on a freelance basis and have seen their income streams decimated over the past year.

We’ve supported artists, galleries and museums across the UK by buying over 12,000 artworks that speak to the times in which they were created. Art reflects the times we live in and now more than ever as we look to recovery, we believe that everyone in the UK should have access to the best art created now to help the nation heal. We want to encourage everyone to CHOOSE ART, donate, visit your local museum when it reopens and share your favourite artworks with friends - Caroline Douglas, Director, Contemporary Art Society

Due to government restrictions, museums in England are currently closed until May 17 at the earliest with opening dates for museums in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to be confirmed. The CHOOSE ART campaign will ensure that when museums across the UK reopen, they are able to reach out to their communities through new acquisitions, playing a vital role in civic healing and mental wellbeing as well as bringing new life to high streets.

Art and design are and always have been at the cutting edge not just of culture, but civilisations. Simon Schama says “Man is an art-making animal” and art in the UK is under threat right now. Huge holes in public finances due to Covid and changes in the rules thanks to Brexit are going to mean that art, artists, art education and museums are going to need all the help they can get to survive. - Katharine Hamnett, Designer

As part of the campaign, Katharine Hamnett London has designed limited-edition T-shirts, inspired by Hamnett's iconic Choose Life campaign, to say thank you for donations of more than £60. 

Following last year’s pioneering Rapid Response Fund, which gathered huge support and injected much needed funds into the arts ecosystem, Frieze are delighted to collaborate with the Contemporary Art Society once again. Katharine Hamnett’s contribution to this new exciting campaign for 2021 will encourage an ever-growing community of support and is yet another example of CAS’s continued innovative initiatives that benefit UK museums, artists and galleries - Eva Langret, Artistic Director, Frieze London

The CHOOSE ART campaign will only be live for one month, from Monday 15 March to Thursday 15 April 2021.

Donate and Learn More