The Courtauld has announced a new Artists Advisory Council bringing together leading artists, designers and architects to help shape the institution’s future strategy, with a particular focus on contemporary art.
The new council includes Dame Sonia Boyce DBE RA, Sir Antony Gormley, Rachel Jones, Elizabeth Price and Megan Rooney, alongside architects Thomas Heatherwick CBE RA RDI of Heatherwick Studio and Stephen Witherford of Witherford Watson Mann.
It will be chaired by Tim Marlow OBE, Director and Chief Executive of the Design Museum and a Courtauld alumnus.
The Artists Advisory Council arrives at a significant moment for the institution as it expands its contemporary programme and develops its new campus at Somerset House.
Since the transformation of the Courtauld Gallery in 2021, the institution has increasingly brought contemporary artists into its programme through exhibitions and commissions, including projects with Peter Doig, Claudette Johnson, Cecily Brown, Rachel Jones and Ella Walker. The Courtauld is currently presenting the first UK solo exhibition by New York painter Salman Toor, which opened earlier this month.
That contemporary focus will become more visible still with the opening of the Blavatnik Contemporary Galleries in 2029. The new galleries will host exhibitions, commissions and events, while also becoming a site for experimentation and collective learning for students on the Courtauld Institute’s MA in Curating.
The wider Courtauld Campus redevelopment is also expected to open in 2029, with a masterplan by Witherford Watson Mann, working with Purcell and Lawson Ward Studio. As the Courtauld approaches its centenary in 2032, the new Artists Advisory Council will help guide how contemporary artistic practice sits alongside the institution’s art-historical teaching, research and collections.
Mark Hallett, Märit Rausing Director of the Courtauld, said:
“Our new Artists Advisory Council will play a vital role in shaping the future of the Courtauld and in guiding our expanded presentation of contemporary artists’ work within the new Courtauld Campus.”
Sir Antony Gormley, artist, said:
“I am honoured to be an inaugural member of the Courtauld’s Artists Advisory Council. The Courtauld is one of our most important cultural institutions and a world-leading centre for the teaching and research of art history. I look forward to helping support and guide their efforts to open up art and art education to the widest possible audience.”
Rachel Jones, artist, said:
“It is an honour to be part of the Artists Advisory Council at such an important time in the Courtauld’s history, and to serve as an advocate for the importance of both art history and contemporary art in shaping the Courtauld’s future.”
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