Researching Arts Benefactors

Charlie Stein, artist book, Roadmap (ed.100 signed and numbered), 2016
…
Date: March – July
2020
Research project
“Patronage and
small scale
art organisations”
.
.
SEA Foundation
in collaboration
with Radboud University
Nijmegen
.
Reseach
Patrons take risks
Keeping in mind what Wayne Lawson said back in 2008. He believes that in their own quiet way, contemporary benefactors are galvanising a profound change in the art world. By giving artists freedom from quotidian concerns, they are helping to shape a generation of creators who are more original and willing to take risks unseen in nearly 30 years.
In order to realise our residency projects, SEA Foundation actively raises funds, both on a project level and on a structural level, in order to find financial resources in addition to our own income. We are looking for new cooperation partners in the form of patronage, who are prepared to financially support SEA Foundation in the long term. For the sustainability of such a cooperation, it is important that there is a good connection between the objectives of both partners, thus creating a balanced and reciprocal relationship.
Driving private donors
Together with a Master student of the Art Policy and Art Patronage faculty, of Radboud University, Nijmegen, we are looking into raising awareness and researching funding openings for small scale art organisations. The research aims to provide valuable information on what drives private donors to make a contribution and what they expect in return. The master student researches the motives of giving and willingness of potential donors, the possible forms of connection between the SEA Foundation and patronage, and she explores the how the reciprocity of this cooperation can take shape.
Student: Charlotte Degen
Student mentor: Cas Smithuysen (Radboud)
Student mentor: Jan Willem van Rijnberk (SEA foundation)
In addition
Patrons and collectors have always played important roles in the lives of artists and the art world at large. In the 21st century, what factors lead individuals to engage with art in a specific way? What is at stake when an arts patron does not actually collect artwork but invests in creative initiatives? These questions frame a talk that explores the many ways private individuals can and do support art. Watch the video here
Qiao Zhibing, Collector and Founder, Tank Shanghai, Shanghai; François Quintin, Managing Director of Lafayette Anticipation – Fondation d’entreprise Galeries Lafayette and Collection Fonds de dotation Famille Moulin, Paris; Veronika Zonabend, Co-Founder of the RVVZ Family Foundation, RVVZ, Moscow; Hallam Chow, Founder, H2 Foundation for Arts and Education, Hong Kong; Roobina Karode, Director and Chief Curator, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi Moderator: William Lim, Architect and Managing Director, CL3, Hong Kong March 2017.