Case Study presentation on Art Fund / Gallery of Modern Art New Collecting Award, as part of a closed discussion day focused on re-imagining the future of museum and gallery collections. My presentation was made in-conversation with researcher and curator Rohini Malik Okon. The impetus behind the working day was to open up debate about commissioning and collecting works by artists who better reflect the breadth of contemporary society. Ultimately, the ambition of the discussion day, and the R&D project which runs alongside it, was through collegiate action to transform the thought processes and curatorial practices that determine collections development policies in galleries and museums across the UK.

Taking the format of three chaired roundtable discussions in small groups, the day was envisaged as dynamic and participatory, with two case studies of recent and current curatorial collections-focused projects being presented.

The aims of the day were:

- to identify organisational dynamics, as well as external factors, that can constrain programming and commissioning choices
- to highlight where gaps in knowledge and experience might exist and how can this be addressed
- to share innovative ways of working
- to jointly produce a series of actions going forward.

Supported by the Art Fund, invited participants brought significant experience to bear on discussion, which will revolve around working with collections, commissioning new work, partnership working, supporting curatorial development and artistic practice. The day helped to identify potential partners to collaborate with Iniva on the next stage of the project, which is a ‘commission to collect’ initiative as part of its 25th Anniversary in 2019.