Government spends £200,000 on art for offices and embassies in Covid pandemic year
A photographic print called Shadows and Disturbances by Zarina Bhimji was bought for £20,160 in January 2020
(Handout)The Government spent nearly £200,000 on artwork for ministerial offices and embassies over the last year, the Standard can reveal.
A total of £187,456 was spent on 21 pieces of art between January 2020 and 2021 by the Government’s Art Collection [GAC], according to a Freedom of Information request submitted by this paper.
The GAC was founded in the late nineteenth century and purchases works for display in ministerial offices and diplomatic buildings across the world.
The Department for Culture Media and Sport stressed that the majority of funding came from “philanthropic sources”.
In March 2020 a total of £30,000 was spent on a panel by Vicky Wright called SM as Sparta escapes; saves Giacometti’s victim.
The buys include £10,800 for 12 screen prints by Michael Craig-Martin, titled Sports Balls, in May 2020.
They also include a photographic print called Shadows and Disturbances by Zarina Bhimji, bought for £20,160 in January 2020.
They also bought a collage called Discrete Model 021 by Goshka Macuga for £12,000 in December 2020.
A DCMS spokesperson said: "The majority of this art funding came from philanthropic sources – not taxpayer money – to promote the creativity of British art and culture by showcasing its works in buildings in the UK and across the world.
“The Government Art Collection is committed to public engagement and lends extensively to public exhibitions and collaborates with public facing national events and through its digital platforms."
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