Art REVOLUTIONARIES Six Years Ago, Two Formidable, Fashionable Women Launched a New Enterprise

Art rEVOLUtIONArIES SIx yEArS AgO, twO fOrmIdAbLE, fAShIONAbLE wOmEN LAUNchEd A NEw ENtErprISE. thEIr mISSION wAS tO trANSfOrm thE wAy wE SUppOrt thE ArtS. thEIr OUtSEt/ frIEzE Art fAIr fUNd brOUght tOgEthEr pAtrONS, gALLErIStS, cUrAtOrS, thE wOrLd’S grEAtESt cONtEmpOrAry Art fAIr ANd thE tAtE IN A whIrLwINd Of fUNdrAISINg, tOUrS ANd pArtIES, thE LIkES Of whIch hAd NEVEr bEEN SEEN bEfOrE. hErE, fOr thE fIrSt tImE, IS thEIr INSIdE StOry. just a decade ago, the support mechanism for young artists in Britain was across the globe, and purchase it for the Tate collection, with the Outset funds. almost non-existent. Government funding for purchases of contemporary art It was a winner all round. Artists who might never have been recognised had all but dried up. There was a handful of collectors but a paucity of by the Tate were suddenly propelled into recognition; the national collection patronage. Moreover, patronage was often an unrewarding experience, both acquired work it would never otherwise have afforded. for the donor and for the recipient institution. Mechanisms were brittle and But the masterstroke of founders Gertler and Peel was that they made it old-fashioned. Artists were caught in the middle. all fun. Patrons were whisked on tours of galleries around the world or to Then two bright, brisk women – Candida Gertler and Yana Peel – marched drink champagne with artists; galleries were persuaded to hold parties into the picture. They knew about art; they had broad social contacts across a featuring collections of work including those by (gasp) artists tied to other new generation of young wealthy; and they had a plan. They teamed up with galleries. Patrons started to see supporting contemporary art not only as Sir Nicholas Serota, Director of Tate, Britain’s foremost art institution, and worthy, but as enjoyable – and an excuse to party. the founders of the then-nascent Frieze Art Fair to form the Outset/Frieze Frieze and Tate have stayed on board and grown closer to Outset in the Art Fair Fund to benefit the Tate Collection. past six years, in a multidirectional relationship that benefits galleries, artists, Their idea was daring, original – but, ultimately, very simple. Patrons would the Tate, patrons, and the art fair. Outset itself has plenty of activities that are donate an amount of money, varying from hundreds to a few thousand separate from Frieze, but together they make a great team. The Outset/Frieze pounds, into Outset, a registered charity. Armed with the money, each year at Art Fair Fund to benefit the Tate Collection has raised nearly £1m and the Frieze Art Fair, curators from the Tate would be joined by guest curators purchased 72 works, including pieces from three artists – Jeremy Deller, Mark artworks pictured on these pages have been purchased using using purchased been have pages these on pictured artworks benefit fund to fair art the outset/frieze by provided funds indicated otherwise unless collection the tate from galleries around the world to choose the best contemporary art, from Leckey and Simon Starling – who went on to win the Turner Prize. autumn/winter 2009/10 | maybourne 37 Jersey by hurvin anderson, 2008 FGF, Warsaw by pawel althamer, 2007 1 THE FRIEzE mAN mAtthEw SLOtOVEr Co-founder and co-owner of Frieze magazine and the Frieze Art Fair ‘until outset, the whole patronage and fundraising ‘Their other good idea was that the world’s world in London was a bit fusty and boring. In a big place, and it’s difficult for the Tate curators to London in the Nineties museums were not receiving be in touch all over the world. Having outside much money from patrons for their acquisitions and curators involved was part of the deal and, for the what patrons there were felt entitled to sit down and Tate, it was possibly a sensitive thing to start with, have lunch with Nicholas Serota (Director of the but actually now they really like it and are confident Tate galleries) whenever they wanted, just because enough to use these people again. Recently there ate and the artist ate they were giving £5 a year. was a Brazilian curator [Lisette Lagnado] – who, t ‘What’s more, the museums had not been very of course, is going to know a bit more about althamer, ollection; ©pawel c Brazilian art than them – and she bought some sophisticated in working out what people wanted. ate t ourtesy the ourtesy If someone gave £50,000 [the museums] wouldn’t great Brazilian works, and [Tate] could feel c treat them any differently to someone who gave confident, having taken very good advice on that. £5,, and so people’s noses got put out of joint. ‘I think the Tate collections team really do see Then [the museums] would do an event and the [the fund] as one of the major avenues for allery and the allery food would be bad, because they’d use in-house contemporary art now and it’s very important to g erlin; ©pae white, erlin; ©pae ane b caterers, and the whole event would just be not them. It’s one of the things I’m most proud about d very satisfactory. from the fair; I feel we’ve made a real contribution homas homas ‘What Candida Gertler and Yana Peel thought to the national collection. The acquisitions play t he was, well we are patrons or potential patrons and a significant part in the UK’s cultural heritage. t we know lots of people like us. We’d be prepared ‘If you ask artists, [being displayed in] museums eugerriemschneider, to give a lot more than £5 if what we got back is their top priority; they like having their work on n was really great. So, from the start, the events at show to a lot of people, it also puts them in the Outset were fun: there was champagne and really history books. In career terms, the artists chosen and ate t good food, and exclusive experiences such as by the fund are in the national collection, the Tate nderson, courtesy of nderson, courtesy meeting the artist – which is very important – will not sell those works, they’ll be there forever, a going to the artist’s studio, getting to see a work and that’s pretty amazing for artists who all want urvin Morceau Accrochant by pae white, 2004 h ourtesy the ourtesy c before anyone else has seen it. to be immortal through their work.’ © 38 maybourne | autumn/winter 2009/10 autumn/winter 2009/10 | maybourne 39 The Chittendens: The Resuscitation of Uplifting by catherine sullivan, 2005 3 thE OUtSEt cO-fOUNdEr cANdIdA gErtLEr Trained in Germany as a lawyer and journalist before setting up Outset with Yana Peel in 3 ‘i had a very short career before Outset. maybe many people wouldn’t have visited in the I started working for Der Spiegel in Hamburg and first year; it didn’t have a profile, it didn’t have big then decided a couple of years later, when I met my headlines. A lot of people said, “we don’t really husband, to move to London and start a family. need another fair”. I think through launching our While I was with my small children at home, I did fund and publicity at the home of Lord and Lady courses in modern and contemporary art at Foster, we enthused maybe 50 key people who Christie’s and Sotheby’s. It was a great opportunity perhaps otherwise wouldn’t have attended the fair. to pursue interests beyond journalism. I then got ‘Over the years we have managed to create a involved with an organisation supporting museums wonderful group of unofficial advisors we trust and started doing ad hoc art events. and work with who are the best around the world. ‘All of that turned into Outset when I met Yana Through the work we have done internationally, and she came to a few events I had organised. we really can call upon most curators who have Joining forces, we moved quickly, registering as a done something interesting to ask them about charitable organisation and establishing a very their next project. To introduce our patrons to professional set-up. With the first Frieze Art Fair what is happening at the cutting edge has kept us launching [in 23], it became a natural partner. fresh and interesting. In the beginning it was word ‘We met just at the inception of the Frieze Art of mouth that drew people to us, but over the past Fair, and the directors of Frieze [Matthew Slotover few years we have been approached by curators, and Amanda Sharp] asked us to think about a artists and galleries who want to realise projects project that could enhance the fair. Our aim was to that are maybe out of the commercial realm. support public galleries – institutions, museums – ‘When I walk into a museum and I see works not commercial galleries. We linked with the Tate that we bought five years ago, that perhaps the by acquiring works of art – with money given by museum couldn’t nowadays afford, I feel happy. our patrons – at Frieze to benefit the Tate We have to be very responsible with the money collection, which at that time needed a boost that has been given to us and make sure we are towards the very contemporary and cutting edge. advised by the right people and see things the way ‘Our aim was to bring artists to the fore. It was they are. The other very exciting thing to me is about making the best use of what existed in the always when we reach out to new audiences.

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