Artangel and Financing British Art: Adapting to Social and Economic Change

The Artangel Trust is an independent art commissioning agency based in London that has provided artists with money and logistics to create one-off dream projects since 1985. It was launched in response to cuts in funding for the visual arts and has adapted to changing cultural policies. Its mixed economic model and approach to site have created a sustainable independent model, reflecting new distinctions between public and private spaces and the social and economic changes the country has gone through.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 166 pages
Publication date: 21 January 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The Artangel Trust has been a pivotal force in empowering artists to bring their visionary dream projects to life. An independent art commissioning agency headquartered in London, it has been operational since 1985 and has been responsible for creating some of the most captivating and ephemeral artworks of the past few decades. From Rachel Whiteread's House to Jeremy Dellers' The Battle of Orgreave, Artangel has left an indelible mark on the art world. Spanning three decades, Artangel's existence now forms a cohesive whole, both in terms of art historical and political periodization. Launched in response to the cuts in funding for the visual arts introduced by the Thatcher government in 1979, Artangel has evolved uniquely to adapt to changing cultural policies. Its mixed economic model, which draws from public, private, and corporate funds, reflects the broader hybridization of funding encouraged by successive governments since the 1980s. This book aims to showcase that Artangel's directors have responded creatively to the fluctuations of public funding and have harnessed new national attitudes toward philanthropy to create a sustainable and independent model. Moreover, their approach to site has reflected these developments, with their locational art creating a mirror of the evolving distinctions between public and private spaces, as well as reflecting the social and economic changes the country has undergone. By examining whether their funding model has had a formal impact on the art they have supported and its relationship to notions of publicness and privacy, this study delves into the intriguing world of Artangel.

Weight: 310g
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032476124