British Art Network

The British Art Network (BAN) is one of a series of Subject Specialist Networks inaugurated in 2012 by Arts Council England. The aim of the British Art Network is to facilitate the sharing of expertise, research and ideas across museums, galleries and academic institutions in the UK. In 2019, the PMC continued to provide financial support and resources to a relaunched British Art Network, in partnership with two other funders, Tate and Arts Council England. In addition to financial support, the PMC provided in-kind managerial support, including the continuation of Martin Postle in the role of BAN’s interim convenor, working closely with Jessica Juckes, full-time coordinator for BAN, under the aegis of Tate, and with Freya Stannard, and latterly Julia Price, from Tate.

In the early autumn of 2019, a new round of BAN activities began, involving the Early Career Curators Group, the eleven sub-groups that explore specific areas of British art and the three seminar series organised by regional network members across the UK. A full list of BAN activities from September 2019 to June 2020 accompanies this report.

The principal challenge for the BAN team, the participants in the various strands of activity and the members, was the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in the early spring of 2020, which forced the postponement of a number of major initiatives. These included two conferences, which were due to have been hosted in March 2020 by National Museum Wales, Cardiff, and in June 2020, co-hosted by Tate Britain and the National Gallery, London. A positive outcome, however, was the transfer of many activities to online forums, owing to the enterprise, energy and selfless dedication of so many individuals.

In addition to BAN activities, future strategy was evolved and discussed through meetings of the BAN steering committee, which met in the autumn of 2019 and spring of 2020, chaired by Alex Farquharson, Director of Tate Britain, and the PMC’s Director of Studies, Mark Hallett. Aided by regular email shots, communication with BAN members was also facilitated through the online publication of a revamped newsletter, issued on a quarterly basis.

BAN membership rose from 592 to 826 during the period covered by this report – an increase of 28 per cent. Of the total BAN membership, more than 350 members signed up to at least one sub-group. Attendance for events via the online platform Zoom was in general far higher than it would have been had they taken place in person. Attendance for the ‘Imperial Subjects’ seminar was particularly impressive, with an average of 130 people per online event.