Become a Friend of the Collection

The Friends of the Methodist Modern Art Collection play an invaluable part in supporting the Collection and its role in education and outreach.
 

The Methodist Modern Art Collection was established during the 1960s with funds from a charitable source and has travelled widely since then – to town and city galleries, cathedrals, churches and schools, usually showing at five or six venues a year.

Famous names from the British art world of the last hundred years are represented, such as Edward Burra, Patrick Heron, Graham Sutherland and Elisabeth Frink. Contemporary works by Maggi Hambling, Craigie Aitchison, Indian artist Jyoti Sahi and Sadao Watanabe from Japan are amongst the more recent acquisitions.

Still expanding, it comprises more than fifty paintings, drawings, prints, relief and mosaic works, all of which feature aspects of the Christian narrative and experience

Friends of the Collection will receive:

• The Collection's Annual Report
• Newsletters, detailing recent exhibitions and new acquisitions
• Email bulletins with information about upcoming exhibitions and invitations to private views
• Invitations to lectures and events with a speaker or artist with work in the Collection

Friends are invited to contribute a minimum of £20 per annum for an individual, £25 for two people at the same address and £50 per annum for an institution (e.g. church, cathedral, college).

Friends are asked to commit this sum through Gift Aid where possible. Please complete the Application Form.

The Role of the Friends Group

The Collection receives support from central Methodist Funds but needs financial assistance beyond that given from the original charitable source. Friends of the Methodist Modern Art Collection support the work by agreeing to contribute a sum each year.

They are also invited to offer assistance to the Management Committee, for example, by ‘partnering’ a group that is planning an exhibition. The Friends Group will appeal to those who have hosted or visited an exhibition of the Collection, and to those who see the value of a travelling collection of modern Christian art. 

The Vision for the Collection

The Management Committee see the Methodist Modern Art Collection as a treasure of both the church and the wider community, regardless of faith or commitment. Our vision is that it should feed the spirit and stimulate conversation about faith in the world today.

This vision is to be achieved by:

• Lending the works for exhibitions of national and international interest
• Commissioning artists and inspiring them to make new works
• Holding talks, lectures and study days in galleries, churches and theological colleges
• Providing material for study, discussion and worship
• Reaching wide audiences by exhibiting across the UK and beyond.