Applications have now closed
The Hallett Independent Acquisitions Award is a purchase grant to enable a museum or gallery to acquire an original print or prints for their collection.
The Award aims not only to enhance art collections across the country, but also to build relationships between museum curators and the art market.
Applications are invited from museums, public galleries and print collections across the UK. Hallett Independent, who are generously funding the Award, are brokers specialising in fine art and heritage insurance, committed to supporting museums throughout the country.
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The 2025 Award
- The winning applicant will receive a sum of £8,000 to spend at the London Original Print Fair, 20 - 23 March 2025, on a print or prints.
- A shortlist of 4 institutions will be selected and notified by the last week in February. A representative from each of these institutions will be invited to the opening of LOPF on Wednesday 19 March. LOPF will cover the costs of a night in a central London hotel for the evening of Wednesday 19 March 2025 for the 4 curators from shortlisted institutions. The winner of the Award will be announced at the start of the opening reception.
- The winning applicant will agree to send a representative to the opening reception of the London Original Print Fair at Somerset House on Wednesday 19 March 2025, with authority to make the acquisition on behalf of the institution before the Fair closes at 6pm on Sunday, 23 March 2025.
- The winning applicant will notify LOPF of their acquisition by the close of the Fair at 6pm on Sunday, 23 March 2025. The museum and acquisition will be publicised in press releases, on the LOPF and Hallett Independent Insurance websites and other promotional materials.
- The winning applicant will credit The Hallett Independent Acquisitions Award as the source of funding for the acquisition, wherever it is mentioned or exhibited.
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For other curators wishing to attend the 40th anniversary London Original Print Fair, travel grants are available from the Jonathan Ruffer curatorial grants, via the Art Fund website.
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Previous Winners
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Holburne Museum, Bath
2019The museum’s application and subsequent selection marks a significant moment in the Holburne’s history as it seeks to build a contemporary collection which will enhance its world renowned display of historic treasures. Director of Holburne Museum Chris Stephens was presented the cheque at the opening of the 34th London Original Print Fair on Wednesday 24th April 2019.
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Imperial Health Charity
2018Imperial Health Charity is the only hospital art collection with a fully accredited museum and designated programme of exhibitions. The collection provides art for Charing Cross, Hammersmith, Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea, St Mary’s and The Western Eye hospitals. It uses art as a means to engage with patients and staff through its collection of 2,000 artworks, which play a crucial part in creating a warmer, more welcoming environment. Artists already in the collection included Patrick Caulfield, Julian Opie, Bridget Riley, Anish Kapoor, Bruce Maclean and Richard Long.
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Hatton Gallery, Newcastle
2017Rob Airey, Keeper of Art at the Hatton Gallery, intended to use the prize to buy one key print for the collection, but having seen the huge variety on offer he felt that the award could stimulate the growth of the collection in different areas. Careful selection and generous support from the exhibiting galleries meant the Hatton Gallery was able to purchase 14 significant works for its collection, which is a significant research resource for students and staff at the University as well as an important component of many of their public exhibitions.
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The Atkinson, Southport
2016The first winner of the Hallett Independent Acquisitions Awards was The Atkinson, Southport, who sent Gallery Manager Jane Brown to choose 12 Objects, 12 Etchings (2010), a portfolio of prints by Rachel Whiteread from Paragon Press. The portfolio functions like a permanent index to Whiteread’s collection, and the mixture of objects ranges from instantly recognizable and mundane items, such as a jelly mould and a light switch, to the weird, wonderful and outright unidentifiable.
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A Buyer's Guide to Prints