Abbot Hall wins inaugural £30k fund for an emerging artist

Abbot Hall, in Kendal, has been awarded the Dasha Shenkman Focus Fund, which will enable it to acquire a work by an emerging artist from the Focus section of Frieze London 2026.

The fund is designed to support early-career artists and strengthen contemporary collections across the UK by bringing new talent into public art collections.

Niall Hodson, keeper of collections at Abbot Hall, said: "Lakeland Arts is immensely proud to be the inaugural recipient of the Dasha Shenkman Focus Fund.

"To be the first organisation selected for this new initiative is a significant moment for Abbot Hall and for Lakeland Arts, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to bring an exceptional new work into the collection.

"Frieze’s Focus section offers an extraordinary opportunity to encounter some of the most urgent and compelling voices in contemporary art at a pivotal moment in their careers.

The new fund has a particular focus on artists at an early stage in their careers (Image: Lakeland Arts)

"We are excited to discover an artist whose work will not only enrich the Lakeland Arts collection, but also introduce our audiences in Cumbria and across the North of England to a new and exciting voice in contemporary art."

The selected artwork will become part of the gallery’s collection, which spans centuries of British and international art.

The funding comes through a partnership between the Contemporary Art Society (CAS) and Frieze, and marks the tenth anniversary of their collaboration to support the acquisition of contemporary works for UK public collections.

The Dasha Shenkman Focus Fund builds on the existing CAS Collections Fund at Frieze, which has enabled museums to secure major contemporary works over the past decade.

Will Cooper, senior curator at Abbot Hall, and Mr Hodson will attend Frieze London to explore the Focus section and select the work to acquire.

Mr Hodson said: "Building a collection is about looking both backwards and forwards.

"This award allows us to continue Abbot Hall’s long tradition of ambitious collecting while broadening the perspectives and practices represented in the collection.

Abbot Hall’s senior curator, Will Cooper, and keeper of collections, Niall Hodson, will attend Frieze London to select the work to acquire (Image: Lakeland Arts)

"It is particularly exciting to be able to support emerging talent at such an important stage in their development and to bring that work to Kendal, where it can be encountered by audiences for generations to come."

Abbot Hall’s collection includes works by J.M.W. Turner, John Ruskin, George Romney, Barbara Hepworth, Lucian Freud, Bridget Riley, Stanley Spencer, and Charmaine Watkiss.

The new acquisition will add a contemporary voice to this historic collection.

Caroline Douglas, director of the Contemporary Art Society, said: "We’re thrilled to mark our tenth anniversary partnering with Frieze by opening an exciting new chapter connecting emerging artists with UK institutions thanks to the generous and visionary support of Dasha Shenkman and her newly launched Focus Fund.

For more than sixty years, Abbot Hall has built a distinctive public collection (Image: Lakeland Arts)

"Abbot Hall is an especially worthy recipient, with its distinctive collection and marked commitment to bringing ambitious contemporary art to audiences in the North West.

"At a time when most UK museums have no core budget for acquisitions, committed philanthropy is one of the only routes by which work by contemporary artists work can enter public collections."

The Contemporary Art Society, founded in 1910, supports the acquisition and study of contemporary art in the UK and has helped place more than 10,500 works in public collections.