A £100,000 fund has been made available for West Dunbartonshire Council to spend on fine art.
Members of the council’s cultural committee rubber-stamped the deal last week as they were given examples of work they could invest in.
Some of the examples of pieces currently available include paintings by Glasgow Girls Mary Armour, Katherine Cameron and Jessie M King.
Individual works are priced at up to £27,500 and would enable exhibitions to take place within the redesigned gallery space at Clydebank Town Hall.
But a risk assessment by council officers recognised that the cash dedicated to this could be perceived as a “poor use of public funds at a time when council budgets are under pressure.”
However they took the view that this would be mitigated by the fact it was coming from a ring-fenced £4million cultural capital fund which was created by the council in March 2018 “in order to unlock regeneration, increase tourism and raise the reputation of the area”.
The report presented to members of the committee last week advised: “The redesigned gallery within Clydebank Town Hall will significantly increase available exhibition space, including the creation of a new long gallery which will showcase the council’s notable Scottish Colourists collection.
“As a flagship cultural venue within the authority area, the new gallery space will provide a platform for ambitious programming, raising the profile of West Dunbartonshire’s wider fine art collection and increasing the potential for inviting in loaned artworks from major public and national collections.”
It is anticipated that tapping into this resource will help bring art to more people locally as well as attract visitors to the area to view the pieces.
The report goes on: “Investment in the council’s fine art collection represents the opportunity to further raise the profile of culture within West Dunbartonshire, and grow a transformational resource that can be used to educate and inspire residents young and old.
“Investment in culture is also a proven catalyst for renewal.
“By establishing this Acquisition Fund West Dunbartonshire’s communities would have significantly improved access to high quality culture on their doorstep.”
The risk analysis outlined: “There is a risk that the investment in fine art could lead to a poor use of public funds with either inflated prices paid for works, or works depreciating in value.
“This will be mitigated by in-depth market research, negotiation on price, and application of a museum discount, where applicable.”
The report went on: “There is a risk that this investment in fine art could be negatively perceived by some members of the community at a time when council budgets are under pressure.
“This is mitigated by the fact that the investment is being made from a designated fund created for the direct purpose of cultural investment.”
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