Australian 'Artbank' celebrates 20th birthday

Artbank, the Australian Government's art rental program supporting visual artists and craftspeople across Australia, celebrates its 20th birthday today

Established in 1980, the Artbank collection is a vibrant, growing and accessible resource for the people of Australia.

"This is a significant milestone for Artbank which represents more than 3,000 contemporary Australian artists," the Federal Minister for the Arts, Peter McGauran said.

"Artbank brings new awareness to contemporary Australian art by renting works to private and public sector offices throughout the country.

"The rental revenue allows Artbank to continually invest in new and exciting Australian artists-this year a further half a million dollars will be spent acquiring artwork directly from artists and their representatives.

"There are over 600 Artbank clients and 8,500 works of art in the collection and rental revenue this financial year is expected to top $1.8 million."

Artbank's diverse collection includes paintings, prints, sculptures, drawings, glass, ceramics, photography and multimedia in the widest possible range of styles.

"The support of corporate, public sector and private clients has enabled Artbank to become one of the largest institutional purchasers of contemporary Australian art," Mr McGauran said.

"Artbank is one of the most successful art lending schemes in the world - I look forward to another 20 years."

For more information about Artbank visit www.artbank.gov.au

See also www.australia.org.nz

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