Arts, Museums & Libraries

This initiative examines the role the Arts, Museums and Libraries can play in bridging social and cultural divides in contemporary global society. Bringing together prominent art curators, historians and patrons of the arts, the Institute has played a facilitating role in procuring key works of art for exhibitions and promoting cultural diplomacy through the arts. The annual conference at Spencer House in London brings together leading private collectors and philanthropists, museum directors, artists, art historians and fundraisers from Europe and the US. The aim is to encourage the creation of an informal group to promote the interests of private collectors who make their collections open to the public.

Publications

Museums and Collectors in Today's Turbulent World: A Dialogue between East and West

The Arts in the Global Society Conference Report, October 2009

ISD's annual Spencer House arts conference was held in Beijing in October 2009.  The meeting was organised in partnership with the Beijing Culture and Arts Foundation and Reignwood Group.

Private Collections in the Public Domain

The Art Fund, Allen & Overy and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, October 2007

This paper compares the tax regimes in force in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the US, and looks at the extent to which they facilitate public enjoyment of privately owned collections, with a focus on art collections owned by private individuals.

The Museum World in the Age of Globalisation: A New Approach to International Cooperation

Dr. Martin Roth, September 2006

This paper analyses the benefits of globalisation and international cooperation for museums. The paper looks at joint European thinking in the field of management and the planning of future structures and in particular focusing on education.