The Collection has no permanent gallery and has been referred to as a 'museum without walls'. The purpose of the Collection is to provide a nucleus for international exhibitions and for public display in British Council teaching centres and offices both internationally and in the UK. Site-specific works have also been commissioned. Works are lent to museums and galleries in the UK and internationally. Some are placed on long-term loans, in instances where their presence would bring both the work of the artist and of the British Council to a wider audience.

'British Art' is an important concept to the British Council Collection. We consider 'British Art' with regard to the artists' contribution to the development of British art rather than their own nationality. The ebb and flow of influences from outside Britain is a theme that runs throughout the Collection: with assimilation comes readjustment, and a realignment of our national contours. Continue reading to find out where to see our collection, in the UK and beyond!

Herbert Museum & Art Gallery, Coventry, 18 February – 24 September 2023

Herbert Art Gallery & Museum's first exhibition of 2023 featured a significant amount of British Council Collection works. 'Divided Selves' explores notions of belonging and living together at a time when the idea of a nation is under stress, threatened by challenges ranging from populism to armed conflict. The loans to the Herbert also mark the development of the National Collections Centre in Coventry, which will be the new operational base for works from the British Council and some of Culture Coventry collections, among others. In this exhibition, you can see some of our recent acquisitions, including works by Flo Brooks, Gordon Cheung and others.

Burton at Bideford, 15 July – 5 September 2023

British Council Collection has loaned sculptures to Banbury Museum & Gallery and Burton at Bideford for this specially curated exhibition. Featuring some of the most prominent British sculptors of the last century, the exhibition explores how sculptural expression started in the 20th century with innovative materials and abstract expression through to contemporary explorations and depictions of the human form. Don’t miss this opportunity to see sculptures from internationally renowned artists such as Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Lynn Chadwick, Kenneth Armitage, Rachel Whiteread, Eduardo Paolozzi and Antony Gormley.

Towner Eastbourne, 27 May – 3 September 2023

'Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life' at Towner Eastbourne will reveal Hepworth's enduring ability to express human experience, interpersonal connections and the world around us. You can expect to see diverse works, from the bold geometric abstract drawings Curved Forms with Red and Yellow Media, through to her iconic Concentration of Hands of the 1940s series 'Hospital Drawings', and curved form sculptures such as Sea Form (Porthmeor).

MK Gallery, Milton Keynes, 27 May – 17 September 2023

'High Time' is the first major survey of the artist duo Boyd & Evans in over a decade. The exhibition focuses on their painting from the 1960s to today. One of the distinctive features of Boyd & Evans' works is the visual games between the real and artificial – for example, it is hard to tell if Day (1974) is a painting or photograph.

MK Gallery offers pay-what-you-can tickets every Sunday, so do not miss the chance to see the duo's works.

Hepworth Wakefield, 26 May – 5 November 2023

The 'Salon Paintings' exhibition focuses on Hurvin Anderson's significant 'Barbershop' painting series as a lens through which to understand Anderson’s wider practice and key concerns of memory, identity and nationhood. Alongside 'Salon Paintings', Anderson has curated a display of works that will take visitors on a journey through his formative influences, such as Patrick Caulfield and Claudette Johnson.

Djanogly Gallery, Nottingham, Autumn 2023, date to be announced

From taxidermy and microscopy to forgotten lives and colonial histories, this exhibition will explore how the work of contemporary artists – including Mat Collishaw, Yinka Shonibare, Tessa Farmer and others – reimag(in)es the Victorians in 'the present'.

Yinka Shonibare's Butterfly Kid (Boy) II is, in part, inspired by global warming and its effects on nature's flora. It also examines notions of origin, authenticity and how our complex histories resonate with contemporary issues and are likely to inform the future.

Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, 28 October 2023 – 20 April 2024

This is a major exhibition charting the life and work of John Craxton (1992–2009). Central to the exhibition will be Craxton's rebellious biography and his relationships with significant modern British and international artists.

Galatas is one of the works representing his 'neo-romantic' paintings of the 1940s, demonstrating how mid-century Britain and Greece had affected his drawing style and ideas.

Divided Selves: Legacies, Memories, Belonging: https://rb.gy/2alj7

Revealing the Human Form: https://rb.gy/rlncv

Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life: https://rb.gy/em383

Boyd & Evans: High Time: https://rb.gy/ncw84

Hurvin Anderson: Salon Paintings: https://rb.gy/3pplt

Djanogly Gallery: https://rb.gy/khw3p

Pallant House Gallery: https://rb.gy/55yzh