From here you can browse through our Collection using the navigation on the left-hand side - we have tried to help you by putting works into themes and exhibitions. If you have trouble with any technical terms try searching our glossary for more information. You can curate your own exhibition from the works in the Collection - just log in and have a go.

Works from the Collection are used to create exhibitions for international touring. These range from solo exhibitions of Britain's leading artists, to group exhibitions exploring the inventiveness and range of today's artists and designers. For example, No Such Thing As Society is a joint exhibition drawn from the Collections of the British Council and the Arts Council, exploring photography in Britain between 1968 - 1987.

Alison Turnbull: Botanic Garden, 2007, screenprint 82.5 x 59.5 cm

This year we have bought work by artists including Susan Hiller, Alison Turnbull (see picture), Matt Collishaw and Camilla Løw. We usually buy works in line with our exhibition programme, which is developed in collaboration with the museums and galleries we are working with overseas.
(read more...)

Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane: The Folk Archive, 2005, mixed media

The Folk Archive is a unique artwork made up of 120 pieces of contemporary 'folk art' from around the UK as determined by the artists Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane. To give you a flavour of the work in a gallery setting we have created our first virtual exhibition for you to explore the Folk Archive, using a combination of flash and simple gaming technologies.

For over 60 years the British Council has been collecting works of art, craft and design to promote the achievements of British artists, craft practitioners and designers abroad. The collection, started in the late 1930s, with a modest group of works on paper has now grown to a collection of more than 8000 works covering all media and all aspects of British art and design of the 20th and 21st centuries. The collection has no permanent gallery and has been referred to as a Museum Without Walls (read more...)

We are happy to make works available for exhibition whether in the UK or elsewhere whenever possible. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee availability as many works are included in our own exhibitions or may already be on loan elsewhere.

Requests should be addressed to:
Director
Visual Arts Department
British Council
10 Spring Gardens
London, SW1A 2BN

We ask that requests should be submitted at least six months before the opening date of the exhibition. We expect borrowers to meet all the insurance and transport costs involved, and this could include the costs of international freight.