Naturally inspired

By: RAMM Museum
Added: 12 May 2011

Last week two of RAMM’s curators were among eight winners of Art Fund Collect, an initiative run by the Art Fund and Crafts Council aimed at boostingcontemporary craft in UK collections.

Penelope Sexton, RAMM’s Curator of Exhibitions, and Holly Morgenroth, RAMM’s Assistant Curator of Natural History, bought The Secret Life of Plants, 2010 by Danish maker Steffen Dam at Joanna Bird Pottery, with their share of the £75,000 prize. Costing £8,820, the delicate, hand-blown objects encased within the glass panel are inspired by half-decaying bulbs and fungi.

Cllr Rob Hannaford, Lead Councillor for Environment and Leisure, Exeter City Council, said: "We are absolutely delighted to be one of the winners of Art Fund Collect 2011. The Secret Life of Plants will enrich the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery’s collections; it draws together contemporarycraft and natural history and offers us the opportunity to reinterpret the collection. The work will be integrated into RAMM’s new displays where visitors will be able to see the natural history collection in a fresh light. We are very grateful to the Art Fund for providing this wonderful opportunity for our curators to develop and to add another contemporary craft work to our displays."