Should a copy of today’s Courier and a car tyre be in a museum?
According to the new collections policy of Leisure and Culture Dundee, the answer might well be yes.
Publishers DC Thomson and Michelin have been identified as companies whose importance to the city has not yet been properly captured in the stocks of artworks and cultural objects being preserved for future generations.
Leisure and Culture Dundee said: “Active collecting will take place in order to address this imbalance.”
New and emerging industries in Dundee, including biotechnology and the gaming industries, are said to have “very poor representation” and this will also have to be addressed.
The policy states: “The current collection holds too many objects with no provenance or stories related to the people who would have owned or used them. Objects especially relating to personal life from the 1980s onwards must be actively collected.”
More objects that relates to specific areas of Dundee are required, along with things that relate to people’s working and personal lives.
That could include anything from hobbies to clothes, food and drink to furnishings. The museum collection holds objects ranging from paintings to rock specimens from across the UK and all over the world.
Efforts will be made to acquire more fine art, especially oil paintings, watercolours and drawings dating from 1650 to 1950.
The main priority will be to collect works with a strong Dundee connection, as will contemporary art with a focus on major Scottish artists.
“The organisation is keen to reflect the local art scene and will consider acquiring work by younger emergent artists who have created a significant body of work since graduation.
“The Dundee Contemporary Arts commissioning programme presents the city with valuable opportunities to purchase work originated in Dundee by a range of international artists,” the policy says. But life in the area going back to prehistoric times will not be ignored, with the archaeology collection seeking to add to its tally of artefacts dating from the mesolithic periods through to the post-medieval period.
City councillors will be asked to approve the new collections policy on Monday.