New research into UK touring exhibitions published

The research also highlighted many wonderful examples of touring models, among them split-site tours such as the British Art Show; single-work tours such as the National Gallery’s Masterpiece Tour; smaller specialist exhibitions such as those developed by Impressions in Bradford for both art and non-art venues; the Jerwood Art Fund Makers’ Open, a biennial award offering new commissions to five early-career artists whose work is then displayed in a UK-wide exhibition tour; ARTIST ROOMS, which [...] has over 80 associate venues across the UK; and collaborative exchange such as at Ruthin Craft Centre in North Wales, who have been sharing contemporary craft exhibitions for 25 years. The recently established Museums and Galleries Network of Exhibition Touring (MAGNET), a network of 11 museums, all of them outside London apart from lead partner the Horniman Museum, will make a series of co-curated exhibitions. [...] Although many outstanding examples of touring models already exist, the research identified demonstrable need for much stronger support across the UK to help establish a new era of creative partnerships. The most cited barrier to developing a touring exhibition was time and staff capacity. Other barriers included finding suitable museum partners, cost, onerous paperwork, stringent loan conditions and difficulty researching appropriate funding.