Donations
Harley Manifold
Anzac Station, 2022
oil on Belgian linen
57 x 86 cm
Donation of Metro Tunnel Creative Project, City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection
© Courtesy of the artist, photography courtesy of the artist
Thank you for your interest in donating an artwork or artefact to the City of Melbourne.
Once we receive your enquiry a member of the Art and Heritage Collection team will respond to you within 2 weeks. Please note we cannot offer authentication or valuation services for your object.
Please download, complete and return the below Donation form to citycollection@melbourne.vic.gov.au
Donation enquiry form (Word document)
Before submitting an enquiry please consider the below information:
The aim of the City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection is to exhibit, preserve, research, collect, and interpret items of aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or cultural value to the Corporation of the City of Melbourne, the Melbourne City Council and the city of Melbourne.
The City of Melbourne recognises that greater Melbourne has institutions whose core role is to collect and interpret artistic, cultural and historic material. Specifically, artworks/artefacts that fulfil at least one of the following priorities are of potential interest for acquisition: Iconography of Melbourne, Ceremonial role of Council, Contemporary Art and Aboriginal Melbourne.
1. Donations of outdoor works of art, sculptures and memorials must meet the criteria outlined in the Public Art Framework, the Plaques and Memorials Policy, the Collection Management Policy, and/or other relevant Council policies or guidelines.
Donations of works of art for indoor display must meet conditions and guidelines outlined in the Collections Management Policy and/or other relevant Council policies or guidelines.
2. Note that in certain circumstances, (e.g. donation offers of high monetary value), the Program Manager, Art and Heritage Collection and Director, Creative Melbourne may recommend donation offers be referred to the Melbourne Art Trust (MAT) for consideration. The Melbourne Art Trust applies the same criteria for assessing donation offers as is outlined in the Collection Management Trustees include the Lord Mayor, the Deputy Lord Mayor and several Councillors with relevant portfolios. Donation offers accepted by the Melbourne Art Trust are eligible for valuation overseen by the Australian Taxation Office Philanthropy Program, thereby granting the donor a tax deduction. Melbourne Art Trust acquisitions remain its property but are wholly managed by the City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection in line with the Collection Management Policy.
3. Approvals of donations will be determined based on provenance, quality of item, existing Collection holdings and relevance to collection guidelines and priorities. All donations must be unconditional, which means it is a voluntary transfer of both possession and title of the material with no restrictions or conditions on its display or use. This is best practice in collection management, as an item’s meaning and utility changes over time in ways that cannot be predicted.
4. Objects will preferably be in good condition. A conservator may be consulted if there are reservations about the condition of the object.
5. Objects and works of art collected should be appropriate and relevant for the City of Melbourne’s display, research and interpretative activities.
6. Objects and works of art collected may be displayed in the public access environment of Council owned buildings, parks and public precincts or be made available for loan or to tour.
7. All proposed donations must be approved by the Program Manager, Art and Heritage Collection and Director, Creative Melbourne before the item is accepted into the collection. Decisions are final and due to the high number of enquiries received, once you are notified of the decision, we are unable to engage in further correspondence regarding that decision.
8. If an object or work of art is accepted for donation, the donor will be required to complete and sign relevant donation documentation.