The museum and art gallery has reached its fundraising goal for a Dartmoor-themed programme of activity starting this year, centred around new contemporary art exhibition Dartmoor: A Radical Landscape.
This includes £8,000 of support from local donors and supporters, a figure matched by lead partner, the Dartmoor Preservation Association. These funds have contributed not only to the acquisition of a major new artwork by renowned Devon-based artist Garry Fabian Miller, ‘The Darkroom’s Fading Presence’, supported by a £10,000 grant from Art Fund, but also to exhibition costs, and a photography project for young people with mental health challenges. ‘The Darkroom’s Fading Presence’ (2020) will be on show for Dartmoor: A Radical Landscape in October.
Since the mid-1980s, Garry Fabian Miller has created beautiful artworks without a camera using the techniques of early nineteenth-century photographic processes experimenting with light as both medium and subject. Miller has lived and worked on Dartmoor for over 30 years where he continues to be inspired by his home on the moor.
The work will not only be on display in the temporary exhibition Dartmoor: A Radical Landscape at RAMM, but also becomes part of Exeter’s fine art collection ensuring generations to come will be able to enjoy its mesmerising and evocative beauty.
Garry Fabian Miller says of the work: ‘I look at this late exposure existing in a state of flux and auto-destruction. It creates both intense beauty and wonder, while seeming to also destroy itself. I am delighted that it finds a new home in RAMM, my local museum.’
The Dartmoor Preservation Association’s CEO Tom Usher said: ’We are delighted to be partnering with RAMM to deliver this excellent exhibition. Dartmoor is a living, working, landscape that inspires so many. These contemporary photographers who know and love the moor help us to see it in a new light and reaffirm our commitment to protecting it.’
RAMM would like to thank:
ACE/V&A Purchase Grant Fund
Art Fund
Dartmoor Preservation Association
Friends of RAMM
RAMM Development Trust
Norman Family Charitable Trust
Elmgrant Trust RAMM Patrons/Private donors
About the Dartmoor Preservation Association
The Dartmoor Preservation Association was established in 1883. We are the leading independent membership body defending the natural beauty and cultural heritage of Dartmoor. We are the named ‘critical friend’ to the Park Authority and invest in programmes to get children and youth onto Dartmoor. We work with all organisations to preserve the unique qualities of Dartmoor for everyone.
dartmoorpreservation.co.uk
About Art Fund
Art Fund is the national charity for art, helping museums and people to share in great art and culture for 120 years. Art Fund raises millions of pounds every year to help the UK’s museums, galleries and historic houses. The charity funds art, enabling the UK’s museums to buy and share exciting works, connect with their communities, and inspire the next generation. It builds audiences, with its National Art Pass opening doors to great culture. And it amplifies the museum sector through the world’s largest museum prize, Museum of the Year, and creative events that bring the UK’s museums together. Art Fund is people-powered by 135,000 members who buy a National Art Pass, and the donors, trusts and foundations who support the charity.
The National Art Pass provides free or discounted entry to over 900 museums, galleries and historic places, 50% off major exhibitions, and Art Quarterly magazine.
