SHEFFIELD.- The highlights of some of Europe’s finest private collections of twentieth century and contemporary art will go on show to the public this September through an innovative new project: Going Public: International Art Collectors in Sheffield, it was announced today.

Comprising five exhibitions and an international summit, Going Public will bring an array of outstanding twentieth century and contemporary art to sites across the city of Sheffield. This will range from a focused exhibition on Marcel Duchamp, to a survey of leading contemporary Chinese artists, and a presentation at Sheffield Cathedral including Jake and Dinos Chapman and Sarah Lucas. The project draws on the collections of four leading art patrons: Nicolas Cattelain (London), Dominique & Sylvain Levy (DSL Paris), Egidio Marzona (Berlin) and Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (Turin).

Kim Streets CEO of Museums Sheffield commented: ‘Sheffield’s historic visual art collection is indebted to the vision of philanthropists such as John Newton Mappin in the nineteenth century and J. G. Graves in the 1930s. Today the city boasts a thriving visual arts scene, but like organisations across the country, is faced with a challenging funding landscape. We’re delighted to be working with the project partners to bring these remarkable collections to the city and lead a national discussion exploring the future relationship between philanthropy and public art institutions.’

Against the backdrop of cuts in public funding for the arts, a summit event on 12th October 2015 will bring international art world figures together to debate the role of private philanthropy for the arts in the twenty first century.

Significant installations by Sarah Lucas, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Maurizio Cattelan, among other leading contemporary artists, will be displayed throughout Sheffield Cathedral, drawn from the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo collection.

Rarely-seen Marcel Duchamp works and archives, drawn from the vast collection of Egidio Marzona, will form a focused exhibition within the art-deco Graves Gallery.

A survey of leading contemporary Chinese artists, including Cao Fei, Yang Jiechang and Lin Yilin and a new commission will be presented across Site Gallery and Sheffield Hallam University’s Sheffield Institute of the Arts gallery, drawn from the collection of Dominique & Sylvain Levy.

Highlights from Nicolas Cattelain collection including Sol LeWitt's Serial Project #1 A 6, Do Ho Suh’s Wielandstr. 18, 12159 Berlin among others will go on display at the Millennium Gallery.

Project initiators of Going Public, Mark Doyle and Sebastien Montabonel said: ’Every major European city has a publicly owned collection of visual art that has flourished as a direct result of individual philanthropic giving. As public funding continues to decline, the role of corporate giving and philanthropy has become ever more important for the future. This programme will explore the contemporary relationship between philanthropy and the arts in Europe and ask how philanthropic giving to arts and culture can become a social norm in every twenty first century city.’