1. How did you begin collecting?
My husband [Poju Zabludowicz] and I started collecting contemporary art in the mid-1990s. We were influenced by a visit to New York in 1990 and seeing a show at MoMA called High and Low: Modern Art and Popular Culture. We were totally inspired by the show but little did we know it was going to turn into more than just a pastime!
2. What’s the first work you bought?
The first work we purchased was a stunningly serene Ben Nicholson work from 1947 which always hangs in my home. It is the oldest work in the Collection.
3. What are your responsibilities as a collector?
To make sure I am able to give our artists a public platform if they are very young. I don’t believe in hiding things away.
4. How would you describe your foundation, Project Space 176?
176 / Zabludowicz Collection is totally different from what people expected—curatorially and for its focus on community. When we started out, people thought that it was just a vanity project, but we soon disproved them! We show the Collection, offer residencies with international artists and curators and attempt to build a new audience for contemporary art in an area of London with very little visual art provision. What we do here will not be replicated elsewhere, every time we do a project with the collection we are sensitive to the context we go into.
5. What’s the first show you completed?
I have been installing works in my home and opening that to professionals for quite some time, but the first show we did with the Collection was in September 2007 at 176 / Zabludowicz Collection. Curated by Elizabeth Neilson (our curator), it was called “An Archaeology” and featured work by 38 artists who all in some way deal with history, conceptually, culturally, politically or geographically.
6. Who is your favorite artist?
My favorite artist has to be Keith Tyson, although I have a great love for many more who are in the Collection.
7. What is the most important show you’ve ever been involved with?
Hard to say, but my favourite show is “Pete and Repeat,” now on view at 176 / Zabludowicz Collection in London. It represents artists we have collected for the past 16 years and is curated in a very thoughtful and independent manner.
176 / Zabludowicz Collection is located at 176 Prince Wales Road, London.