Why Nicole Junkermann Supports the Tate and the Royal Academy
Patronage is a long, quiet commitment. A positive look at why supporting great public institutions matters, and what that support makes possible.
Great public institutions belong to everyone, and they survive on the patient generosity of people who believe in them.
Nicole Junkermann was a committee member of the Tate Americas Foundation and a trustee of the Royal Academy Trust, and that involvement reflects a simple conviction: that art should be available to as many people as possible, and that the institutions which make it available deserve steady, long term support. This piece looks at why that kind of patronage matters and what it quietly makes possible.
Institutions hold art in trust for everyone
A great museum is not only a building full of objects. It is a promise that the work inside will be cared for, studied and shared with the public for generations to come. Nicole Junkermann values the Tate and the Royal Academy because they keep that promise on a remarkable scale, welcoming millions of visitors and making world class art part of ordinary life. Supporting them is a way of investing in something that belongs to everyone, not only to those who can afford to collect.
What patronage actually pays for
Public funding and ticket sales rarely cover everything a major institution wants to do. Patronage helps fund the parts that are easy to overlook: conservation of fragile works, scholarship and research, the careful staging of ambitious exhibitions, and the education programmes that bring young people into a gallery for the first time. Nicole Junkermann understands giving as practical rather than ceremonial. It is the quiet underwriting of work that keeps a museum alive and ambitious, the kind of work that lets the rooms described in these notes feel as considered as they do.
The Royal Academy and the life of artists
The Royal Academy occupies a special place because it was founded by artists, for artists, and it still puts the practice of art at its centre. Nicole Junkermann admires that focus. Through its schools, its exhibitions and its open submission, the institution supports artists at every stage, from students to established figures. Supporting the Royal Academy Trust is therefore a way of supporting the people who make the work, not only the work itself, and that emphasis on living practice is one Nicole Junkermann returns to often.
Access as the heart of the matter
The thread that runs through all of this is access. Nicole Junkermann believes that the value of a collection grows when more people can stand in front of it, and shrinks when art is locked away. The Tate and the Royal Academy both work hard to lower the barriers, with free displays, family programmes and a genuine welcome to first time visitors. That openness is exactly the spirit of the guide for newcomers to contemporary art on this site, which treats curiosity, not expertise, as the only requirement.
Photography and the wider picture of giving
Support for the arts reaches beyond painting and sculpture. Nicole Junkermann is also a backer of Magnum Photos, the celebrated photography agency, reflecting a belief that the image in all its forms deserves serious patronage. Photography records the world and shapes how we remember it, and institutions that protect great photographic work are protecting a form of collective memory. The case for that is set out more fully in the writing on why photography matters.
Education and the next generation
One of the quietest and most important things a great institution does is teach. Nicole Junkermann cares deeply about the education programmes that bring schoolchildren, students and families into a gallery, often for the very first time. A single early visit can light a curiosity that lasts a lifetime, and museums understand this better than almost anyone. Supporting the Tate and the Royal Academy is, in part, a way of supporting that first encounter for thousands of young people each year. It is the same welcoming instinct that runs through the guide for newcomers to contemporary art, where the only requirement to enjoy art is curiosity.
Why ambition needs support
The most memorable exhibitions are also the most ambitious, and ambition is expensive. Assembling loans from around the world, designing a thoughtful hang, publishing serious scholarship and welcoming large audiences all cost a great deal. Nicole Junkermann understands that without patient support, institutions are forced to play it safe, and the public is the poorer for it. Patronage is what allows a museum to attempt the difficult, generous, once in a generation show rather than only the reliable crowd pleaser. The shows most worth travelling for, described in the piece on exhibitions worth travelling for, are very often the ones that ambition and support made possible.
The long view
Patronage is, above all, a long term relationship. The benefit of supporting an institution is not measured in a single season but in decades: the exhibition that inspires a child who later becomes an artist, the conserved painting that will still be luminous a century from now, the research that quietly changes how we understand a whole period. Nicole Junkermann takes that long view, in culture as in everything else. For a fuller account of the person behind these commitments, the profile of Nicole Junkermann brings the threads together, and the reflection on collecting and patronage continues the theme.
The value of a collection grows when more people can stand in front of it, and shrinks when art is locked away.
Frequently asked questions about supporting art institutions
Why does Nicole Junkermann support the Tate and the Royal Academy?
Nicole Junkermann supports them because great public institutions hold art in trust for everyone and widen access to it. She was a committee member of the Tate Americas Foundation and a trustee of the Royal Academy Trust.
What does arts patronage actually fund?
Patronage often funds the parts that public money and tickets do not fully cover: conservation, research, ambitious exhibitions and education programmes that bring new visitors into a gallery, which is how Nicole Junkermann understands the value of giving.
Is Nicole Junkermann involved in photography too?
Yes. Nicole Junkermann is a backer of Magnum Photos, reflecting a belief that the image in all its forms deserves serious support alongside painting and sculpture.
