There’s been lots of talk this past year about art funds but one under-appreciated aspect of the idea is that many other institutions are already operating as de facto art funds. Take the example of Australia’s Artbank which is described in this Sydney Morning Herald profile of its director, Geoffrey Cassidy:

”We’re about supporting living artists,” says Cassidy, 51, who spends about $1 million each year on works from emerging and mid-career artists. ”We want to spread the love.” Artbank was set up by the federal government in 1980 to support young Australian artists by buying their work and then renting the pieces out to companies, government offices, embassies and private art lovers. It now owns more than 10,000 works by 3000 artists, making it the biggest collection of Australian contemporary art, valued at more than $35 million.

Profile: Geoffrey Cassidy (Sydney Morning Herald)