Donations from founders ensure ESCALA’s legacy

The founding directors of the Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA), Professor Valerie Fraser and Professor Dawn Ades CBE, have made major donations to the University of Essex to ensure the continuation of ESCALA’s legacy for current and future students and staff.

A £12,500 donation from Professor Valerie Fraser will further promote object-based learning and philanthropically sponsored work activity with material from the collection, while RBS shares donated by Professor Dawn Ades continue to be a significant income stream for the University.

The Collection is an enduring example of founding Vice-Chancellor, Albert Sloman’s core vision for Latin American studies and remains the only public collection of art from Latin America in the UK. 

Established in 1993 by Professors Valerie Fraser and Dawn Ades, the University of Essex Collection of Latin American Art (UECLAA), as it was then known, began with a single donation by MA Art History student Charles Cosac of Memória, a painting by Brazilian artist Siron Franco.

“ESCALA is a community, and one I am immensely proud to be part of. It speaks to the enduring nature of this community that Dawn and Val continue to be so well loved by it and that they continue to nurture it through their support.” Said Dr Sarah Demelo, Curator Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA).

ESCALA celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2023/24. The Trinta/Treinta/Thirty exhibition in Art Exchange (17 November 2023 to 2 February 2024) celebrates the different voices which have nurtured and promoted the growth of the Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA), founded by students and staff in 1993.

Professors Valerie Fraser and Dawn Ades will be returning to Essex to deliver a talk on the founding of the Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA) at the Lakeside Theatre on Tuesday 23 January from 6pm to 8pm.

For more information about ESCALA and the Collection’s aims, visit the ESCALA website and catalogue.