Why support contemporary art? What role does art play in defining cultural values? How does today's Australia measure up in terms of cultural giving? What international models exist for private support of contemporary art in public spaces in Australia? These questions and many more are answered in Contemporary Art + Philanthropy, a book of papers given by key cultural players in the contemporary art scene at a forum held at Sherman Galleries in August 2006. After 20 years launching the careers of artists such as Tim Storrier and Mike Parr, Gene Sherman has bowed out of the commercial art trade to establish a not-for-profit foundation to promote contemporary art, the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation.
