Dasha Shenkman Launches Focus Fund with Contemporary Art Society at Frieze London

Dasha Shenkman, a collector originally from Canada and now based in the UK, has collaborated with the Contemporary Art Society (CAS) to establish the Dasha Shenkman Focus Fund. This initiative enables a public institution to acquire artwork from a young artist featured in the Focus section of Frieze London. The fund's first acquisition will be for Abbot Hall in Cumbria, where Shenkman connected with Niall Hodson, the keeper of collections, and senior curator Will Cooper. A former literary agent, she has contributed over 40 pieces to public collections. Shenkman’s initial purchase was a lithograph by Jean Arp, while her most recent acquisition is Neil Groom's Book of Two Ways. She prefers swift purchasing decisions and enjoys meeting the artists she collects, although she is not fond of crowded art fairs and looks forward to the National Gallery's Unexpected Views event.