Couper Collection

The Couper Collection is a floating art museum and registered charity, on converted barges, which is permanently moored at 51°28′51.39″N 0°10′8.51″W / 51.4809417°N 0.1690306°W / 51.4809417; -0.1690306 on the banks of the Thames in Battersea, London. It exhibits artworks and installations by artist Max Couper nee Lovegrove, as well as hosting exhibitions and events by other artists. The Collection began in 1979 as a base for a large sculpture in Battersea Park. In 1999 it was launched as a charity by then UK Home Secretary Jack Straw MP.

Major works by the Couper Collection include:

• The Fleeting Opera with the Royal Opera House and Judi Dench (2000)
• Couper's exhibition at The Museum of Contemporary Art (MuHKA), Antwerp (1996)
• Couper's exhibition at the Sprengel Museum, Hanover (1997)
• Couper's exhibition at the Lehmbruck Museum of sculpture, Duisburg (1997)

The Couper Collection also has a permanent Museum of First Art containing children's artworks.

The Couper Collection is currently involved in a dispute with Hutchison Whampoa and Norman Foster regarding a land claim and Foster's plans to remove the charity's barges. Ken Livingstone, has spoken in favour of the Collection. Foster's lawyers, Farrer and Co., have put in objections to the UK Land Registry - see Sunday Times article. The comedian Ruby Wax has also attacked the charity, by opposing the building of a Disability Ramp which would allow disabled access to the gallery.

In January 2006, the Collection was visited by the River Thames whale.