Remarkable Collectors: Shane Akeroyd

When Shane Akeroyd launched a public digital platform showcasing moving-image art from his collection, he offered a new model for how private patronage can serve public access.

Words | Robert Buratti

In an art world where major collections often remain hidden behind closed doors, Shane Akeroyd has taken a radically different approach. In 2023, the Hong Kong-based tech financier launched the Akeroyd Collection, a digital platform showcasing over 200 moving-image works from his extensive holdings—representing roughly 15 percent of his 1,500-piece collection. The initiative represents a fundamental reimagining of what private collecting can mean in the digital age.

“Having work in storage is an unfortunate reality, although something that often does neither the work nor artists any good,” Akeroyd explains. “My moving image collection is all about making work available to those who might not ordinarily have access.”

The collection traces an ambitious arc through contemporary moving-image art, from early pioneers like Joan Jonas and Charles Atlas to cutting-edge practitioners working with NFTs and virtual reality. Derek Jarman’s baroque 1971 fantasy Electric Fairy—once thought lost—sets the tone, alongside works by Jeremy Deller, Duncan Campbell, Jordan Wolfson, and Sin Wai Kin. Other significant artists represented include Ed Atkins, Helen Marten, Alex da Corte, Peter Fischli & David Weiss, Sonia Boyce and Auckland-born, Australian-based artist Luke Willis Thompson.

What distinguishes Akeroyd’s approach is not just the breadth of the collection, but his commitment to supporting artists pioneering new technology. Among his earliest acquisitions was Adam Chodzko’s subversive 1996 piece Flasher, in which the artist inserted footage of red distress flares into Blockbuster rental videos before returning them. That spirit of disruption continues through contemporary works by Martine Syms, Tony Cokes, Sondra Perry, P. Staff, and Mark Leckey.

The platform operates as a virtual museum, with curated exhibitions changing every two to three months. Guest curators and writers select works and contribute critical essays, building what Akeroyd describes as “a history and a body of critical writing” around moving-image art. The collection also actively lends works to institutions—including a video by Yee I-Lann shown at Singapore’s ArtScience Museum—making these often difficult-to-display artworks accessible to schools, colleges, and audiences who wouldn’t normally encounter them. His holdings include works on VHS, reel-to-reel, CD, and countless USB sticks, requiring constant vigilance against technological obsolescence and data corruption.

Beyond the online platform, Akeroyd’s philanthropic reach extends across the contemporary art ecosystem. He sits on boards at M+ and Para Site in Hong Kong, Artists Space in New York, and Chisenhale Gallery in London. His recent five-year gift to Tate supports acquisitions for its British Collection, while his ten-year sponsorship of the associate curator role at Venice Biennale’s British Pavilion demonstrates long-term commitment to institutional support.

For Akeroyd, who describes himself as coming from a working-class background in Kent without formal art training, collecting has always been about intellectual engagement and personal connection with artists. As museums face increasing constraints on storage and conservation budgets, Akeroyd’s model offers an alternative vision—one where private collectors take active responsibility for making art publicly accessible while supporting the infrastructure needed to preserve it for future generations.

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First published in Art Collector issue #115 (January–March 2026).