Collecting the Present: A Life’s Journey. Discussion with Ann and Marshall Webb

9.4.2026, 6 pm

Moderated by Adam Budak

In the series: Collecting: Anatomy of Passion

A discussion in english

Ann and Marshall Webb have been collecting contemporary art together for more than 35 years. They will discuss their collecting journey, the decisions behind their choices, and the relationship between art and everyday life. The conversation will explore the idea of the ’present‘ in contemporary art and how a private collection can become a form of reflection on the realities of our time.

Initially, collection amassed by Ann and Marshall Webb focused on German artists, in particular the Düsseldorf-based photographers such as Bernd and Hilla Becher, Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth, which then led to works by many other lens-based artists. Over the years their collection has evolved to include art in all media including film, video, sound works, works on paper, sculpture and painting. Selected works from their collection have been included in museum and gallery exhibitions in Europe, the United States and Canada, and the collection has been the focus of two public art gallery exhibitions. They met in a contemporary art gallery in 1985 and have been together ever since. Born and raised in Toronto, Ann and Marshall now divide their time between Vancouver and Berlin.