UECLAA is the University of Essex Collection of Latin American Art, the only public collection in Europe dedicated exclusively to modern and contemporary Art from Latin America. The Collection is a natural extension of research undertaken in the Department of Art History and Theory. Led by Professors Dawn Ades and Valerie Fraser, a vibrant group of postgraduate students regularly contribute research and curate exhibitions drawn from the Collection. Founded in 1993 when Charles Cosac, a postgraduate student in the Department of Art History and Theory, donated Memória by Siron Franco to the University, the Collection has grown to more than 600 works Through the generous support of our many donors our holdings now represent some of the best modern and contemporary artists.

UECLAA is based at the University of Essex, Colchester. Selections of work from UECLAA are displayed permanently in the grounds of the University's Wivenhoe Park and in the Albert Sloman Library, whose Latin American holdings are among the best in Europe and are complemented by the UECLAA Archive.

A collection of special materials, including catalogues, artists' correspondence and printed ephemera, the UECLAA Archive contains material on every artist within the Collection as well as many other artists from the region. It is located within the Department of Art History & Theory and currently available to external researchers by appointment only.

UECLAA continues to grow and in 2002 Professor Fraser received a grant of £300,000 from The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for the UECLAA Online project.

In April 2005 the University of Essex Collection of Latin American Art launched UECLAA Online as a fully searchable catalogue accessible to internet users worldwide. It contains images of each artwork, texts on every artist, unique artists' statements, the ueclaapedia - a glossary devised to illuminate themes and terms arising from the study of Latin American Art, and - for each of the countries represented by the Collection - a concise summary of developments in modern and contemporary art.

The April 2005 conference, Four Lines: Creation, Collection, Education, Exhibition marked the launch of UECLAA Online, and situated this project in relation to aspects of the rapidly expanding field of theory and practice that comes under the rubric Latin American Art.

UECLAA has also entered into a partnership with firstsite, the leading contemporary visual arts organisation in Essex. firstsite is creating a permanent space for the collection within an outstanding new visual arts facility in Colchester opening in Autumn 2009.