The Couper Collection is a floating art museum and registered charity, on converted barges, which is permanently moored on the banks of the Thames in Battersea, London. It exhibits artworks and installations by artist Max Couper, 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. Allegorical personification of Charity as a mother with three infants by Anthony van Dyck Charity, meaning selfless giving, is one conventional English translation of the Greek term agapē. // Etymology In the 1400, charity meant the state of love or simple affection which one was in or out of regarding one... Several places exist with the name Thames, and the word is also used as part of several brand and company names Most famous is the River Thames in England, on which the city of London stands Other Thames Rivers There is a Thames River in Canada There is a Thames... Battersea is a place in the London Borough of Wandsworth. ... London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England and is the most populous city in the European Union. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... Battersea Park peace pagoda The bandstand in Battersea Park The cover of Petula Clarks 2001 box set, Meet me in Battersea Park Battersea Park is a 200 acre (0. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The Secretary of State for the Home Department, known as the Home Secretary, is the chief United Kingdom government minister responsible for law and order (except in Scotland). ... John Whitaker Jack Straw (born August 3, 1946, Buckhurst Hill) is a British Labour Party politician. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ...

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 Sprengal 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 Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House is a performing arts venue in London. ... Dame Judi Dench as the widowed Queen Victoria in Dame Judith Olivia Dench, CH, DBE (born 9 December 1934), known as Dame Judi Dench, is an Academy Award-winning English actress born in North Yorkshire. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The Cathedral of our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp) in the Handschoenmarkt, in the old quarter of Antwerp is the largest cathedral in the Low Countries and home to a number of triptychs by Belgian Baroque painter Rubens. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Hanover (German: Hannover []), on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Duisburg is a German city and port in the western part of the Ruhr Area (Ruhrgebiet) in North Rhine-Westphalia. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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, Mayor of London 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. Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL, 和記黃埔有限公司), SEHK: 0013, of Hong Kong, is one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. ... Hearst Tower (New York City) under construction in 2005 Expo MRT Station, Mass Rapid Transit, Singapore. ... Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born June 17, 1945), is a British politician who has been the Mayor of London since the creation of the post in 2000. ... Ken Livingstone, the current Mayor of London The Mayor of London is an elected politician in London, United Kingdom. ... Ruby Wax (born April 19, 1953, birth name Ruby Wachs) is an American female comedienne who made a career in the United Kingdom as part of the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s. ...

In January 2006, the Collection was visited by the River Thames whale. The Collection's barges were the furthest point upstream that the whale reached. Whale being rescued near Battersea Bridge Wikinews has news coverage related to this subject: Whale spotted in Thames river, Central London Experts fear for the health of London whale Rescue teams try to save London whale London whale dies The River Thames whale was a juvenile female Northern Bottlenose whale...

External link

• The Couper Collection's website