LONDON, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Art Fund, Britain's leading art charity, announced here on Tuesday that it is committing a total of 5 million pounds (about 10 million U.S. dollars) to a new initiative aimed at developing the collections of international contemporary art in the countries regional museums and galleries.

    The five-year scheme, dubbed as Art Fund International, is expected to help galleries and museums outside London and Edinburgh to acquire contemporary art works of international significance so that they would not focus exclusively on British arts.

    Announcing the new scheme in the British Museum, David Barrie, director of the Art Fund, said: "We have wonderful museums and galleries packed full of historic art from all over the world, but over the last 100 years we've all too often turned out backs on the most exciting works being made by living artists from overseas. It's too late to put that right but this scheme is designed to make sure we don't make the same mistakes going forward. Art Fund International represents a major new investment in building the heritage of the future."

    Under the new scheme, the charity anticipates that up to five partnerships will be funded with collections based on theme, geography, or specific media. The scheme will also consider site-specific works and commissions.

    Since its foundation in 1903, The Art Fund has helped museums and galleries acquire over 850,000 works of art.