Founded in London, UK in 2007, the Roberts Institute of Art operated as the David Roberts Art Foundation (DRAF) until April 2021. Named after its founder David Roberts, DRAF was set up to share what was then known as the David Roberts Collection and is now called the David and Indrė Roberts Collection. Roberts is a commercial property developer who founded and became CEO of Edinburgh House Estates. He began collecting in the early 1990s and, after founding the organization, appointed curator Vincent Honoré to direct a programme of free public events. DRAF originally ran an exhibition space on
Great Titchfield Street, central London, presenting group and solo exhibitions and hosting talks and performances. The annual Evening of Performances (2008–ongoing), a showcase of work by artists, musicians and choreographers, began there. The Curators' Series (2009–2020) was also established to support curatorial research and practices. Over 11 years DRAF invited curators, duos and organisations, including Arcadia Missa (UK),
Christine Eyene (Cameroon), and Mihnea Mircan (Romania) to create exhibitions. In 2012 the organisation moved to a former 19th-century furniture factory in
Camden, north London which had more space. Between 2015 and 2017 the Camden gallery also housed DRAF Studio, a space for in residence artists, choreographers, musicians, writers and peer organisations. In 2017, a tenth-anniversary edition of Evening of Performances took place at
KOKO, London and included performances by
Kris Lemsalu and
Marvin Gaye Chetwynd. After DRAF's ten-year anniversary, the Camden space closed in late 2017 with the aim of sharing the organisation's programming more widely. Between March 2018 - May 2019
Fatoş Üstek was Director and Chief Curator of DRAF, launching a UK-wide programme. In April 2021 the David Roberts Art Foundation become the Roberts Institute of Art. ==David and Indrė Roberts Collection==