The Arts Society Cambridge donates £9,000 to the Hamilton Kerr Institute to fund student bursaries.

PRESS INFORMATION
The Arts Society Cambridge donates
£9,000 to the Hamilton Kerr Institute to fund student
bursaries.
Cambridge January 2018
To celebrate 50 years of The Arts Society (formerly The National Association of Decorative
and Fine Arts) The Arts Society Cambridge is delighted to announce that it will be donating
funds to support students pursuing the postgraduate course in conservation of easel
painting at The Hamilton Kerr Institute, a department of the Fitzwilliam Museum.
The Hamilton Kerr Institute is one of the world’s leading centres for teaching and research in
the conservation of easel paintings and this prestigious course is an essential path to follow
for those pursuing a career in arts conservation. The Arts Society is pleased to support this
three-year long course with a bursary which allows the Institute to continue to accept the
most qualified students, regardless of their financial situation.
The committee of The Arts Society Cambridge consider that this donation meets two of its
key objectives which are to provide legacy through education and conservation. The
donation consists of £3,000 per annum for three years in the form of bursaries for students
following this postgraduate course in the conversation of easel painting.
2018 is the 50 th anniversary of The Arts Society which was established to offer lecture series
providing arts education and appreciation; the opportunity to meet with like-minded people
and to give aid to the preservation of the artistic heritage of the UK, through supporting
church recording, sponsoring young arts activities and volunteering at heritage sites and
museums.
Chairman, Jackie Ball said “We, at the Arts Society Cambridge, are delighted to make this
commitment to the Hamilton Kerr Institute, which provides world class tuition in the
conservation and preservation of so many great works of art and undertakes research into
conservation skills, materials and techniques of painting. My committee felt that this was a
wonderful opportunity to mark the 50 th anniversary of our society nationally and indeed, the
50 th anniversary of our own branch will occur during the three year period of our donation.
We look forward to following the progress of the students that our grant will be able to
support”

Director of the Hamilton Kerr Institute, Rupert Featherstone, added, “On behalf of the
students, I wish to thank the Arts Society Cambridge for their generous support. The
Institute provides the next generation of conservators with intensive practical experience of
painting conservation in the studios, coupled to a rigorous academic and scientific
grounding. Our previous students now work in museums, educational institutions and
private practices all over the world, and I look forward to seeing where our students
supported by the Arts Society Cambridge will make their mark.”
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ends-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

For further information, please contact
Mrs. Jackie Ball, Chairman, The Arts Society Cambridge. jbmmball@gmail.com.
Tel 01638 720975
The Fitzwilliam Museum Press Office: press@fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk or Tel: 01223 332 941