2023 Update from the JCR Art Fund

Many of our alumni will have fond memories of the JCR Art Fund, with Pembroke being the first Oxbridge college to establish a student-owned art collection. We spoke to current Treasurer of the Art Fund, Georgia Douglas, who told us about the importance of the art collection to the JCR today:

“Our JCR Art Fund is still championing art. The collection currently numbers over 350 works, including some by several of the most notable post-war and modern British artists, such as David Hockney, Lynn Chadwick, Sir Terry Frost, Dame Elisabeth Frink, Christopher Orr, Mary Fedden, and Julian Trevelyan, among many others. The student co-chairs currently care for the collection, undertaking conservation alongside acquiring new works.

The Art Fund is vital to Pembroke undergraduate life: it provides travel and hardship grants, loans artworks to students, and hosts exhibitions for the entire community to enjoy. Enthusiastic students are also able to work part-time as invigilators. This year, we have held two exhibitions: William Andris Wood’s ‘DE PROFUNDIS: A Journey through Darkness in 20 Paintings’ and  Emery Prize-winner Saba Qizilbash’s ‘Routes of Desire’. The former explored issues of death and violence in contemporary British society; the latter traced the echoes of colonial occupation on the landscapes of South Asia, Central Asia, and the Arabian Gulf. Alongside our public opening hours, the gallery also hosted talks and private viewings for each exhibition, giving students and staff the chance to mingle with the artists themselves.

This year, the Art Fund charity has awarded travel grants for plant science research in Yorkshire; thesis research in Ireland; and even an archaeological dig in Georgia. We have also awarded almost £1500 to students undergoing unexpected hardship. Together, these grants form a vital part of Pembroke’s financial support programme. None of this could take place without the exhibitions and gallery itself, which form the heart of the Art Fund’s work and expand its public profile.”

The Art Fund is now seeking a new curator to assist with the ongoing development of the collection and exhibition programme. Until January 2021, the curator role was supported by a generous donation, but since then it has been shared by the committee’s student co-chairs. Georgia explained that students are enthusiastic about contributing to the Art Fund but that, their time is understandably limited by their studies. The previous curator offered professional curatorial advice on the collection and exhibitions as well as undertaking conservation of the artworks, installing and de-installing exhibitions, organising student workshops, coordinating invigilation, and producing marketing materials. This role will provide valuable experience to someone starting out in the art world – Pembroke’s JCR Art Collection is truly something special, and in any other institution would be looked after by a team of professionals.

If you would like to support the Art Fund in their search for a new curator, please do get in contact with development@pmb.ox.ac.uk. We would be delighted to hear from you.