Giving
John Ruskin’s passionate conviction that contemporary society needed to re-think its priorities lay at the root of his promotion of art education. Only if people learned how to see would humanity be redeemed. The Ruskin School, which he started, has equally radical goals in the early 21st century. It puts together cutting-edge contemporary artists and art theorists with some of the brightest and most creative art students. The work they generate energises the University, the city of Oxford, and wider national and international audiences. As an art school the Ruskin is uniquely placed at the heart of a world-leading university, providing scope for stimulating cross-disciplinary dialogue between artists and intellectuals working in other media. Oxford is also wonderfully rich in visual culture – in museum collections and exhibits, in colleges, in its very landscape and streetscape. Artists trained at the Ruskin are leading contributors to global cultural conversations. The web of Ruskin artists extends far and wide.
The Ruskin has already had a significant cultural impact; with enhanced resources it has the potential to do a lot more.
Ways that you can help support the future of the School:
Student Travel Bursaries
In their Second Year BFA students have the opportunity to take part in the Professional Practice Programme some of these voluntary placements are overseas in Europe and America and require considerable funding in the form of travel and living expenses.
It was a once in a lifetime experience and it’s not every day that one has the chance to work in a place housing one of the world’s most fascinating modern art collections.
I had a sense of great responsibility but also of excitement. Each day brought new challenges, from preparing the gallery for opening and communicating with visitors in different languages, to giving talks on the collection and the life of Peggy Guggenheim herself. It was a truly unforgettable and very rewarding opportunity.
Kinga Lubowieka, BFA Finalist 2011
If you would like to support a student in this scheme, please click here or contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for further information.
Fundraising for the relocation of the Ruskin School and the Ruskin Mastership
The new Ruskin building envisaged on the redeveloped Radcliffe Observatory Quarter is one of the priorities in the University’s Oxford Thinking Campaign.
We are also seeking to raise £4M endowment to support the Ruskin Mastership.
If you would like to discuss supporting these capital projects, please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Annual Degree Show Fund
Each year the finalists on the BFA course seek to raise approximately £10,000 to support their degree show (final examination).
The Degree Show is an event that consistently creates a relationship between the Ruskin and the greater Oxford community. This year especially, in using an Old Power Station as the venue, we aim to capture wide public attention, drawing audiences from London and beyond, by emphasizing more than ever exactly how much the Ruskin, as part of Oxford University, is uniquely positioned as a hub for breeding independently-minded, creatively-capable individuals on the threshold of pursuing professional careers in the arts. Excitingly, this exhibition is an introductory gesture, not a final statement.
BFA Finalists 2011
If you would like to contribute to this fund, please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for further information or to discuss support in kind.
Studentships
As tuition fees increase we would like to offer more studentships at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Being offered the Ruskin Scholarship was pivotal in my ability to pursue postgraduate studies. In a nutshell, without this financial support I would not have been able to accept a D.Phil placement at Oxford.
Mariah Lookman, D.Phil Student
If you would be interested in supporting a studentship, please click here or contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for further information.
Alumni Programme
We have recently launched the Ruskin School Alumni Society and are seeking financial support for the associated programme of events, exhibitions and a biannual magazine.
Like all the best ideas, you wonder why no-one thought of it before. The Ruskin’s Alumni Programme was a mere 140 years in gestation, but now it’s here it seems firmly in the camp of the electric light bulb and the wheel. Within hours of its launch, the newly-born network of former students was growing at tremendous speed before our eyes - not just in the UK but in every corner of the world. Today, the database continues to expand, reconnections are being made worldwide and important social and business networks are being established between former students and current ones too. The potential is huge. Sarah Wilkinson controls the alumni nerve centre in the High Street, and in addition to being i/c database, is masterminding an exciting programme of Alumni events including exhibitions and also a biannual magazine. We dearly need your help to finance this crucial work and any contribution would be hugely appreciated.
Angela Palmer (BFA 2002-5), Chair, Ruskin Star Chamber
If you would be interested in contributing, please click here or contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for further information.
Prizes, Competitions and Commissions
The Ruskin offers a variety of prizes, competitions and awards and is happy to facilitate commissions for students.
The Pirye Prize allowed me to reconfigure and refine a sculpture that would otherwise have remained a static gesture. I was given a generous sum to buy materials, and a deadline to realise the piece. I gained an insight into the practical day-to-day conditions of working as a sculptor. The freedom this prize enabled gave me the opportunity to make an ambitious work.
Kira Freije, BFA Finalist 2011
If you would like to support current BFA or D.Phil students by setting up a new annual prize, competition or by commissioning artwork, please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Partnerships
We welcome collaborations within Oxford University and with external organisations, who wish to contribute financially in the form of sponsorship and commissioning, or by offering exhibiting spaces for Ruskin students and alumni. Current partnerships:
Ashmolean Museum
15 New Bridge Street Chambers
H20 Venture Partners
Modern Art Oxford
O3 Gallery
OVADA
Oxford University Press
Radcliffe Science Library
Sir William Dunn School for Pathology
The Bate Collection
The University of Oxford Botanic Gardens
Upton House (National Trust)
Waddesdon Manor (National Trust)
Over the past few years H2O Venture Partners have enjoyed a corporate art partnership with the Ruskin School involving an annual rotating display of finalist’s work selected from the annual Degree Show. This is featured on our website and we endeavour to promote the works through our network and also purchase one work per year for our permanent collection.
Dr Paul Coleman, Co-founder and Director, H2O Venture Partners
If you would be interested in discussing a corporate collaboration, please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
General Fund
Donations will be allocated to the area of greatest need in the School.
If you are interested in contributing, please click here
Legacies and Bequests
If you would be interested in leaving a legacy or bequest to the Ruskin School further information and contact details can be found at http://www.campaign.ox.ac.uk/contribute/legacies_bequests/index.html