Conservation Awards

Sir Paul McCartney has agreed to sponsor The Conservation Awards,
the UK's leading awards in the conservation field, rewarding
excellence and innovation in preserving our cultural heritage. His
generous offer of support will secure the future of the Awards until
2009. He agreed to fund the awards after meeting Ian Clark, the
joint winner of the 2002 Conservation Award for his restoration of
the Royal Navy's first submarine, Holland 1.

Paul said

    It's really important that the objects, pictures, documents and
    buildings we've inherited are properly looked after, for us and
    our children after us to learn from and enjoy. People don't
    realise how lucky we are to have such brilliant conservation
    specialists in this country. I've seen them in action. The
    Conservation Awards draw attention to those wonderful skills,
    and I'm delighted to help ensure they continue.

Welcoming Sir Paul's involvement, David Leigh, Director of the UK
Institute for Conservation, commented, "The Awards have recognised
the triumphs of conservation over the past decade, and Sir Paul's
generous support will help us celebrate many more."

The Awards are open to projects completed by conservators working in
every heritage field. They attract entries from UK national and
regional museums and galleries, libraries and archives, and major
organisations such as the National Trust, English Heritage and
Historic Royal Palaces as well as smaller firms such as Ian Clark's
which do outstanding work. In addition, the Digital Preservation
Award, new in 2004, attracts entries from across the world.

The Awards are managed by the UK Institute for Conservation (UKIC)
at present. From early 2005, UKIC and the Institute of Paper
Conservation will become part of a new larger professional body for
conservation of the cultural heritage, the Institute of
Conservation, which will manage the Awards in future.

The last four rounds of the Conservation Awards were sponsored by
The Pilgrim Trust. The Awards are supported by key organisations in
conservation and restoration, including the Museums, Libraries and
Archives Council (MLA), the UK Institute for Conservation, English
Heritage, the Institute of Paper Conservation, the National
Preservation Office, the Digital Preservation Coalition and the Anna
Plowden Trust.

Application details for the 2005 Awards will be announced early in
the new year.

For more information see <URL:http://www.consawards.ukic.org.uk>.

Susan Hughes
Administrator, Conservation Awards
+44 207 326 0995


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:25
                Distributed: Wednesday, December 1, 2004
                       Message Id: cdl-18-25-005
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