The Rivington Fund, which provides funding to Jersey residents who could not otherwise afford travel off-Island to cultivate their passion for arts, crafts or history, has awarded £13,441 to Jersey residents to participate in off-Island cultural experiences.
In its latest round of funding, seven applications have been accepted, which will see eleven Islanders explore art and history in New York, Leeds, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Texas, Liverpool and Munich.
People applied for a number of reasons; to explore particular areas of the arts, to engage in their passion for history, or to strengthen their knowledge in an area connected with their career. As well as awarding individuals, The Rivington Fund was delighted to support three familial applications; two mother and son trips and one pair
of sisters.
The successful applicants and their trips are as follows:
Mother and son Jo and Joseph Fry are both passionate about history. They will be heading to Liverpool to visit the Liverpool Tate, the Maritime Museum, World Museum and the Museum of Liverpool which houses the history of Islam, a particular area of interest for them both. Jo who has dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia, with the right support from the Rivington team was able to apply to the fund with confidence.
Of being successful Ms Fry said, “The day I found out my application was accepted was unbelievable. I was having a bad day and the email gave me the lift I needed. I didn’t think I’d be successful as history is merely a passion of mine not connected to work. I can’t wait for this trip. There is no way we’d have been able to afford it this year.”
Clare and her son (who would prefer to remain anonymous) have been awarded funding to visit Barcelona for a week in September. They will be exploring the architecture by Gaudi along with a variety of art galleries and markets. Clare holds craft workshops in care homes in Jersey and plans to return with an assortment of Spanish themed ideas to incorporate into her care home sessions.
Two adult sisters (who would prefer to remain anonymous) will be visiting Munich, Bavaria, to take in various museums relating to the city and state, a craft museum, the palaces, the Christmas markets dating back to the 14th century, Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles and the Museum of Bavarian Kings. They are also planning to experience an opera or concert, particularly something by Mozart, Wagner, Bach, Beethoven or Mahler.
Vicky Hinault will be attending the Austin film festival’s Screenwriters conference in Texas in the Autumn of this year. During the conference she’ll be attending a number of panels held by working screenwriters and filmmakers to learn and further develop her craft. This will be the first opportunity since the pandemic she’s had to progress her writing projects.
Of being successful in her application she said, “I’m so unbelievably grateful to The Rivington Fund for this opportunity. Being able to learn, meet with and talk to professional screenwriters about my projects and how I can further develop them is a sure-fire way for me to move forward on a career path that I love. Being able to travel to Austin to do this at one of the most highly regarded writers conferences in the world is a privilege that has only been made possible by The Rivington Fund.”
Alexander Kelleher applied for funding to visit the International Mediaeval Congress in Leeds, where he will be presenting a paper on his PhD research on the mediaeval history of the Channel Islands. He will also be attending presentations of other papers at the conference that will allow him to keep up to date with current historical research. This trip provides him with the opportunity to make important links with other scholars in this field and increase the potential for further conference activity, as well as collaborative research projects.
Jodie Bull is currently a student at London College of Fashion and is studying Fashion Design Womenswear. Jodie applied for funding to visit New York in September to view the Costume Institute and the temporary exhibition ‘In America: A Lexicon in Fashion’. She’ll also visit the Brooklyn Museum Exhibition to see the Virgil Abloh: ‘Figures of Speech’ exhibition and the Monet to Morisot Exhibition. She also intends to visit various fashion companies to broaden her knowledge.
Luddite Press is a non-profit printmaking space in Jersey run by artists for artists. Its two founders have been awarded funding from The Rivington Fund to go and explore what they believe are some of the finest traditional printmaking workshops Europe has to offer in Copenhagen in August. They are hoping to hone their intaglio skillset with skilled technicians and return with this knowledge which in turn they can share with people in Jersey.
Deputy Kirsten Morel, the former Assistant Minister with Responsibility for Arts, Culture and Heritage for Government of Jersey and Trustee of The Rivington Fund said, “We were delighted with the response to the latest round of Rivington funding.
“The breadth of applicants, passions and reasons for wishing to travel were inspiring and we’re delighted to be able to support eleven Jersey residents to further their passions. Many people are feeling the squeeze with the cost of living right now, and The Rivington Fund is needed more than ever, enabling people to take culturally inspiring and potentially life changing trips that they would otherwise be unable to afford. We look forward to hearing how everyone gets on with their respective adventures in the coming months.”
Charities and educators to consider their clients and pupils
As well as group and individual applications, The Rivington Fund encourages charities and educators to consider their clients and pupils as potential recipients of this funding. Should someone with a passion or keen interest in the arts be identified who would benefit from travelling to experience something special, we ask them to refer
them to the website where they will be guided through the process online. The next deadline to apply is 15th August 2022.
The main image shows Casa Batlló, a building in the centre of Barcelona. It was designed by Antoni Gaudí.
