Request: We request funds for two small projects, both of which we anticipate will significantly enhance the experience of our members. One of these projects will also initiate a collaboration with the Arts Collection. This will hopefully translate to supporting a student from the School of Art as well as increasing public and community engagement if the SCR spaces were to host original pieces in partnership with the Art Collection.
SCR Art, in conjunction with the Art Collection:
‘The University Art Collection exists to collect, care for, interpret and make works of art publicly accessible as a resource for teaching, research, exhibition and enjoyment, whilst also enriching the University campuses for students, staff, and the general public (https://collections.reading.ac.uk/art-collections/)’. As part of their initiative to improve the display and accessibility of their Collection across the campus, they have kindly offered to organize for us facsimiles of the Betts Collection (https://collections.reading.ac.uk/art-collections/collection-overview/search-browse/themes/master-drawings-collection/) and also supply their already printed catalogue for this Collection.
This would provide members with a sense of history of how art was taught at UoR as they savour coffee or read a journal in the Park House Members Lounge. We are also exploring the idea of working with the Art Collection and a volunteer student from the UoR School of Art to curate art pieces that can be hung in the Acacias, in the 2024-2025 academic year. Art in the Park House will therefore be a starting point for collaboration with the Art Collection, including the possibility of displaying original paintings in the SCR areas that can then be part of the University’s drive to Museum reaccreditation.
Budget: £1000
£585 mounts and frames
£350 facsimile printing
£65 fixtures and fittings
The Art Collection will provide catalogues (no charge) that describe the facsimiles so that members can peruse this at their leisure. They will also provide transport for the pictures and hang the pictures in a suitable manner without charge.
We believe that both these projects reflect our core mission which is to provide facilities and social events to enable staff interaction and so enhance their quality of life.