Transforming the cultural health of the nation and our region and responding to emerging threats to cultural legacies will be the core focuses of a new institute in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne.
The establishment of the Robert Cripps Institute for Cultural Conservation, which will expand upon the pioneering work of the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, was announced today by the University of Melbourne.
Minsmere Pty Ltd, as a subsidiary of the Cripps Foundation, has donated $15 million to establish the Institute, building upon a $6.9 million donation from the Foundation in 2013. The Cripps family has been a deeply engaged partner of and philanthropic donor to the Grimwade Centre for over 25 years.
The Grimwade Centre is a global leader in cultural materials conservation, research and teaching. This gift will enable the critical next phase of its development and help address increasing challenges to the security of cultural heritage, including the climate crisis and related disasters, global conflicts, mass migration and a dearth of vital conservation expertise.
Recent work of the Grimwade Centre includes the restoration of Australia's 1297 version of the Magna Carta, reconstruction of church heritage in the Philippines, identification and remediation of 'poisonous' 19th century books, and the recovery and restoration of objects damaged in Victorian floods.
The Robert Cripps Institute for Cultural Conservation will bring together the Humanities and Sciences to produce new research that supports individuals and communities to ensure their cultural legacy is available to them and to future generations.
The Institute will educate the next generation of leading conservators, deliver research breakthroughs, work in partnership with Australian Indigenous and Asia-Pacific communities to protect and preserve their heritage, and provide expert conservation services to the public.
Quotes attributable to Cripps Foundation Director, Amy Tennent
"Minsmere Pty Ltd, as a subsidiary of Cripps Foundation, is delighted to continue to support Professor Robyn Sloggett and her team in this new endeavour. The team has an urgent mission not only within Australia, but throughout the region with its many and varied cultures."
"The institute will provide opportunities for future academic and community conservators and their cross-disciplinary collaborators. The Cripps Foundation shares the University of Melbourne's vision for this new community of scholarship to ensure preservation of, and access to art, heritage, archival records, and cultural practices and expression."
Quotes attributable to Cripps Foundation Chair in Cultural Materials Conservation and Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation Director, Professor Robyn Sloggett
"The Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation is deeply thankful to the Cripps Foundation for its transformational support to elevate the Grimwade Centre's work to a research institute."
"Remote Indigenous communities, small rural townships, refugee diaspora and people who are marginalised by health or financial issues have limited ability to preserve the material they value. This is a particularly pressing problem in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region."
"Just as many medical institutes focus on the physical and mental health of communities, I want to develop an institute that will secure people's cultural health."
Quotes attributable to University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor, Professor Emma Johnston
"The University of Melbourne thanks Minsmere Pty Ltd, as a subsidiary of the Cripps Foundation, for its generous donation which will advance research, education and conservation services, with a focus on programs for Indigenous, remote, rural and underrepresented communities."
"University of Melbourne students, the next generation of conservators, will be among the key beneficiaries of the new Robert Cripps Institute for Cultural Conservation as a result of more student places, more cross-disciplinary research and more conservation specialities."
"Two decades ago, only one PhD candidate had graduated in cultural materials conservation in Australia. Through the enduring support of the Cripps Foundation that number has since grown significantly and it will continue to do so during this critical next phase of expansion in response to ever-growing community needs."
