Safeguarding the future of cultural conservation

While the forces of climate change, civil unrest and mass migration are threatening cultural records and identities around the world, a quiet revolution in the heart of Melbourne promises to transform cultural conservation throughout Australia and our region.

New futures for conservation

The Cripps family’s latest gift will enable the Grimwade Centre to evolve into the Robert Cripps Institute for Cultural Conservation. Bringing elevated status and expanded reach, this transition represents a monumental shift in capability and impact.

"Medical institutes focus on the physical and mental health of communities, but cultural health is also critical. That’s the focus for the Cripps Institute,” Professor Sloggett explains.

Amy Tennent, Director of the Cripps Foundation, is excited about the possibilities.

^{Grimwade Centre Research Assistant Hannah Stewart with Warmun Art Centre worker Dolorosa Carrington.} 

Empowering future conservators

The Cripps Foundation’s visionary donation aims to preserve the past while shaping the future. The Institute will dramatically increase the University’s capacity to train the next generation of conservators, with graduate researcher positions growing from 21 to 45 by 2030 – opening up opportunity and hope for new generations of conservation experts from communities around the Asia-Pacific.

University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Emma Johnston AO notes the significance.

“Two decades ago, only one PhD candidate had graduated in cultural materials conservation in Australia,” she says. “Through the enduring support of the Cripps Foundation, that number has since grown significantly and will continue to do so during this critical next phase of expansion.”

The Robert Cripps Institute for Cultural Conservation will stand as a testament to what can be achieved when philanthropy meets passionate expertise – a promise that the world’s diversity of stories, art and traditions will endure in an era of unprecedented threat to cultural conservation.