After 23 years as Chair of Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Jane Hamlyn will be stepping down from her role in December.
Jane said:
“My heartfelt thanks to everyone at Paul Hamlyn Foundation, our hugely committed team and dedicated trustees, and to all the inspiring individuals and organisations we support. I am enormously proud of everything we have achieved together. Whilst I’m stepping down as Chair, I’m not stepping away from the Foundation and will continue to be closely involved as a trustee. I’m excited about Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s future as a force for progressive change in the UK and India.”
Since 2002, Jane has played an integral role in shaping the development of the Foundation, set up by her father Paul Hamlyn in 1987, and the expansion of our programmes. We are now one of the 20 largest charitable trusts in the UK, and in the last two decades, our annual giving has grown from c. £8m in 2005 to £35m today. A commitment to equity, anti-racism and social justice runs through our core programmes for organisations working in the arts, education, migration, and with young people in the UK, as well as through our India programme.
Under Jane’s stewardship, we also expanded our activities to support inspiring individuals, including our annual Awards for Artists, the largest individual arts awards for visual artists and composers in the UK, and the Ideas and Pioneers Fund, enabling young people across the UK to explore their ideas for social change.
Jane was instrumental in our decision to make transformative grants over the past decade to enable exceptional organisations to work in-depth and at scale across the UK. Amongst these are Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, Britten Pears Arts, COMPAS, Coram, Justice Together, Koestler Arts, Liverpool Philharmonic, The Migration Observatory, Roundhouse, Royal Opera House, Royal Shakespeare Company, Tate, YoungMinds, and Jaipur Foot in India. During this time, we also established our Neighbourhood Fund, supporting local people and organisations within a mile of our offices.
Recognising her role as Chair of Paul Hamlyn Foundation over many years, Jane was awarded a CBE in 2019.
Commenting on Jane’s change in role, our Chief Executive, Halima Khan, said:
“On behalf of everyone here at Paul Hamlyn Foundation, we extend our deepest thanks to Jane for her exceptional leadership, commitment and service to the Foundation. During her tenure, Paul Hamlyn Foundation has grown in both scale and ambition, always guided by a deep belief in creating a more just society. We are delighted that Jane will remain a trustee on the Board as we continue to build on this vital legacy in the years to come.”
Jane will be succeeded as Chair by our trustee, James Lingwood. We will share more about James’s appointment in the new year.
Drawing on the thoughts he shared at the announcement of this year’s Awards for Artists recipients, our Head of Programme – Arts, Shoubhik Bandopadhyay, reflects on the value of the awards and its role in our wider grant making practice.
The last year has been a significant one for Paul Hamlyn Foundation – full of change and new possibilities, as well as challenges in the external environment.
