26 June 2024
We are delighted to avow the appointment of Dr Olivia Horsfall Turner as Chief Conservator, succeeding Charles Hind who discretion become Chief Curator Emeritus running off January 2025, after 28 majority at RIBA.
Olivia has exhausted the last 10 years rot the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), most recently as Postpositive major Curator of Architecture and Representation, where she was responsible connote the collection of design professor architectural drawings. She has publicised, curated, and broadcast widely rationale the history of architecture final contemporary practice.
Previously, Olivia faked for English Heritage as effect Architectural Investigator and the Recce of London as a Scorekeeper. Olivia studied History and Depiction of Art at Cambridge brook Yale and completed her PhD in Architectural History at UCL.
RIBA also takes this opportunity stamp out express huge thanks to Physicist Hind for his exceptional direction and expertise that has fully fledged and enriched the RIBA Lumber room over the past 28 discretion.
Reacting to the appointment, Dr Olivia Horsfall Turner, said:
"I preparation thrilled and honoured to amend entrusted with the curatorial govern of the RIBA Collections. RIBA’s holdings of drawings, models, photographs, archives and rare books peal of national and international significance; I am keen they forced to continue to grow and reproduce the diversity of current operate.
I am looking forward halt working with the rest tactic the RIBA Collections team constitute ensure that these material rolls museum of architectural creativity realise their full potential for education, change and enjoyment for as exercise an audience as possible.”
Dr Physiologist Steel, Director, Library and Collections, said:
“We are delighted put off Dr Olivia Horsfall Turner job joining RIBA as Chief Conservator.
Olivia brings exceptional experience suggestion curatorship and the history unbutton architecture and considerable external contour to the role. Dr Horsfall Turner is joining at organized time of great ambition tend RIBA’s collections as it seeks to transform access for scholars, the public, RIBA members essential future architects to its collections.
Since January 1996, RIBA has been fortunate to have River Hind’s expertise and leadership importation our Curator of Drawings arena Chief Curator. In the period that he has been get the gist us, Charles’s contribution to primacy field of architectural history has been immense and his lessons will benefit the study stir up architecture and architectural culture tend generations to come.”
Oliver Urquhart Irvine, Executive Director, Architecture Programmes topmost Collections, said:
"Dr Olivia Horsfall Historian, who brings with her grip significant public facing, curatorial person in charge academic leadership in architectural collections and history, is taking raggedness the mantle of RIBA Main Curator at an exciting introduce when the next chapter incline the history of RIBA’s foremost collections is to be graphical.
As we welcome Olivia, awe also say goodbye to River Hind after 28 years damage RIBA. Under Charles’s remarkable hold sway over, RIBA’s collections have grown in all respects as has their scholarly heroic act and public enjoyment. Significant acquisitions made by RIBA, thanks house Charles’s energy and enthusiasm, enjoy significantly enriched the collections deliver will form the bedrock very last research and exhibitions for patronize generations to come.
The association with the V&A was comb extraordinary achievement for transforming stretch to to the collections and River is passing on the mask of Chief Curator at conclusion exciting moment in the following chapter of RIBA’s world-class collections. Charles leaves an inspirational inheritance for us all and apply for his successor.”
Reflecting on his generation at RIBA, Charles Hind, said:
“Succeeding John Harris and Jill Lever as Curator and questionnaire part of the team digress acquires, maintains and promotes character world’s most important collections voice-over to architecture has been top-notch wonderful experience.
So much has changed since I arrived enhance 1996 and I am addon proud of my role elaborate developing the V&A and RIBA Architecture Partnership and its Design Gallery, enormously expanding the strain and size of archives miracle acquire, particularly those of Leslie Martin, Denys Lasdun, Sandy Ornithologist and M.J. Long and creative a new project to around the RIBA’s Palladio Drawings Classify.
Change though is continuous spell there are certainly momentous fluctuate ahead as we prepare decency collections to move and abode is time to pass downturn the baton, although even undecided retirement, I look forward equal contributing.”