Anne Deuchar, Jean Schooling, Julia Villiers, and Karen Couchman

Anne Deuchar – Arts Society Kington Langley (Wessex) 

Anne has acted as Chair of the Wessex Area for many years and has propelled them into the 21st Century thanks to her wealth of digital skills. She has encouraged the Societies in her area to think about what they need to do to improve their offer to members, and has understood that each Society has different needs and skills on offer. She has developed digital tools to improve the offering to members, including software which makes it easier for members to sign up to events. Anne makes sure to visit the Societies she looks after frequently, answering all calls for help and support and offering words of encouragement. She has formed a strong link between her Societies and the Arts Society HQ, allowing members to feel like their voices are being heard.  

Jean Schooling – Arts Society Enfield 

Jean will soon be standing down from her role as Area Coordinator for Education in Greater London as she approaches her 90th birthday. She has supervised the Study Course Organisers for over 10 years, helping them produce and run up to 30 Special Interest Days a year. These provide enjoyment and education for the attendees, but also generate income for the Greater London Area which is then able to be given to community arts organisations in the form of grants. Thanks to Jean’s efforts in maintaining a monthly newsletter which reaches over 1,000 people, the Special Interest Days attract attendees from all over the country and secure regular income. Her contributions to arts education and her hard work over the years have been outstanding, and her colleagues are keen to recognise her as she steps down from her role. 

Julia Villiers – Arts Society Poole 

Julia has been a member of her Society’s committee since 2015 and has been integral in securing grants and funding, as well as seeking out projects which could benefit most from these. She has engaged particularly with young people from more deprived areas, bringing in artists to work directly with them and introduce them to new art activities. She also secured funding for a workshop with a group from the Dorset Blind Association, helping to make art accessible for those who are usually excluded from it. Julia has particular strengths in networking with neighbouring Societies, which has secured joint funding and joint visits, encouraging collaboration and the pooling of resources. She has been the backbone of the committee for many years and is passionate about arts volunteering, seeing projects through from inception to evaluation. 

Karen Couchman – Arts Society Monmouthshire (Wales) 

Karen has been the Arts Volunteering representative at her Society for the last 10 years and has initiated many programmes, primarily centred on schools. She has organised a range of workshops for schools, enlisting the help of external artists and teachers but also running some herself. Many of her projects have resulted in public exhibitions around key national events, including the King’s Coronation, which have been vital for gaining support from the public for her Society’s work. Karen has built a rapport with the local schools and headteachers and always ensures that the children she works with produce work of the highest possible quality. Her creativity and enthusiasm shows no signs of abating and she has also become an expert in applying for grants for projects, ensuring that they are properly funded. 

Careen Lindsay, Jan Tucker and Chris Wheeler, David and Dilys Farrant, Penny O'Brien, Susan Pearson and, Wendy Burdett

Careen Lindsay – The Arts Society Fife

Careen has been co-ordinator for both Arts Volunteering and Heritage Volunteering for almost seven years at her society. She is always on the lookout for new arts and heritage projects for her society and has the perfect personality for enthusing members to get on board. She has built positive and friendly relationships with both the community and volunteers which has seen the Arts Society Fife work with and support a wide range of local organisations. These include local schools where they have supported online exhibitions, local hospices where they have provided arts materials for patients to use and local museums where members have got involved with archiving projects. Careen is a welcoming, kind and supportive member of the committee and is the first to volunteer herself for additional duties where she is needed.

Jan Tucker and Chris Wheeler – The Arts Society Hereford

Jan and Chris have been outstanding in creating church Discovery Trails for children aged 8 to 12 in Herefordshire and beyond. They have raised awareness and appreciation of the architecture, artefacts and history of local churches and villages amongst the children who live there and have liaised with ministers, teachers and other members of the community to complete their projects. Their efforts have not only raised awareness of the work of the Arts Society, but have also helped their Society to gain new members. Jan and Chris have been pioneers in this venture and have been generous in their support of anyone planning to set up a trail in the local area.

David and Dilys Farrant – The Arts Society South West Area

David and Dilys have been involved with heritage volunteering in the South West for over 15 years. In the early days of their volunteering, the annual meeting for heritage volunteers was held in their home and they then introduced the format of formal meetings, including guest speakers and a visit to a venue not normally accessible to the public. David and Dilys have been involved in nationally important projects with the Arts Society which have been important in raising awareness of the work of the organisation. They made sure to visit every project in the South West once a year and willingly shared their knowledge where it was needed. They retired from volunteering in October 2022, and Dilys sadly passed away in January 2023, and so this Award seeks to reflect their longstanding contributions.

Penny O’Brien – The Arts Society Wylye Valley

Penny has been involved with The Arts Society since 1980, just two years after her local Society was formed. Since then, she has held a number of committee positions including Membership Secretary, Vice-Chair and Chair. She was also Secretary to the Wessex Area Chairman and served as President of the Area for 9 years, showing integrity, enthusiasm and commitment throughout. Penny was key in introducing a 4 year term for Presidents, ensuring that new ideas are welcomed throughout the Arts Society and no one person holds autonomy over decisions for local areas. She has a thorough knowledge of the arts and has been involved in the organisation of a number of influential and exciting lecture series. Penny has committed an impressive number of years to the service of the Arts Society, which has seen her hold almost every key role and attract a huge amount of respect from her peers.

Susan Pearson – The Arts Society Dorchester

Susan has been a member of her local Society since 1998 and joined the committee in 2003, where she has fulfilled every role bar one. Her most recent (and final) role as Chairman covered the years of the pandemic where she was very proactive in embracing zoom lectures and online activities to keep the members engaged and the society alive. She contacted neighbouring societies to offer assistance with technology and took the time to keep in touch with any non-technical members, helping them with technology or simply offering a listening ear. Susan helped to initiate new links within the local community to help bolster the Society’s arts and heritage volunteering programmes. She has set a high standard for the Society which has encouraged an ever-increasing number of members and she is a great ambassador for the Arts Society as a whole.

Wendy Burdett – The Arts Society Harpenden

Wendy has been the Arts Volunteering Coordinator for her Society since 2002, and has instigated and completed 17 projects with local primary schools in this time. The projects all involved hands-on work from Society members who prepared materials and visited schools to help deliver the projects to the pupils. Wendy has worked with hundreds of children and provided volunteering opportunities for many members through these programmes. The artworks produced remain in the schools, giving pride and a tangible outcome for the children involved while also teaching them important life skills. Wendy’s hard work, diplomacy and negotiating skills have been fundamental in getting commitment from both participating schools and artists to the projects. Her contributions amount to so much more than a simple donation for materials or a visit to a school by an artist

Heather Leach, Lynne Lines, Jacqueline Jones, Roger Mitchell, Tricia Rowlands and Virginia Cardwell-Moore

Heather Leach, Arts Volunteer, The Arts Society Kington Langley (Wessex)

Heather is a valued member of the Wessex Area team as Arts Volunteer representative, participating fully in meetings with infectious enthusiasm and boundless energy. She has organised for over £30,000 to be donated to Arts Volunteering projects in the area over the past year and is always on the lookout for new opportunities to be involved in. Heather is an ex-Head of Art at a secondary school and so has a lot of contacts which she utilises well for the benefit of the local arts community.

Lynne Lines, Arts Volunteer, Cumbria and the North-West

Lynne became the Arts Volunteering representative for the area in 2014 and immediately began to introduce less advantaged groups to the work of the Arts Society, including by creating projects for young carers. She organised for a special needs student to be supported through their art A-Level and has organised a number of exhibitions where young people’s artwork can be displayed. Lynn became overall Area Representative in 2018 and, despite facing personal health challenges, encouraged and supported volunteers to work with all members of their community through the arts.

Jacqueline Jones, Society Committee Volunteer, The Arts Society Kington Langley

Jackie has been a charismatic leader of her society for the past 3 years and her response to the pandemic shut down was to see where there was potential for change and improvements in the society. She made the website more accessible so that members were up to date with all developments and was instrumental in developing Zoom based lectures, collaborating with other societies to increase the reach of the lectures. Jackie has created sustainable relationships within her community which will secure the future of her society and encourage new members.

Roger Mitchell, Society Committee Volunteer, The Arts Society Wimbledon

Roger is his society’s IT Committee member and without his expertise the society would not exist in its current form. He helps to maintain the database and ensures that all technology runs smoothly. As soon as the pandemic hit, Roger liaised with lecturers to encourage them to continue their contributions on Zoom and transformed the technical ability of the society. They are now able to run hybrid lectures so that they are able to appeal to their whole membership base, which has brought them much pleasure after a challenging couple of years and caused an increase in membership numbers overall.

Tricia Rowlands, Arts Volunteer, The Arts Society Kings Lynn (Norfolk)

Tricia single-handedly ran an art project for her society at a local primary school, which produced 400 items for exhibition in a local gallery in July 2021. Due to coronavirus concerns, the school were unwilling to allow multiple volunteers into the school and so Tricia led each of the 14 workshops herself and prepared the items for display. The show was visited by the 400 children and over 200 members of the public, resulting in excellent publicity for the society and the offer of repeat funding for the exhibition in the future.

Virginia Cardwell-Moore, Society Committee Volunteer, The Arts Society Tayside

Virginia has been the mainstay of the Arts Society in Scotland and Northern Ireland for many years. She has served in various roles on the Tayside Society Committee, including as its Chair, and became the Area Secretary for Scotland and Northern Ireland in 2014. For the last 8 years, she has supported three different Area Chairs in this role, offering wise words, great admin skills and infectious enthusiasm. No task is too great for her and she goes above and beyond to support the work of the Arts Society.

Richard Lebus, Cheryl King, Gill Murphy, Beatrice McIntosh, Pete White and Liz Collins

• Marsh Award for Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Richard Lebus – Richard has been extraordinary during Covid and instrumental in getting activity going online via Zoom and YouTube and sharing his knowledge widely with other societies by being constantly available via phone, email and zoom. Richard helped to train 100’s of societies to use Zoom, including 1,400 volunteers. He has kept many societies running due to his dedication to teaching others, after training himself first. He attended many training sessions and meetings, and many would have struggled without his help. Richard has supported Lecturers ensuring they shared in the increased income generated by inviting members outside of his own society. Individual Volunteer Awards
• Cheryl King – Cheryl formed Roseacre Gardens Little Art and Roseacre Gardens Teen Art on Zoom for children and students in her neighbourhood and has kept art alive during this difficult period of home schooling. She also formed Roseacre Grown Up Art where she invited others to join weekly and discuss different works of art and paint their own versions. The group is very diverse in age and geographically and was a lifeline for its members during lockdown. 

• Gill Murphy – Gill has been a member of the Dukeries committee since 2011. In 2013 she formed a volunteer group to create the society’s first Children’s Trail at All Saints church, followed by trails at 6 more churches, and managed to negotiate with the council for free printing of all the trails materials. She worked with the Alzheimer’s Society to create a Memorial Trail that was a great success. Gill is now a representative for the East Midlands Area Committee for Children’s Trails and encourages other societies in the area to form their own trails.  

• Beatrice McIntosh  – Beatrice was an inspirational Chair of Southport with a special commitment to involving young people in the arts, causing her to set up an evening society that was more accessible to young people. This was followed by Vivienne Westwood workshops. During the lockdown months she threw herself into ways of keeping in touch with members via lectures on Zoom and telephone calls. She devised IT lessons for those with no skills or confidence and personally supported them. Beatrice took her own personal books to the homes of people who could not access the online resources and set up regular phone contact so that they didn’t feel isolated.  

• Pete White – Pete is the Treasurer of his society and has enabled the Arts Society Harborough to engage members in a positive, inclusive way and has regenerated and saved his society during the coronavirus outbreak. He has delivered lectures, along with the opportunity for attendees to join Q and A sessions and has made these easily accessible, causing him to receive valuable and positive feedback. Pete contacts people individually and has taken the committee every step of the way by training and motivating the members. 

• Liz Collins (Highly Commended) – Liz has been involved in Art @ The Station working with schools in the Guildford Area and liaising with the South West Railway and ACORP to produce successful and exciting displays of work. Liz manages the art displays, works with local schools to encourage them to produce artwork and produced an ‘Idiots Guide’ which includes top tips to help societies. 

Jenny Gilks, Rosalie Gowland and Angela Goedicke

Young Arts 

Jenny Gilks has been a member of the Arts Society North Wilshire since 2009 and immediately became the Wessex Area Young Arts Coordinator and helped to build the area’s strong reputation for arts. She has an art and museum education background and arranges successful Young Arts days and opportunities to integrate Young Arts activities into the local community.   

Heritage Volunteers

Rosalie Gowland has been a dedicated volunteer for many years and managed the Heritage Teams in the Greater London Area. She has a positive influence on her colleagues and the wider community and encourages more volunteers to get involved with the work of the Arts Society.  

Lifetime Achievement Award

Angela Goedicke has been working on Church Recording since 1973 when it began and worked with the church on the first edition of the Church Recording Handbook. She is very highly regarded and is very keen to help the Arts Society to conclude Church Recordings as the project comes to an end this year.  It has been noted that Church Recording would no longer be running within the Arts Society from the end of the year after having run for almost 50 years. It was agreed that this would be a good time to recognise someone who had been instrumental in the project since the beginning, and Angela would be the perfect candidate.  

Patricia Francis, Celia Mudie, Pauline Stewart

Church Recording

Patricia Francis is a member of the Committee for the Arts Society Liskeard and has been a member of the Society since 2000. Throughout her time with the Society, she has provided leadership for Church Recorders and been an important player in Young Arts initiatives. Patricia has coordinated the volunteer Church Recorders and compiled the documentation for St Ivo, St Winnow, St Mary’s and St Wenna in South-East Cornwall. Her leadership in Church Recording and the support she has given to all volunteers in the churches has increased awareness of the rich heritage that exists in the area. The Arts Society Liskeard is a relatively small group, and Patricia’s dedication in her quiet, self-effacing manner has been particularly valuable to the Society and the local community.

Young Arts

Celia Mudie started the Young Arts programme at the Arts Society Gerrards Cross from scratch four years ago. Since then she has formed close links with several organisations which encourage and develop young people in art, music and dance. Celia supported a local music director and his students in fundraising for an educational opera trip to Italy and helped the Arts Room at Northolt High School, which is a therapeutic space for children facing challenges, gain financial backing and resources. She also supports children at High Wycombe High School find their forte with a musical instrument and develop their love for music through the Chiltern Music Academy. It is largely thanks to Celia that a wide range of causes and activities could be supported by the Society.

Trails of Discovery

Pauline Stewart joined the Arts Society South Devon ten years ago and is now its Chairman, having previously held a number of different posts. She has been a driving force for her Society, the South West area and also as the national head of Trails of Discovery. Pauline has enlarged the remit of Church Trails nationally to include Trails of Discovery and Memory Trails, having inaugurated the first trail of this type in Tavistock, Devon. Her work has had a considerable impact on children and vulnerable adults living with dementia and has helped raise the profile of the Arts Society in the area. Pauline has been unstinting in her time and commitment and has become a great Ambassador for Trails of Discovery.

Marion and Bill Hastings, Jennifer McDowell, John Blackford and Elizabeth Barnikel

Heritage Volunteering

Marion and Bill Hastings have worked tirelessly to set up a group of dedicated volunteers at Milntown Estate and Gardens at the Isle of Man, which dates back to the early 16th century. They have led a project to clean and catalogue thousands of lawbooks, having attended training in London and then passed on these skills to other volunteers, and have worked closely with the Society’s Trustees on projects. Marion and Bill are a great asset to the Society, promoting its work to the wider audience and creating an friendly and enjoyable environment for the other volunteers.

Jennifer McDowell has worked tirelessly for the Edinburgh Society since joining the committee in 2007. She runs the Heritage Volunteers programme as well as the Children’s Trails. Jen is Area Representative for Volunteering for Scotland and Northern Ireland and has introduced specialist training in the area so that volunteers are able to work on projects to the highest standard in museums, galleries, libraries, historic houses and other organisations. She is an exceptional committee member and her hard work has helped raise the profile of the Society’s work within the community.  

Church Recording

John Blackford is the Kent Area Church Recorder representative. Despite personal difficulties, he works tirelessly to train and support Church Recording in the region. He talks about the work of the Arts Society and it Church Recorders to the congregations of the churches recorded, from the children to the aged, therefore highlighting the contributions this work makes to our national heritage. John’s professionalism, energy and enthusiasm has been noted by all those who work with him.

Young Arts

Elizabeth Barnikel has been running Young Arts projects at the North Wiltshire Arts Society for nine years, engaging practicing artists and volunteers with pupils at local schools. She gathered funding for an ambitious project bringing together four primary schools and a secondary school to work on a mosaic. Engaging a local artist and gaining attention in the media, the project has raised recognition of the Society’s work. Elizabeth has also developed links with sixth forms, carried out a number of fundraising activities and brought together a strong team, ensuring continuity of the Society’s work.

Shelagh Townsend-Rose, Pamela Parker, Judith Al-Seffer, Elizabeth Dancey, Richard Bradley and Jane Brentnall

Church Recording

Shelagh Townsend-Rose from Borders Decorative and Fine Art Society (DFAS) was a founding member when this Society formed 26 years ago, and has been involved with Church recording for 21 years. She is Area representative for Scotland, and a member of the Management Committee. She provides a great amount of support and guidance to the team of church recorders, and links with external organisations to promote the work of the team and NADFAS.

Pamela Parker from Cirencester DFAS was named as Highly Commended winner in this category. She has been leading the church recording group since 1991 and in 2017 the group presented its 20th record, which is a great achievement.

Heritage Volunteering

Judith Al-Seffer has worked extensively for two years on the Capability Brown 300 celebrations which NADFAS participated in. Lancelot (Capability) Brown (1716-1783) is regarded as the Father of the English designed landscape and NADFAS was one of 14 organisations to organise festivals throughout the country to promote his 300th birthday. Judith travelled widely to represent NADFAS at various meetings and brought together a range of other volunteers to make these events a success.

Church Trails

Elizabeth Dancey from Birmingham DFAS has been involved in this society for over 20 years and during this time has been a leader in developing church trails in Birmingham. Elizabeth particularly stood out as she has linked with local religious leaders to develop church trails in a Mosque, Synagogue and Buddhist Temple. She has therefore enabled NADFAS to extend its reach further into the community and enabled schoolchildren who take part in these trails to benefit from learning about different faiths and cultures which are prominent in a city as diverse as Birmingham.

Young Arts

Richard Bradley has been Chairman of Moor Park DFAS for a number of years and involved in the Young Arts programme for around 10 years. He has organised and helped fund a various projects, including an exhibition where young people with disabilities displayed artwork at a local exhibition, sponsoring 16 schools to run creative projects, such as life drawing days and art therapy classes, and organising church trails and church recording activities in order to involve local schools further with the work of the Arts Society.

Jane Brentnall from Ashford DFAS was named as a Highly Commended winner in this category. She has volunteered for 25 years running holiday activities for schoolchildren and sponsoring young people’s arts projects. She has organised around three activities every year, reaching out to an average of 45 children on a yearly basis.

Jill Donnelly, Anne Haward, Barbara Naylor, Michael and Nonie Brasier-Creagh, John Day

Young Arts

In partnership with Hinchingbrooke Hospital and 15 local primary schools, Jill Donnelly has established displays of children’s artwork along the hospital walls and organised matched funding and social events to thank the young artists and recognise the work done in schools. During her professional life as a Consultant Paediatrician, Jill explored art and music as a mean of communication with vulnerable children and volunteering with the Arts Society has offered her the opportunity to further this interest.

Church Recording

Anne Haward was Essex Church Recording Area Representative from 1992 until 2000 and subsequently became a member of the National Church Recording Team, while continuing to provide support to her area successor. She has been particularly involved in the leadership of the Felsted and Brentwood groups, as well as a number of others across Essex and nationwide. Anne is particularly well known in the area for her classical background, which has enabled her lead study days on lettering in and translating Latin and Old French inscriptions. In 2004, she published a guide to Latin in churches which is widely used by church recorders.

Barbara Naylor was named as a Highly Commended winner in this category for her ten years of service to church recording and in recognition of her current post as the Church Recording Area Representative for West Surrey. Barbara has run many training sessions for the group of church recorders of The Royal Chapel in Windsor Great Park. She ensures that all of the recording is done to a very high standard and works tirelessly and patiently to ensure that such a standard is maintained throughout all her area projects.

Heritage Volunteering

Michael Brasier-Creagh has been a member of the Book Conservation Team at Ribble and Craven DFAS for almost 20 years, giving his time in a variety of different roles as well as acting as committee member for 13 years. Nonie Brasier-Creagh ran the society’s Young Arts activities for ten years and has been a Church Recorder and Book Conservation Team member for over 10 years. Michael and Nonie led a collaborative project cataloguing the records of the former Blackburn Orphanage in order to establish how historic attitudes to life in the Orphanage compared to the attitudes held by those in care now.

John Day joined the Book Conservation Team at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall at the age of 80. Upon joining the team, his skill in technical design was immediately recognised and he began making “customised internal and external bookshoes” which are supports for the safe storage of fragile and delicate books and ledgers. His design is now included as a recommended technique in the Arts Society Book Conservation Training Programme.

Janet O’Callaghan and John Shapley 

In 2015 Awards were made to volunteers in the Young Arts and Church Recording categories, as the judging panel did not receive nominations for the other categories.

Young Arts

Janet O’Callaghan volunteers as a Young Arts representative for NADFAS in Salisbury and South Wiltshire. She has worked tirelessly to create links with local schools and youth organisations in order to promote the positive effect of the arts. Janet has run a number of schools projects, including an art project which engaged primary school children in South Wiltshire in the arts and allowed them to exhibit their works at Salisbury Library and be seen by hundreds of members of the public.

Church Recording

John Shapley has managed the Northleach Church Recording Group since the Society started in 2001 and has overseen the completion of over 10 records. Amongst these projects has been the huge task of completing a record at the renowned St Marys Fairford. John has always been praised for his thoroughness and professionalism. Every year he organises a Church Crawl to choose the next Church to be compiled and a social event to keep the group together.

Marie Riley, Sarah Harris & Frances Moule, Patricia Livesey and Rosanne Kirkpatrick 

Young Arts

Marie Riley was responsible for initiating a large community project for Young Arts called ‘It’s a Birdie!’ The Society worked in partnership with the RSPB, Home Start Children’s Centre, as well as local schools and church congregations. All in all 600 people were involved including practising artists and teachers.

Church Trails

Sarah Harris and Frances Moule have both opened the eyes of young people to art, craft, architecture and much more, as well as widening the skills of Arts Society members who have worked with them on numerous projects. They have raised the profile of the Arts Society to the wider public and forged links with the National Churches Trust, the Churches Conservation Trust, the County Historic Churches, to name just a few.

Heritage Volunteering 

Patricia Livesey won this Award for her leadership of a team of Heritage Volunteers to help in the recovery of a derelict, historic Walled Garden and associated listed buildings at Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire. Charlotte Phillips, Heritage Director of the project said: “Within garden history circles, the Luton Hoo Walled Garden is now known to be one of the most thoroughly researched gardens in the country, a reputation which is largely due to Pat Livesey and her fantastic work.”

Church Recording

Rosanne Kirkpatrick’s passion for church recording dates back over 20 years. She has led her group of Recorders to make Records for 19 local churches and has helped with recording 7 other Essex churches. She delights in sharing her findings with parishes, the community and the Saffron Walden Society members.

Janet Fairbrother

Janet has been responsible for Young Arts in the Croydon Decorative and Fine Arts Society (CDFAS) since 2008. In that time she has encouraged more than 1500 pupils in thirteen Primary schools in the London Borough of Croydon to become actively involved in arts projects both in and out of school time. The projects have included the renovation of a kiln to produce decorated pots, making mosaics for external walls, designing and making a tapestry to celebrate a school anniversary, and making an animation film. Janet has given talks and written articles on her work raising awareness about the Arts Society.

Janet says, “The most rewarding part of being the Young Arts representative has been seeing the children working out their ideas and developing new skills and techniques with such obvious enjoyment.” In many schools, parents and grandparents have assisted in the work being done by their children.