CONFERENCE OXFORD Newsletter Summer 2013
Welcome to our Summer Conference Oxford 2013 Newsletter Summer has arrived and Oxford is bathed in glorious sunshine. The City Fam Trip Programme is alive with visitors - tourists, summer schools and conference delegates. Programme for the Day: 10.30am Coffee and Tour The University of Oxford and its • 11.30am Tour and Pre-lunch drinks • 12.30pm Tour and lunch colleges have so much to offer, great location, wonderful meeting spaces housed in historic buildings, creative catering prepared and served by dedicated teams and over 7000 comfortable bedrooms. Here at Conference Oxford we are always ready to help; you tell us what you need to deliver and we will help you find the ideal venue for your event. Our member venues offer the highest standard of facilities and we are delighted to report on the official opening of the new West Wing at the Said Business by HRH, The Prince of Wales and the new Rokos Quad at Pembroke College by the Duke of Kent. The Randolph Sculpture Gallery in the Ashmolean Museum has LADY MARGARET HALL reopened, having undergone a total refurbishment. f you would like to join us for one There is also plenty of news from our October 25th or more of our Familiarisation Trips, venues, HM The Queen visited Oriel • St John’s College College, Mansfield College showcase Iplease take a look at our new www.sjc.ox.ac.uk the sculpture, ‘Present Time’ by Antony programme featured on this page. Gormley in their Quad and Trinity College We will also be organising a separate • Somerville College are proud to announce that the new Lord tour of the West Wing at the Said www.some.ox.ac.uk/190/all/1/ Mayor of the City of London Alderman Business School on a date soon to be conferences.aspx Roger Gifford is an Old Member and announced. Please do contact Marie • Worcester College Honorary Fellow of their college. O’Connor if you would like to join this www.worc.ox.ac.uk or any of the Fam Trips. Amid rain, hail and would you believe, snow the Sunday Times Oxford Literary November 22nd Festival again attracted thousands of September 6th • The University Club visitors to Oxford in March. During the www.club.ox.ac.uk week of the Festival, over 550 authors • The Ashmolean Museum spoke to sell-out audiences in some www.ashmolean.org/services/ • Merton College of our most prestigious University venuehire www.merton.ox.ac.uk buildings and colleges. • St Anne’s College • St Hilda’s College We thank you for your continued support www.st-annes.ox.ac.uk/ www.sthildas.ox.ac.uk and we look forward to helping you find conferences/introduction.html the perfect venue for your event. Have a To reserve a place, please contact • Lady Margaret Hall wonderful summer holiday! Marie O’Connor at www.lmh.ox.ac.uk marie.oconnor@ Sally, Marie, Matt and Matthew conference-oxford.ox.ac.uk 2 Conference Oxford Newsletter New Faces
Alice Ogilvie The Library and its quadrangles are available for hire for photo Head of Venue Services at the Bodleian Libraries shoots and filming. Applications for productions of feature films, television documentaries, videos and commercials ice Ogilvie recently joined the Bodleian Libraries as are welcomed. The Library’s fine architecture has made it a Head of Venue Services. Alice has over 20 years’ favourite location for filmmakers. It can be seen in The Golden Aexperience selling venues for the National Trust Compass, The Madness of King George and the first two and English Heritage. She also worked for the Victoria and Harry Potter films, in which the Divinity School doubles as the Albert Museum and the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Hogwarts hospital wing and Duke Humfrey’s Library as the More recently, Alice worked for The Queen’s College and St Hogwarts library. Antony’s College here in Oxford. Alice’s role at the Bodleian is focussed on developing income from events, guided Alice and her experienced team will help you plan your event. tours, filming and managing the front of house team. Alice They are happy to advise on caterers and other suppliers to is passionate about bringing historic venues to life through ensure your event goes smoothly. events, using great lighting, catering and music to make the For further details, please contact Alice at most of the beautiful buildings and to help create that wow [email protected]. or [email protected] factor for clients and guests. “Providing excellent customer or visit the website www.Bodlean.ox.ac.uk/whatson service in magnificent historic surroundings is a winning combination and I am also excited about working with a creative caterer to open our new café in the Weston Library next year” The Bodleian Libraries are housed in a remarkable group of buildings which forms the historic heart of the University. The Old Bodleian Library offers three rooms of different sizes for hire, the Divinity School, Convocation House and Chancellor’s Court, each with its own unique history and character. All three rooms are licensed for civil weddings, civil partnerships, music, dancing and the service of alcohol. The quadrangles provide secluded outdoor spaces, surrounded by some of Oxford’s most ancient and iconic buildings. The New Bodleian Library Building which is undergoing a major restoration and renovation will reopen as the Weston Library in 2015. ALICE OGILIVE
Martin Garside Key aspects of Martin’s role at the Saïd are to manage Space Allocation and Events Manager the space effectively across the two sites, Park End Street and Egrove Park, ensuring that School requirements are artin Garside is the new Space Allocation and Events appropriately allocated and marketing any spare occupancy Manager at the Saïd Business School. Martin for external conference and function use. Mrelocated to Oxford last November, having spent the previous 7 years as Conference and Events Sales Manager at Martin is very excited about working for the University of the University of Sheffield. Oxford and in particular for the Saïd Business School.
‘I am extremely impressed by the facilities at both sites and the quality of service offered to customers by the conference and operation teams. I am looking forward to developing relationships with event organisers in the region and to working closely with fellow member venues of Conference Oxford. I am also looking forward to exploring the city and surrounding area’.
For further details contact Martin at Martin.Garside@sbs. ox.ac.uk or [email protected] or visit the website www.sbs.ox.ac.uk MARTIN GARSIDE 3 Conference Oxford Newsletter News from our Member Venues HRH The Prince of Wales opens new wing at Saïd Business School
n 4th February 2013 His Royal Highness The Prince of Highlights include three oak-panelled Harvard-style lecture Wales opened the new wing of Saïd Business School theatres (seating 76, with purpose-built translation booths Oat the University of Oxford. His Royal Highness met for simultaneous lecture translation), three large flexible with faculty and students at the School before unveiling a classrooms and 18 board-room style meeting spaces. At the plaque to commemorate the occasion. heart of the building is the large Club Room with a bar, lounge space and a terrace with views down to the garden. Banquet Professor Peter Tufano, Dean of Saïd Business School said: or buffet dining is available in three second-floor dining rooms ‘It was a great honour to welcome His Royal Highness to Saïd with panoramic views over Oxford’s dreaming spires. Business School and to show him the important work we are doing here to research and teach business’. The building has excellent green credentials and is highly sustainable, using geothermal energy for heating and With the completion of the new building, Saïd Business School cooling, rainwater harvesting to flush toilets, and solar energy has a range of state-of-the-art facilities for Executive Education contributing to water heating. It includes a green roof which programmes, conferences, meetings and exhibitions. aids biodiversity and collects rainwater. Designed by leading architect practice, Dixon Jones, the The new facilities augment the existing teaching and building adjoins the Business School’s original building next to conference facilities in the original Park End Street building Oxford’s railway station. and the residential facilities at Egrove Park, Kennington. The building offers a large variety of teaching and meeting For more details please contact: [email protected] facilities, finished and furnished to the highest of standards. or 01865 288847 The three floors of formal and informal meeting spaces and breakout rooms are supported by a full complement of www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/corporate/Pages/default.aspx technical and catering services. 4 Conference Oxford Newsletter News from our Member Venues Pembroke College How a 17th Century Oxford College has risen to the demands of the 21st Century
dramatic addition and transformation of Pembroke modern bedrooms bringing the total to 281. Couple this with College’s physical site was officially opened by HRH our central location and our recently renovated kitchens, A The Duke of Kent KG in April, marking the formal Pembroke really can offer amazing value for money and a unveiling of new quadrangles and buildings and the first new professional conference service. bridge in the heart of Oxford for nearly 100 years. Offering facilities for fine dining, corporate conferences Pembroke has expanded its footprint to allow the and discrete board-room style meetings, Pembroke College construction of new buildings and two new quadrangles right really does ‘have it all’. in its central Oxford location. As well as superb en-suite student accommodation, the new buildings provide state- The bridge over Brewer Street is the newest college bridge of-the-art seminar and meeting rooms, a multi-purpose since the iconic Bridge of Sighs. The footbridge connects auditorium seating up to 170, outdoor social spaces, and the new quads directly to the existing historic C17th a café with trained baristas. With an abundance of natural Chapel Quad.” daylight and wonderful Oxford College vistas all backed up To enquire about booking conference space or any other by today’s technology (including full Wi-Fi) the new buildings event you may be planning, please contact the head of make for a fabulous venue for conferences. Conferences and Events Huw Edmunds directly on Pembroke’s Head of Conferences and Events, Huw Edmunds 01865 286 098 or enquire by email: said “ Pembroke now offers an additional 100 en suite [email protected] 5 Conference Oxford Newsletter News from our Member Venues The Randolph Sculpture Gallery re-opens at the Ashmolean Museum
ne of the oldest and most impressive spaces in The Ashmolean Museum has an established reputation for the Ashmolean Museum, the Randolph Sculpture hosting spectacular events using a variety of Galleries, the O Gallery, has recently been restored to its original Ashmolean Dining Room and the Ashmolean Café. colour scheme of green and porphyry. Built in 1845 as The Randolph Sculpture Gallery can be used for drinks and part of the ‘University Galleries,’ the Gallery was designed canapé receptions, dinners and evening presentations. to house the famous ‘Arundel Marbles’. These sculptures were collected by Thomas Howard, the 2nd Earl of Arundel, All events help support the Museum and its work; by booking (1585-1646). After his death the collection was dispersed with us you are also enabling many more to enjoy visiting the amongst other collectors, relatives and even a family Ashmolean. servant. Many of the ‘Marbles’ were given by the Countess To discuss how we can help you with your special event, of Pomfret to the University of Oxford in 1755 where they please contact the Events Office on joined Arundel’s Greek and Latin inscriptions, donated by [email protected] or Tel: 01865 610 406 Henry Howard in 1667. The sculptures, which range in date www.ashmolean.org/services/venuehire/enquiries/ from the fifth century BC to the seventeenth century AD, have been rearranged to tell the compelling story of their acquisition and display. 6 Conference Oxford Newsletter News from our Member Venues Present Time (2001) - Sculpture by Antony Gormley at Mansfield College
ansfield College are delighted to have on loan a sculpture by Antony Gormley entitled Present MTime (2001). The just over 11ft cast iron sculpture was installed on Mansfield Quad during April of this year and will be exhibited and open to the viewing public for the next five years.
Born in London in 1950, Antony Gormley has had a number of solo shows at venues around the world. Major public works include the Angel of the North (1998, Gateshead, England), Another Place (1997, Crosby Beach, England) and Exposure (2010, Lelystad, The Netherlands). He has also participated in major group shows such as the Venice Biennale (Italy) and documenta 8 (Kassel, Germany). Gormley won the Turner Prize in 1994 and was made an Officer of the British Empire in 1997. Gormley has been a Royal Academician since 2003 and a British Museum Trustee since 2007.
In Gormley’s words, “Present Time is my attempt to engage with the mind/body problem. It is a materialisation of embodied mindfulness. The lower form is an enclosed mass, armed like a marine mine; the upper one open with all its limbs free, embracing space. It uses the stasis of sculpture to interrupt the living time of the viewer. The stillness of this materialist proposition invites us to reassess our position in time and space.” The Queen’s Visit to Oriel College
er Majesty The Queen visited Oriel College on Maundy Thursday, 28th of March and dined Hin Hall. The Queen came to Oxford to present ‘Maundy money’ to local residents in a service held at Christ Church. After the service HM The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh came to Oriel for lunch and met Oriel students, Fellows and staff.
HM The Queen is the official Visitor for Oriel College. Her last visit was in 2000 when she opened the newly built James Mellon Hall of Residence. 7 Conference Oxford Newsletter News from our Member Venues Trinity’s Lord Mayor
lderman Roger Gifford, Old Member of Trinity College (1973) and Honorary Fellow from AHilary term 2013, was installed as the 685th Lord Mayor of the City of London in November 2012. Alderman Gifford, who served as Sheriff of the City in 2008/9, was born in St Andrews, Scotland and educated at Sedbergh and Trinity College.
Fifty Trinity students took part in the Lord Mayor’s Parade, while eight Trinitarians joined members of the Watermen and Lightermen in rowing the Gloriana to bring the new Lord Mayor to the City. The Gloriana, the boat used in the Diamond Jubilee river pageant, flying the Trinity flag, looked especially resplendent as it conveyed the new Lord Mayor from Westminster to Blackfriars.
In the procession that followed, three specially-made gryphons led the Trinity group, fifty members of the JCR and MCR followed with the college flag – their faces painted in Trinity colours. 8 Conference Oxford Newsletter Events Oxford Literary Festival
NICK ROBINSON JULIA BRADBURY
BEN OKRI ANTHONY HOROWITZ
SEAMUS HEANEY
ROGER MCGOUGH
ver 550 writers flocked to Oxford to discuss affairs Three of our greatest and most decorated living writers, literary, political, historical, environmental and Seamus Heaney, Hilary Mantel and Julian Barnes appeared Oculinary – to name just a few – for the nine-day to sell-out audiences at the Sheldonian Theatre. Oxford Literary Festival during March. This year the Festival spread its wings and used several of the University’s Seamus Heaney, regarded by many as the greatest poet of wonderful buildings and colleges to house events and his age and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, appeared talks. Venues included Christ Church, The Bodleian Library, at the invitation of the Chancellor of the University of Oxford, the Sheldonian Theatre, Corpus Christi College and Lord Patten of Barnes. He talked to award-winning children’s University College. author and poet Kevin Crossley-Holland (alumnus of St Edmund Hall) about his life and career. 9 Conference Oxford Newsletter Events Oxford Literary Festival
PHILIP PULLMAN HILARY MANTEL JACK STRAW
JOANNE HARRIS JULIAN BARNES EDNA O’BRIEN
inner of the Man Booker Prize for the first two highest literary accolades in the UK, France and the United volumes of her trilogy on Thomas Cromwell, Hilary States, received the Sunday Times Award for Literary WMantel talked about her winning novel Bring up the Excellence. Bodies and received the Bodley Medal. The award ceremony took place on 24th of March in the Sheldonian Theatre, Philip Pullman (alumnus of Exeter College) talked about the following Mantel’s delivery of the Bodley Lecture. The award His Dark Materials Trilogy. is the Library’s highest honour and was presented by Dr Joanne Harris talked about her latest novel Peaches for Sarah Thomas, Bodley’s Librarian. Monsieur le Cure.’Every year since the publication of Winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Sense of an Chocolat, I have been to the Oxford Literary Festival. Over that Ending, Julian Barnes discussed his life and work with time, I’ve watched it grow; I have become a patron; I have met biographer and literary scholar Professor Hermoine Lee hundreds of fascinating people, both readers and writers’. President of Wolfson College. Julian, who has won the This year Joanne was writer-in-residence for the Festival. 10 Conference Oxford Newsletter Events Local Oxford business community gather at Examination Schools for B4
n the 4th of July, the Examination Schools were to show off the building to those within the local business very pleased to host an informal networking event community. Many had never been inside the Examination Ofor 200 local Oxfordshire business people. The Schools and were unaware of the size, space and services guest speaker was Sir Nicholas Jackson. Sir Nicholas we have to offer. Sir Nicholas is known internationally as is the grandson of Sir Thomas Jackson, Oxford’s most an organ recitalist, harpsichordist and composer and we famous 19th century architect. Sir Thomas designed the were delighted that he shared a few anecdotes about his Examination Schools in 1876 and their construction was grandfather’s work on the Examination Schools”. completed in 1882. The Examination Schools is a Grade II listed historic venue As a member of B4, a local networking group, the Examination offering meeting space for over 1,500 people. It offers 17 Schools provided a unique venue for this month’s event. different sized meeting rooms with capacities from 20 to Senior Event Marketing Manager, Kay Hogg commented 440 people per room. For further details visit “Hosting the event provided us with a great opportunity www.examschools.ox.ac.uk. CONFERENCE OXFORD
Your pathway to Conference Oxford, a central conference marketing office for the University and Colleges, provides a one-stop enquiry point for availability booking residential for conferences and group bookings at the University of Oxford. conferences, day The Conference Oxford Service • A free venue search amongst the University and colleges meetings and • A support network dedicated to meeting the particular needs of any group celebratory dinners • Information on useful external facilities and contacts, locally and further afield at the University Facilities Each of our venues offers excellent facilities, with staff fully committed to meeting of Oxford and its your needs at every level. Colleges. • Modern meeting rooms and lecture theatres of all sizes, for small groups and up to1000 delegates • Bed and breakfast or full-board packages at highly competitive rates • 6,500 comfortable bedrooms, from the contemporary to the more traditional. • Unique and stunning settings for banquets, lunches, award ceremonies, and celebrations. • Quadrangles and spacious gardens for drinks receptions and garden parties • Excellent food with a choice of menus to suit all tastes and requirements
Contact us now with your enquiry. Availability CONFERENCE OXFORD Facilities for non-residential conferences, dinners, receptions and one-day THE PAINTED ROOM seminars are available throughout the year and residential conferences can be 118 HIGH STREET booked during the vacation periods – although there are a limited number of OXFORD OX1 4BX bedrooms available all year round. TELEPHONE/FAX: +44 (0)1865 276190 Ease of access EMAIL: • Oxford is centrally located, with excellent motorway access [email protected] • Regular train and coach services to the city from all parts of the country WEBSITE: • Three major airports within 90 minutes, London Heathrow, London Gatwick and www.conference-oxford.co.uk Birmingham International, all well-served by direct coach connections to Oxford