Alan Grieve CBE, Chairman of the Jerwood Foundation, welcomed Tim Eyles into the heart of the Jerwood family in the mid-90s. He was made a Trustee in 2000 of the newly established Jerwood Arts (nee Jerwood Charitable Foundation) and then Chairman from 2005.
A cornerstone of its development from the start, he supported three Directors (Roanne Dodds, Shonagh Manson and Lilli Geissendorfer) and was instrumental in setting out the mission and vision of what has become the leading independent arts funder in the UK for individual artists and arts and cultural organisations. His careful stewardship of the funds saw its impact grow from one-off grants and awards to major national partnerships such as Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries, the Jerwood Art Fund Makers Open, Jerwood Photoworks Awards and Jerwood FVU Awards, and enabled the foundation of the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science.
At the same time, Tim was on the board of directors for Jerwood Space from when it first opened its doors over 20 years ago on Union Street, London. His dedication, enthusiasm and commitment to the ethos of supporting emerging creatives, alongside more established organisations, helped shape the building into the first port of call as a nationwide rehearsal hub for the performing arts.
His love of the arts and belief in the creativity of artists to bring meaning to our collective human experience, has driven his work throughout. Jerwood Arts has remained committed to all artforms, funding innovative approaches and new ideas in theatre, moving image, dance and choreography as well as visual arts, photography and literature.
Through Jerwood Arts charitable activities Tim played a key role in supporting institutions including the Royal Court Theatre, Young Vic, Glyndebourne, Gate Theatre, LSO St Lukes, Arvon, Serious Music Trust, and many others. In total, he oversaw over £20m of funding for the arts, supporting an estimated 15,000 individuals and hundreds of UK-based institutions.
Tim Eyles served as Jerwood Arts’ Chair from 2005 to 2020, and Jerwood Space from 1998 to 2020. He also served as Chair of the Theatres Trust from February 2015 to September 2021, during which time he oversaw an incredible transformation of its focus and profile. He was Chair of the Royal Society of Arts from 2018 to 2022 and was instrumental in the setup of the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize.
Congratulations to Tim from the team and Trustees at Jerwood Arts on this thoroughly deserved honour.
