2013 WCCA Travel Award

Reproduction of the Sistine Chapel in the Ōtsuka Museum of Art © Chris Bisset

Chris Bisset (Architectural Association) was selected as the winner of the 2013 WCCA RIBA Student Travel Award from an extremely high standard of applications. 

Chris used the £2000 prize to travel to Japan to investigate the strong historical tradition of copying in Japanese culture. Focussing on the little known but extraordinary Ōtsuka Museum of Art, where over 1,000 reproductions of masterpieces from Western art have been reproduced, Chris considered the museum within the broader context of Japanese attitudes towards preservation and suggested that the West’s universal desire for the original may in fact be its own peculiarity.

Chris will present his findings at a free talk at the RIBA on Tuesday 28th January 2014 on The Tradition of Copying in Japan – Repoduction in the Ōtsuka Museum of Art. Please come along to find out more and how to apply for the 2014 award.

Tuesday 28th January 2014, 6.30pm to 8.30pm at RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London W1B 1AD. Attendance is free but booking is essential, contact Tom Symonds at ribalondon@riba.org or telephone 020 7307 5352

For more information please visit the RIBA website http://www.architecture.com/RegionsAndInternational/UKNationsAndRegions/England/RIBALondon/Education/RIBAWCCAStudentTravelAward.aspx#.Up9CoWRdWA0

The RIBA WCCA Travel Award has been offered annually since 2008 by The Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects in cooperation with the RIBA. The award is made in memory of Stuart Murphy, the Chief Planning Officer of the City of London, and past Master of the WCCA.

The Award provides a travel grant of up to £2,000 to a student or a group of students enrolled in a RIBA-validated Part 2 course in a School of Architecture in the greater London area. Winners present their work at the RIBA and are also requested to produce a report for the RIBA and WCCA collections.