The Kenneth Kirkwood Fund
The annual Kenneth Kirkwood Study Day has become a firm fixture in the calendar of the Pitt Rivers Museum. The proceeds from these events comprise the Kenneth Kirkwood fund, which supports current members of museum staff with their research work and is usually awarded to junior or early career staff to support their career development.
The study days address a new theme each year, inviting four speakers to give anthropological lectures on that theme to a public audience. Recent subjects have included “Body Modification”, “Rites of Passage”, “The Garden – a catalyst for healing and pleasure”, "On Time- whose time?", "Slavery", "Migration", and "Who owns museum collections?".
These events commemorate Kenneth Kirkwood (1919-1997), Oxford University’s inaugural Rhodes Professor of Race Relations*, who was instrumental in establishing the Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum in the early 1980s- the precursor to our current membership programme.
Kenneth’s love of museums had been awakened in 1941 when as a young soldier he ‘discovered’ the Coryndon Museum in Nairobi. He described it as a “revelation.”
On arriving in Oxford in 1954 his enthusiasm for museums was further fuelled by the wealth and variety he found in the Pitt Rivers Museum collections. Believing that visitors’ knowledge and enjoyment of these could be enhanced by specialist lectures, exhibitions and celebratory occasions, the Friends was formed.
To the end of his life Kenneth remained one of the Pitt Rivers’ greatest champions and he would be deeply honoured to know that the Study Day was held every year in his honour. He would be more delighted still to learn that the funds the events raise are used to provide bursaries to help current museum staff pursue their work.
The study days are traditionally held in March and details will be publicised on our events pages.
NB: A big thanks must be extended to Shahin Bekhradnia, who was tireless in arranging the Study Days over many years and who stepped down from her organisational role in 2025. Her energy and enthusiasm for the study day were boundless and the museum is extremely grateful for her efforts.
To apply for a grant from the Kenneth Kirkwood Fund, current staff members should contact ea@prm.ox.ac.uk.
*The Rhodes Professor of Race Relations was renamed the Professor of African Studies in December 2023 to better align with the University's work in this area.
