Future Cities Forum holds June 'Science Cities' event in Buchanan Tower Room, Jesus College, Oxford

Image of the Buchanan Tower Room looking towards the Radcliffe Camera - courtesy of Jesus College, Oxford

Future Cities Forum is delighted to announced that it is holding its 'Science Cities' discussion event this June in the newly opened (2023) Buchanan Tower Room at Jesus College, Oxford.

The Buchanan Tower Room, has been designed by MICA Architects, and named in honour of alumnus Captain Angus Buchanan VC (1913, Classics). Buchanan joined Jesus College in 1913 to read Classics but his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. He enlisted in 1914 and within two years had been awarded first the Military Cross, and then the Victoria Cross. His VC was awarded for exceptional bravery after he rescued two of his men under gunfire during a battle in Mesopotamia. The following year, he was blinded in conflict.

Buchanan returned to College after the war and restarted his degree, changing from Classics to Law. Despite his disability, he lived life to the full – continuing to participate in College sports and immersing himself fully in the running of the Jesus Junior Common Room. He successfully completed his studies in 1921, and went on to become a solicitor and highly-regarded member of his local community.

Jesus College, Oxford states:

'We are delighted to name the Buchanan Tower Room in his honour, thanks to a generous gift by alumnus Christopher Richey (1984, MPhil Management Studies) and his family. The £1m gift, announced in April, will enable the creation of a new endowed graduate scholarship to support home graduate students in any subject, and forms part of the College’s strategy to create more equitable opportunities for postgraduate study at the University of Oxford. The naming of the Buchanan Tower Room will ensure that one of our most courageous former students is remembered and appreciated by generations of students to come.'

The Principal, Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt joined art collector Ms Rosaline Wong for a formal ribbon cutting to open the new space in the company of members of Ms Wong’s family, her friends, and members of College’s Fellowship. The gallery, located in the new Buchanan Tower Room, will be used to exhibit a wide range of art, including works by leading contemporary artists. In celebration of the gallery’s opening, Ms Wong worked with Kate MacGarry of the Kate MacGarry Gallery in London to commission special works by artists Peter McDonald and Marcus Coates.

Ms Wong also presented the College with a piece from her personal art collection, a lenticular lightbox portrait of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11, titled ‘Equanimity’, by Chris Levine.

Sir Nigel commented:

“Rosaline has a global reputation as a serious collector of art. She not only collects grand masters, she has also developed a keen eye and appreciation for contemporary art and emerging artists. We are indebted to her for these incredible gifts of new art to the College, and delighted that Rosaline has given her own name to this exciting new exhibition space."

As part of the Jesus Artists Week 2023, Jesus College was delighted to formally reveal its newest artwork.

‘A New Day with Jesus’ by Stephen Wong was painted during his one-month artistic residency and Visiting Fellowship in Art at Jesus this summer, following a commission by philanthropist and founder of HomeArt, Rosaline Wong. The painting is being exhibited in the Rosaline Wong Gallery, which opened in the Buchanan Tower Room last year, and features alongside the work of the College’s other Visiting Fellows in Art, Marcus Coates and Peter McDonald.

Stephen Wong graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2008, and specialises in landscape painting. He has built a reputation for producing large and vibrant bird’s eye views of expansive landscapes, and architectural vistas, that immerse the viewer in an imaginary yet familiar world. His paintings have been exhibited at galleries across Hong Kong, and internationally, and his work is part of the Hong Kong Museum of Art Collection. One of his most recent solo shows, MacLehose Trail (2022), was exhibited at Bonhams, Hong Kong. In early 2023, he held his first London show, Dream Travel, at Unit London.

Stephen began his month-long Fellowship at Jesus in late July 2023, and worked from a pop-up studio in the Cheng Yu Tung Building. The artwork, painted in acrylic on canvas, took him just over two weeks to complete.

'A New Day with Jesus’ by Stephen Wong (2023). Jesus College, in partnership with HomeArt, hosted Stephen as its Artist-in-Residence and Visiting Fellow in Art during the summer of 2023.