History of art

As the Brampton Road arts campus of the University of Cumbria in Carlisle marks its 60th anniversary, Karen Jones, Development Manager at the Institute of Education, Arts & Society, looks back over its history and development. The origins and how we came to be on Brampton Road date back some 200 years when, in 1822, a Society for the Encouragement of Fine Art was formed in Carlisle. The aim was to have an annual exhibition of the work of living artists and to teach potential Cumbrian artists. A year later, Paul Nixson, a sculptor and architect, designed and built an Academy of Arts on Finkle Street, at his own expense, to house the society. This continued for several years until Messrs Nixson and Denton, the owners of the academy, were declared bankrupt and the building became the studio of John Kirkbride, their foreman sculptor, who took over the business.