About
The Trust is a registered UK charity which encourages and promotes art, music and literature that gives contemporary expression to humanity’s, spiritual, philosophical and cultural traditions.
The Trust is a registered UK charity which encourages and promotes art, music and literature that gives contemporary expression to humanity’s, spiritual, philosophical and cultural traditions.
The vision of the Leon MacLaren Art Trust is to support artists, musicians and writers whose work gives contemporary expression to humanity’s spiritual, philosophical and cultural heritage. We seek projects that make eternal truths accessible to modern audiences and organise targeted campaigns to raise funds to help support such projects.
In 1998, four years after the passing of philosopher and artist, Leon MacLaren (1910-1994), a group of dedicated followers established the Leon MacLaren Art Trust. As an accomplished pianist, composer, and writer himself, MacLaren understood the transformative power of the arts and their capacity to reveal deeper truths about our nature and the world around us. His lifelong commitment to supporting students who aspired to artistic mastery laid the groundwork for our work.
From our earliest days, we have supported ambitious projects that speak to both tradition and innovation in the arts. The first of these can be found at Waterperry House in Oxfordshire, where MacLaren lived for the last 25 years of his life. In a specially designed inner hall spanning 3 stories, 35 artists worked over five years to create Britain’s largest modern fresco, illustrating traditional stories from the timeless wisdom of the ancient Upanishads of India.
Today, the Leon MacLaren Art Trust has a unique place in the funding of the arts, supporting projects that draw on humanity’s spiritual, philosophical and cultural heritage to produce contemporary art. From the first translation of Plato’s complete works by a single hand since 1871 to Britain’s largest modern fresco at Waterperry House, we’re making timeless wisdom accessible to new generations. The Trust extends its support from traditional art forms to digital innovation. Through the Art Academy London, we supported emerging artists to learn classical techniques to create contemporary art, while our If I Can values App brought philosophical and ethical concepts into modern classrooms. Our outdoor works are there for all to see in the public gardens at Waterperry House, so loved by MacLaren, including the reflective walk, known as the Truth Trail, and an obelisk made of Balmoral granite offering a prayer of peace up to the heavens.
We are currently seeking funding for three projects – each in its own way speaking to both tradition and innovation in the arts:
John Meltzer is the Chair of the Trust. He is a lawyer with many years’ experiences of international litigation, corporate governance and managing legal risks. He was a partner in the London office of the global law firm Hogan Lovells for over 25 years. He has been a trustee of the Leon MacLaren Art Trust from the outset and has taken a keen interest in many of its projects. John serves on the board of several charities in the education and arts sectors including the Waterperry Opera Festival.
Martin Lubikowski has worked as an independent creative professional since 1983 providing graphic design, photography and mapping to a diverse range of clients including government departments, energy companies, local authorities, museums, other graphic designers and book publishers. He has been a trustee of the Leon MacLaren Art Trust since 2013 and has supported a number of its more recent projects.
Anna Arthur is an arts administrator with over 30 years of experience working for venues, companies and festivals. She trained in Theatre at Dartington College of Arts and went on to work as a stage manager and lighting technician before becoming a producer. She has worked for the European contemporary dance network Aerowaves since 2009, currently in the role of Executive Director and also founded Croydonites Festival of New Theatre in 2015.
Peter Watson spent over forty years working in the film industry, starting in the cutting rooms as an assistant editor. In the 1980’s his entrepreneurial spirit led him to set up businesses servicing film production. These included supplying editing equipment, designing titles and visual effects. As the industry went digital in the 1990’s, he established a studio-based film scanning service. He has been a trustee of The Leon MacLaren Arts Trust since it was founded.