Melissa Hamnett (Chair)

Melissa is Head of Heritage Collections at Parliament, where she is responsible for the research, management and strategic direction of the Parliamentary Art Collection, the Historic Furniture and Decorative Arts Collection and the Architectural Collection. Prior to coming to Parliament, Melissa worked at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where from 2007 she was Curator of Sculpture 1850 to the Present. She has been a Member of the Marsh Awards Judging Panel since 2016 and has spoken and published on nineteenth and twentieth-century sculpture and architecture, the New Sculpture and British sculpture after Rodin. She has advised on public sculpture projects in the UK and abroad, worked on multiple contemporary commissions and installations, and sits on the advisory board of an AHRC-funded sculpture project 'Pantheons: Sculpture at St Paul’s Cathedral c.1795-1918'. She is a Trustee of the Decorative Arts Society.

Valerie Ferguson (PSSA Marsh Awards Administrator)

Valerie is a theatre producer working on a wide range of productions from one-woman shows to large scale musicals and pantos. She has had a life-long interest in all aspects of the arts and is also a guide and new recruit mentor at Chelsea Physic Garden. Previously to her work in the theatre Valerie ran her own PR consultancy in London then became an editor in a large publishing company, focusing on cookery and gardening books. She has had considerable administrative experience running her own businesses and as Chair of the Friends of the Museum of East Asian Art and five years on the Friends’ Committee of the Holburne Museum in Bath.

Joanna Barnes

PSSA Co-Chair, see Trustees.

Guy Braithwaite

After completing a history degree and a training course at Sotheby’s, Guy began his career in the auction industry in London. He then moved into buildings conservation and has worked in this field for over 25 years, in roles at English Heritage, Historic England and the Heritage Lottery Fund. He now works as a Church Buildings Officer for the Church Buildings Council, the national advisory body for Church of England churches and their furnishings and churchyards. He advises on all aspects of the heritage of historic churches, including architectural sculpture, monuments and memorials from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present day. Guy has been a member of the Marsh Awards Judging Panel since 2012, with a particular focus on the conservation award. This role has taken him all over the country to see a wonderful range of new sculpture and fountains and conservation projects on historic works.

Matthew Jarron

Matthew Jarron is Curator of the University of Dundee Museum Collections, which include a significant collection of over 8,000 works of art and design. He is also co-ordinator of the Public Art Dundee project to research and promote the city’s pioneering history of public art. Matthew has a particular interest in the history of art and science in Dundee and is the author and/or editor of several publications including Independent & Individualist: Art in Dundee 1867-1924 (2015), Growing and Forming: Essays on D’Arcy Thompson (2017) and Creatures of Fancy: Mary Shelley in Dundee (2019). He is a former Chair of the Scottish Society for Art History and helps to organise the Society’s annual conferences and other events.

Martin Jennings FRSS – Guest Judge 2023

Martin has been making public sculpture in Britain for many years. He is best known for his representations of poets and authors, John Betjeman at St Pancras Station, Philip Larkin in Hull, George Orwell at BBC Broadcasting House and others. Celebrated figures from the medical profession have also featured prominently, with John Radcliffe in Oxford, Archibald McIndoe in East Grinstead and Mary Seacole at St Thomas' Hospital in London. His Women of Steel and George Orwell statues each received the Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture in recent years. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors.

Tabish Khan

Tabish Khan is an art critic specialising in London's art scene, covering contemporary and historical exhibitions. He visits and writes about hundreds of exhibitions a year covering everything from the major blockbusters to the emerging art scene. He is passionate about making art accessible to everyone. Tabish has been visual arts editor for Londonist since 2013. Contributions include reviews, previews, news, experiences and opinion pieces. He is also a regular contributor for FAD with a weekly top exhibitions to see in London and a column called 'What's wrong with art'. Tabish is a trustee of ArtCan, a non-profit arts organisation that supports artists through profile raising activities and exhibitions

Annie McCarthy

Annie joined the Marsh Charitable Trust (MCT) in September 2015, after graduating from the University of Southampton with a BA (Hons) English and History. Annie became Trust Manager at the MCT in 2019, having previously been responsible for the Trust's grant-making scheme. She now oversees the running of the Awards Scheme, working with partners to develop and run Award programmes, including the Awards with the Public Statues and Sculpture Association. Annie works on the MCT's communications and publications, makes a number of visits to grantee organisations, attends meetings with Award partners to ensure the programme is running smoothly, sits on judging panels and attends Award presentations.

Tony Mott

Tony Mott studied at Goldsmiths and the Slade Schools of Art. He continues to work as a sculptor and lecturer in fine art and has received Arts Council and Sainsbury Awards. He has a continuing involvement in the history of designed landscapes and has contributed a number of articles and photographs to publications including The History of Garden Design (eds. Mosser, Teyssot, 1991). Several of his research trips to Italy have been supported by Italian Government Awards. His particular involvement in Italian gardens has led to him being a specialist guide on garden tours in Italy and he contributed to an international conference held in Rome - Le Fonte Monumentali – papers were published in 2010. Tony was a trustee of the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association and prior to that was a trustee of the Fountain Society. He has been a member of the panel of the Marsh Awards for a number of years.

Leonie Summers

Leonie is an art historian who has worked in the art world for over thirty years. After working at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, she returned to London to work in galleries, curating exhibitions and writing publications. She worked for The Public Monuments and Sculpture Association for almost ten years, co-founded and ran their online magazine 3rd Dimension and initiated the Mentoring and Education schemes. She helped organise many conferences and talks, and also ran their social media. Leonie specialises in emerging artists and is Co-Director of PSSA sculpture residency. Leonie is a trustee of the PSSA.