HMDT thanks Her Majesty The Queen for her patronage
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust thanks Her Majesty The Queen for her commitment to commemoration of the Holocaust and genocide.
Her Majesty was Patron of HMDT for ten years, from our inception in 2005. To thank The Queen for her support over the past decade we recently presented two gifts commissioned to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
The first gift was a memorial candle designed by world-renowned artist, Sir Anish Kapoor, as part of the 70 candles for 70 years project for HMD 2015, marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Her Majesty was also presented with a set of porcelain spoons, created by internationally acclaimed artist, Clare Twomey, for her recent project Humanity is in our hands. On HMD 2015, Clare invited the public to give their thoughts on the subject of humanity, collecting responses between 7am and 7pm on Westminster Bridge. Inspired by the experience of a Bosnian Genocide survivor, Nisad ‘Šiško’ Jakupović, Clare then reproduced these responses onto delicate porcelain spoons which were handed back out to the public on HMD 2016, requiring people to become custodians of both the spoons and the thoughts about humanity.
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales succeeded Her Majesty The Queen as Patron of HMDT, continuing the Royal Patronage of the charity.
Olivia Marks-Woldman said:
‘Over the past decade Her Majesty The Queen has shown her commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and its purpose to remember the past in order to create a better future. She has given strong support for Holocaust survivors – participating in the 2005 UK Ceremony for Holocaust Memorial Day, honouring 10 survivors in recent Honours Lists, welcoming survivors to Royal Garden Parties, visiting the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and honouring the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust with her patronage. We hope these beautiful and meaningful works by Sir Anish Kapoor and Clare Twomey convey our thanks for all of her support as our charity’s Patron.’
Further information:
- Read about how HRH The Prince of Wales has succeeded Her Majesty The Queen as Patron of HMDT
- Find out more about Clare Twomey’s Humanity is in our hands project here.
- Find out more about Sir Anish Kapoor’s involvement in the 70 candles for 70 years project
- Read Olivia Marks-Woldman’s blog about the importance of Holocaust survivors being honoured in the 2016 New Year’s Honours List