Sir Po-Shing and Lady Helen Woo: Support for Applied Arts at The Royal College of Art

LONDON, May 9, 2011 - The Royal College of Art has announced that its new applied arts building
due to open in autumn 2014, is to be named 'The Sir Po-Shing and Lady Helen
Woo Applied Art Department' in honour of the couple's long association with
the RCA.

Prominent philanthropists in China, Hong Kong and the UK, the Woos have
made a substantial gift in support of the College's Battersea capital
campaign. Since the early nineties Sir Po-Shing and Lady Helen have
previously supported scholarships for students in the Departments of Ceramics
& Glass and Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork & Jewellery, helping many
ceramicists and glassmakers support their Masters' studies at the RCA.

Sir Po-Shing and Lady Helen Woo's gift supports the third phase of the
Royal College of Art's new Battersea campus, enabling the Royal College of
Art to house the largest dedicated centre for postgraduate applied arts in
the UK. The building is being designed by Haworth Tompkins Architects to
reflect its status as a world leading centre of cross-disciplinary research,
learning, and innovation which will underpin the training and development of
future generations of applied artists.

It will provide a purpose-built, state-of-the-art studio, technical
facilities and teaching space for staff and students from Applied Arts
programmes as well as researchers from across the College.

Dr Paul Thompson, Rector of the Royal College of Art said: "The College
is deeply grateful to Sir Po-Shing and Lady Helen Woo. Their generous support
is an assertive statement of the RCA's commitment to the field of Applied
Arts - disciplines in which we excel."

Professor Martin Smith, Head of the School of Applied Arts said: "Through
their generous funding for new studios and workshops, Sir Po-Shing and Lady
Helen Woo are helping maintain the RCA's excellence in the Applied Arts and
allowing us to continue to provide a world-class education for generations of
students to come."

The Woo Family commented: "We are delighted to help future generations of
talented RCA students working in the Applied Arts."

The GBP37m campaign has to date received support from the James Dyson
Foundation, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Dr Mortimer and Theresa
Sackler Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation and HEFCE matched funding support,
which matches every GBP3 of private philanthropic support with GBP1 of public
funding.

Also designed by Haworth Tompkins, the RCA's Sackler Building in
Battersea won a RIBA award in 2010. The Dyson Building opens in autumn 2012.

NOTES TO EDITORS

* The Royal College of Art is the world's most influential postgraduate
university of art and design, specialising in teaching and research and
offering the degrees of MA, MPhil and PhD across the disciplines of Fine Art,
Applied Art, Design, Communications and Humanities. www.rca.ac.uk

For further press information or images please contact Aine Duffy, Head
of Media Relations & Marketing on + 44(0)20-7590-4127 or aine.duffy@rca.ac.uk

.