We are pleased to announce the appointment of Victoria Stevens as Head of School for Arts, Crafts and Conservation.  

This appointment has provided for West Dean the opportunity to consolidate its current School of Arts and School of Conservation under one trans-disciplinary leader. The School’s relaunch to the School of Arts, Crafts and Conservation will form part of Victoria’s first activities in the role.    

Under Victoria’s leadership, the School of Arts, Crafts and Conservation will continue to develop its educational offer, deepen engagement with industry and cultural partners, and strengthen its contribution to the preservation and advancement of specialist skills and knowledge.  

Victoria has successfully led the Books programmes in making and conservation across both West Dean campuses for the last two years and has over 30 years of experience as a conservator, collections’ consultant and as an educator. Victoria is excited to bring her long experience of working across collection specialisms to this role and to grow the excellence of the academic profile offered by West Dean.  

Having originally trained as a bookbinder, Victoria moved into library and archive conservation, working first at the Bodleian Library and then the Oxford Conservation Consortium for the majority of her early career. She went on to establish and grow a very successful private practice portfolio, working with internationally significant collections such as The Wordsworth Trust, The Royal Collection and The National Trust. This also gave Victoria space to develop her passion for engagement and teaching, with a focus on sensory engagement and increasing access to books, archives and the materiality of written heritage.  

When discussing her journey to this exciting appointment as Head of School, Victoria said: 

‘My professional interests and love of teaching and sharing knowledge are blended perfectly in the scope of the Head of School role. It is a real privilege to be able to share my enthusiasm for teaching, my long experience and broad professional network for the benefit of the next generation of artists, makers and conservators. By working across pathways, departments and forging new external partnerships, I am looking forward to developing student and colleague whilst overseeing renewed growth in our distinctive educational offer.’  

Victoria is a passionate advocate for the arts, making and heritage. She currently serves not only as a Trustee of the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust but also as an Arts Council Museum accreditation mentor, as the conservation adviser to the Fabric Advisory Committee of Hereford Cathedral and as a member of the Education Committee of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. She is delighted that her advocacy and her commitment to the sector will now be used with great effect for the benefit of the students, tutors and colleagues across West Dean. 

Victoria is looking forward to taking up her role on 27th July 2026.