At a Special Meeting of Chichester City Council held on Thursday 4 February 2021, it was resolved to bestow the Freedom of the City of Chichester on Philip Jackson CVO DL.
The Freedom of the City is the highest civic honour the City Council can bestow.
Philip Jackson is originally from Scotland but now, via the Farnham School of Art, can be found working at the Edward Lawrence Studio in nearby Cocking.
He is noted for his modern style and emphasis on form. Acting as Royal Sculptor to Queen Elizabeth II, his sculptures appear in numerous UK cities, as well as abroad; but is probably best known locally for the sculpture of St Richard near the Bell Tower at Chichester Cathedral as well as "The Yomper" Falklands statue on Eastney seafront, Portsmouth.
His sculptures are found all over the world with one of the most acclaimed works being the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park in London. He is currently working on a major work for the Emergency services which includes 9 foot figures with a NHS worker in full PPE which makes it very topical.
As a Friend of Chichester Cathedral, Philip Jackson has put on many sculpture shows often in Paradise, helping to raise funds for the Cathedral.
He has also just put on a special exhibition to raise funds for the Oxmarket Gallery and has given talks and interviews to support local organisations such as the Twinning Associations, Rotary and many others.
In 2013, Philip Jackson became patron of the Chichester Arts and Craft in Action run by Chichester Rotary. He played a very active role in encouraging the local artists and craftsman and developing the event. The show was very successful in its format of exhibitors demonstrating their skills and encouraged the public to take up art and crafts as a hobby. Vincent Gray of Keats statue fame in Eastgate Square, Chichester; was one of the first exhibitors and it was at the first show the idea of the Keats sculpture was developed and later at Priory Park 100 Art in Action, the Maurice Patten sculpture.
Philip Jackson continues to be an excellent ambassador for Chichester and is a Deputy Lieutenant of West Sussex.
The Freedom ceremony will be held on Thursday 15 April 2021 at 7pm with further details to be circulated nearer the date.
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