The Archibald Knox Forum is an educational Manx charity that was set up by Chris and Mary Hobdell.

Who are you / What do you do?

Our educational Manx charity was set up in January 2017.

It was started with the following objective: ‘The advancement of the education of the public, both in the Isle of Man and worldwide, in relation to the work and legacy of Archibald Knox, namely the Manx artist/designer of that name born in the Isle of Man in 1864 and who died there in 1933.’

To this end, we publish a free quarterly email newsletter, post images and explanations of Knox’s work to Facebook every day, where we have over 3,000 followers, have a website page which is followed by nearly 15,000 people worldwide, give talks, film shows, put on small exhibitions to groups in the Isle of Man, and carry out guided visits to places of Knox interest.

Why did you form?

The charity was set up in order to teach people about this incredible designer, artist and teacher and to show the world what about the history, culture and scenery of the Isle of Man inspired and motivated him.

What has been your biggest achievement since forming?

Our biggest success so far has been the three-month exhibition ‘Archibald Knox Artist Designer Teacher’ at the Manx Museum which highlighted 40 examples of Knox’s work, many not seen in the island before; plus 28 posters showing the breadth and depth of Knox’s genius.

This was visited by approximately 6,000 people and sponsored by Year of Our Island 2018 and Culture Vannin.

We have produced six short films to educate the public on matters related to Knox and these can be seen on YouTube.

What is your biggest ambition / goal for the future?

At present, we are developing a Knox Trail using QR codes to enable visitors to go to sites on the Isle of Man to see 55 of his works or Knox places of interest.

Our main project for the future is to hold the biggest Knox exhibition and event in the world at the Manx Museum together with Manx National Heritage, and throughout the island, from April 9, 2025, to April 9, 2026.

This has been over three years in planning so far as pieces of Knox’s work held in museums and private collections are being sourced so as to give visitors the experience of seeing pieces seldom seen in public.

There will also be opportunities to see Knox’s outdoor works and sites where he created his sketches and watercolours.

How can people get involved?

All the administration work for The Archibald Knox Forum has been carried out by one person.

In order to ensure the forum continues to grow and be successful, we need the public’s assistance.

This will ensure that knowledge is not lost and that there will be proper succession planning.

If people have some time to spare or have any knowledge or experience that would be of use, and are able to help, please do get in touch.

In the day-to-day administration of The Archibald Knox Forum, social media is key as we update Facebook and Instagram pages and maintain a register of posts.

We also do general admin, which involves replying to emails and Facebook comments/queries as well as general correspondence.

At present this can take up to one or two hours each day.

There is a quarterly newsletter too, which provides inspiration for the layout of the newsletter together with topics to be covered.

We post items to the website and do ongoing quality control checking.

As well as this, we also hold talks, films and small exhibitions, which involves helping with lifting exhibits and setting up at the venues.

For the Knox Trail Project itself involves proof-reading and adding information on website as well as visits to the sites and information gathering.

Once the trail project is completed, which will be summer this year, we check it’s working by visiting the sites and testing the links.

Where can people find you and donate?

The Big Knox exhibition and event will require a big investment and donations and sponsorship are the only means by which we raise funds.

Individual members of the public are asked to donate and/or sponsor the charity or become a member of the Archibald Knox Forum.

We envisage 5,000 to 10,000 non-island visitors over the year and business and government revenues will benefit.

Therefore, we ask the Isle of Man Government and local businesses to help us achieve our target funding of £50,000 over the next two years.

On the home page of our website under the heading ‘donations and sponsorship’ are details of our bank account and a Paypal donation option.

We will also need volunteers to show people around and guide them on the tours of the Knox Trail and be present at the museum to answer questions and count the number of visitors.

Training will be given and it will be a good way for volunteers to learn more about Knox and his work.

People can find us on social media or on our website archibaldknoxforum.com

Contact us by email at [email protected] or telephone on 01624 663762 if you wish to find out more.