The Jeanne Watson Bursary supports Young Professionals of Historic House Museums to attend DEMHIST Conferences and Courses. The funding is limited to a maximum of €1.000 per applicant annually.

Who was Jeanne Watson?

Jeanne Watson (1929-2015) served ICOM and ICDAD for almost twenty years. She became one of the driving forces in advocating a separate international committee for historic house museums (DEMHIST). Jeanne was active in the campaign which led to the recognition of DEMHIST as a full ICOM International Committee. In 1999, she became a founding Councillor of the Executive Board of DEMHIST. From that time to 2012, Jeanne Watson was indefatigable in promoting the growth of DEMHIST and the success of its annual conferences. She capped her extensive service to DEMHIST by serving two terms as Vice-Chair of the DEMHIST Executive Board. A journalist by early profession, Jeanne Watson entered the museum field in 1973 when she became a docent and then curator of the Martin Mitchell House Museum in Naperville, Illinois. During her career she served different Museums and Historic Houses in Illinois and New Jersey and was an active member of AAM, the American Alliance of Museums. Volunteer work in museums was a matter close to Jeanne’s heart.

In 2015, as a memorial to Jeanne, her husband William Watson (1927-2016) bequeathed an annual bursary.