Ashley Blake is an art historian specialising in Tibetan art, cultural heritage, and the ethics of preservation and repatriation. He is currently completing an MA at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where his work explores the intersection of conservation, museum practice, and philosophy. Alongside his academic research, Ashley Blake is the current Communications Fellow with Students for a Free Tibet. You can view his staff profile here: www.studentsforafreetibet.org/about/staff/

As a practicing Buddhist under Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, he incorporates religious thought into his academic research and practical work, drawing on metaphysical understandings including impermanence, interdependence, compassion, and non-self, to shape how he approaches people, objects, collections, and histories. This perspective informs his sensitivity to the changing nature of cultural heritage, the responsibilities of institutions and individuals, and the importance of respecting the intentions and contexts from which these works emerge.

Blake is also passionate about the accessibility of education for young people, regularly sponsoring and donating to the Tibet Relief Fund. If you would like to learn more about the charity, please follow this link: www.tibetrelieffund.co.uk/.