My practice is grounded the belief that culture and creativity have the power to make change: my unique contribution to this is through place, community and engagement.
In the course of my career there isn’t an artform that I haven’t worked with, and my specialism is anchored in that of socially engaged practices, both in and out of institutional contexts, where I work with a collaborative ethos as curator, commissioner, consultant and director, with artists, networks and communities.
Currently working with…
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Phoenix Art Space
Chair, of this incredibly dynamic organisation. Phoenix Art Space is located in the centre of Brighton, established as a charity in 1995. It is studio home to 120 professional artists at all stages of their careers, and holds two public galleries, up to 12 free exhibitions per year and a year-round programme of community events, talks and presentations from artists and arts organisations, family fun days and short courses, one-day events & drop-in workshops.
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Volunteering Futures Basildon
Project Lead for the Basildon Volunteering Futures project, funded by DCMS, that works through borough-wide partnerships to support high quality volunteering opportunities for young people and those that experience barriers to getting involved in volunteering across arts, heritage, museums, libraries, sport and other community settings.
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Codifying refugee participation in arts and cultural institutions
Working as a special consultant to University of Sussex researcher, Dr Rob Sharpe, Imperial War Museum and Migration Museum, to co-produce a set of recommendations regarding participatory research with refuges and those going through the asylum system. I am designing and running the participatory methodology, identify participants and supporting the resulting co-created coda and toolkit, as well as the projects’ evaluation.
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So Sussex / Schools Without Walls
Working with So Sussex and its Schools Without Walls arts-led learning endeavour to develop its landscape, environmental and ecological learning programme with schools and museums, and to expand and diversify its cohort of arts-educators.
And also…
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gentle/radical
Strategic Lead, across development, strategy and operation for this Turner Prize-nominated socially-engaged arts organisation based in Cardiff.
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Social Practice Lab @ Winchester School of Art
The Social Practices Lab is a platform for socially-led research projects and programmes that develop responses to current global and local challenges through creative practices and approaches.
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Art Doughnut
Working with artist Deborah Weinreb on this arts practice-ecology-economy initiative.
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the drawing shed
Acting as Critical Friend to the London-based socially engaged art organisation across strategic development, governance and visioning, and mentor to director.
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Things Made Public
Critical Friend to this dynamic and pioneering Essex-based, nationally-reaching placemaking and cultural regeneration powerhouse.
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Visual Arts South West
VASW advocates for people in the visual arts, and connects artists and organisations across the region with the resources they need to thrive – I am working with them through a series of its membership surgeries to talk through new forms of governance.
Some previous roles and projects
Tate Exchange
Tate Exchange was Tate’s platform for socially-engaged art, a space & programme at Tate Modern and Tate Liverpool, and a disposition across the institution where it was asked, ‘How can art make a difference to people's lives and society?’ I was lucky enough to be at its helm for four years, until its closure in 2022.
Tate Exchange and my wider role as senior management in the Learning & Research Division and across Tate formed a major component of my cultural practice across 2018-22.
During my time with Tate Exchange, I led Tate’s collaboration with the public and with over eighty Associates, from across the UK and the world, and across the arts, education, health and wellbeing and community development, to collaboratively produce a programme that explored the impact of art on individuals, communities, and societies. Each year worked to a theme and with a Lead Artist. These started with 'Exchange' with Tim Etchells in the first year, and continued with 'Production' with Clare Twomey CBE, 'Power' with international collective Hyphen-Labs, 'Movement' with artist Tania Bruguera, a role made possible by her selection for the Tate Modern Turbine Hall Hyundai Commission.
Tate Exchange asked, in conversation with the public, ‘how can art make a difference to people’s lives and society?’ It was a co-created space where answers to this were explored and new perspectives on living proposed, through making, playing, talking, reflecting and discovering. Art and the Tate collection were always the starting point through which to engage with social and participatory, collaborative and co-produced creative and discursive activity. Together we explored the role of creativity for social good and work to create a new relation to art with our participants, engaging us all in a dialogue, and with artists and art, and with our own lived experience.
In my tenure, Tate Exchange also became a Tate Research Centre, working with Tate colleagues, Associates and other partners across four areas of practice and theory: art and artists; context and affordances; audience and participants experience; and research/evaluation methodologies. We also worked on a longitudinal basis with collaborative partners – Associates and their communities, and our Tate colleagues – and their voice and activity led Tate Exchange programming. The Associates were all organisations and practitioners that, using an arts-led enquiry, sought to make a difference in society, debate contemporary topics and ideas and get actively involved in action and change-making.
Tate Exchange was part of a sector-wide critical museology discourse and practice, exploring radical museum learning pedagogy. It was a brave space and represented a major museum endeavour in the spirit of democratic expression and public responsibility.
Some Tate Exchange films.
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From a Place of Love
With Zanele Muholi, QTIPOC experiences of the exhibtion and of Tate.
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Zanele Muholi: In Conversation with Lady Phyll
The artist in conversation with Lady Phyll of co-founder of UK Black Pride and executive director of Kaleidoscope Trust.
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The Art of Social Change
The ground-breaking Tania Bruguera and Tate Neighbours collaborative of personal, community and institutional deep-change.
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Tate Exchange Ambassadors
The ground-breaking Visitor Experience programme instigated by Tate Exchange.
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Tate Exchange is…
An early overview of Tate Exchange
Some of my Tate Exchange papers and talks.
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Museums Interrupted: Museums, Placemaking and Civil Engagement to advance equity in innovation and change
American Alliance of Museums in partnership with ICOM-US, Conference paper, June 2021.
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Artists on the Frontline - Global Artists Response Fund Launch
The Future Is Unwritten’s panel discussion on art and healing, March 2021.
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Create Networking Day for Collaborative Arts
Tate Neighbours panel, Dublin, 2019.
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How Trust and Elder Contributions Shape Society
High Level Forum on the Silver Economy, Paper and panel, Helsinki, 2019.
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Healing Arts London
Culture Runners and World Health Organisation, 2021.
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Civic LAB Symposium
Derby University, Keynote, 2021.
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The museum as a relational object: considering the museum as civic agent
InDialogue, Keynote, 2019.
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Museums Facing Extinction
We Are Museums with Climate KIC, thought leadership talk and design sprint with climate and museum leaders from across Europe, Berlin, 2019.
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The Museum as A Relational Object: Considering The Museum As Civic Agent
The Inclusive Museum 2019 conference, Muntref, Museum of Immigration, Buenos Aires.
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Neighbourliness In Action: Tate Exchange, Tate Neighbours And Affecting Change Through Art
Arts in Society conference 2019, Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon, Lisbon.
Key Tate Exchange achievements
Creation of Tate community partnerships and socially engaged strategy and best practice, anchored in anti-racist organisational activism.
Creation of Tate Exchange as a community of practice, as a practice-based Research Centre, and of its pioneering practice-process archive.
Creation of Tate Exchange as a specialist Creative Aging platform.
Introducer of Touretteshero Relaxed Venue status and FOH welcome training with Gendered Intelligence, MoHomelessness and Refugee Action.
Collaborative community programming: Tania Bruguera Tate Modern Hyundai Turbine Hall £1M commission and Tate Modern Boilerhouse naming after local community activist, Natalie Bell.
Collaborative programming: Zaneli Muholi, Richard Bell, Lubaina Himid, Kusama.
Initiator, Power to Change intersectional social and climate justice programme.
Creator/curator, ‘Digital Discursive’ socially engaged art digital practice.
Creator, Tate Exchange curatorial vision.
Collaborative PhDs supervision x 3 (museums & co-creation / radical archive practice).
Creator, museum social impact evaluation methodology.
Creator, museum partnership Theory of Change.
Winner, Fantastic for Families Award – Best Families Event, 2019, Family Arts Campaign.
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Contemporary Visual Arts Network
Network manager (2015-16) of high-profile visual arts and galleries organisation network, leading on strategic development and partnerships, commissioning and art direction, and talent development within sector and with HE.
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City Running
I was honoured that Greg Daville took me along for this ride. Place-based arts commissioning programme, winner of the Brighton International Festival 2006 ‘Award for Innovation.’
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RadioReverb/Earshot
Volunteer Artistic Director (2005-09), part of team that spearheaded a curatorial approach to programming, which lead to station being championed as an example of best practice by Ofcom and winning A&B South East’s ‘People’s Development Award’ 2008.
D, Reykjavík