Gallerist & Curator: LOUISE CHIGNAC

louise-chignac

The artist Cecilia Sjoholm first introduced me to Louise Chignac, the Founder and Director of Canopy Collections.

Louise and I share a passion for helping artists get their work into the world in new ways, and both started new online initiatives in 2020, in the heart of the pandemic. It’s been wonderful to see Canopy Collections go from strength to strength and artists making a living through their endeavours.

I’m a huge believer in expanding opportunities for artists, and Canopy Collections is a great example of how careful curation combined with commitment to the experience for both artist and audience can create lifelong relationships and champions.

Read on to hear what drives Louise and what kind of support she offers artists…

Louise Chignac, Founder and Director of Canopy Collections © Ollie Hammick / Canopy Collections

Louise Chignac, Founder and Director of Canopy Collections © Ollie Hammick / Canopy Collections 

Louise Chignac (b. 1990, Paris) has a ten-year experience as a contemporary art curator, critic and consultant.

She started her career in 2010 as curatorial assistant to Guillaume Désanges (now President of the Palais the Tokyo, Paris). After studying art history at La Sorbonne University in Paris, she moved to London to complete her MA in Curating at Goldsmiths College.

From 2014 to 2018, she managed Cranford Collection, one of the most significant private collections of contemporary art in Europe. She has also collaborated with international galleries, including MOT International, London and Brussels, The Gallery of Everything, London, and Ordovas, London and New York.

In 2015, she contributed to the inaugural edition of the Art Night festival in London and co-edited its first publication, Expanding the City’s Boundaries.In 2016, she collaborated with Christie’s London on a major private collection sale entitled Absobloodylutely! and its original catalogue.

As an independent curator, Louise has exhibited the work of Francis Alÿs, Susan Hiller, Pierre Huygue, Derek Jarman, Laure Prouvost, Dan Rees and Ulay.

Chromoscape by David Batchelor available via Canopy Collections @ Ollie Hammick / Canopy Collections

What’s currently inspiring you?

People, and their home! Since launching Canopy Collections in September 2020, I’ve become fascinated by what people choose to display in their interiors, be they sentimental objects, postcards and pictures, an original artwork or statement design piece. Most of our relationships with clients start with discussions around living with art, rather than in a white gallery space, which feels more intimate.

What are you working on?

We just closed an exhibition curated in collaboration with Bowman Sculpture in the heart of St James’s, London, in which we presented eleven artists ranging from the 19th century to the present day, including Auguste Rodin, Barbara Hepworth, Emily Young, Richard J. Butler and William Cobbing. This project was born out of an invitation from Robert and Mica Bowman and it’s been a great pleasure to work with their team on creating such an original display that combined historical pieces along with new paintings and sculptures by emerging artists.

I’m now working on new collaborations, including on a bespoke programme of art events with BARNES International at their South Kensington showroom. Our first exhibition with them presents a new selection of paintings by German artist Jost Münster, which is open to the public until September.

We’ve also just announced an exclusive online collaboration with British artist David Batchelor, which is a great honour! The launch of ten lithograph prints on Canopy Collections coincides with his first museum retrospective at Compton Verney, to open at the end of the month — check it out online!

Installation view, Canopy Collections x Modernity Stockholm, an exhibition in London, 2022 © Ollie Hammick / Canopy Collections

Installation view, Canopy Collections x Modernity Stockholm, an exhibition in London, 2022 © Ollie Hammick / Canopy Collections

What are your core values and drivers that you bring to your work? What do you care about?

At the centre of everything I do is the human relationship, whether it is with artists, with clients or with our professional partners. The art world can be a rather difficult environment to navigate, whether you’re new to it or part of it. That’s one of the reasons why we created Canopy Collections, to provide a curated platform where everyone is welcome, to browse, to learn, to look for advice and to buy art, without the unnecessary faff.

Who are your mentors?

I’ve had the privilege to work with incredibly strong and intelligent women over the past ten years, especially with collector Muriel Salem and curator Anne Pontégnie. We worked together for five years at Cranford Collection in London and I still have a very close relationship with both of them. I learnt a lot from Muriel’s sharp eye, and from Anne’s attitude towards artists, her knowledge of the market and the world of institutions.

A very different experience — I will always remember working with Susan Hiller on curating her solo exhibition at MOT International in Brussels when I was 25. Without her knowing it, she taught me a lot. Her determination and precision were very inspiring.

A painting by Salomé Wu in a collector's home, London, 2022 © Sidika Owen
A painting by Salomé Wu in a collector’s home, London, 2022 © Sidika Owen

How do you discover artists and what makes you decide you want to work with an artist?

By coming across their work, always, whether it is online or in a physical exhibition, or an artist getting in touch with me! Then I look at their work very closely, their CV, and if I’m intrigued, I ask to meet them. I only choose artists who have a solid dedication to their practice, and whose work has a strong identity, recognisable amongst many. The selection process never happens overnight, it takes time to fully understand the development of an artist and to nurture a long-term relationship. It is also a responsibility and a commitment, as I want to present our clients with artists who have a great potential and whose work really is special.

Installation view of Words Don't Come Easy, Canopy Collections’ first exhibition in Paris, 2021 © Ollie Hammick Canopy Collections
Installation view of Words Don’t Come Easy, Canopy Collections’ first exhibition in Paris, 2021 © Ollie Hammick Canopy Collections

What kind of support or expertise do you offer or provide artists?

Artists need different things, depending on the nature of their work and where they’re at in their career. I’m currently working with over twenty-five artists, mostly based in the UK and all over Europe. They often come to me when they have new work they want to talk about or need advice on a new project, whether it’s a museum exhibition, a public commission, or a new book they’re working on. As much as possible, I do regular studio visits with them, and of course I curate exhibitions to introduce their work to a wider audience. Most of my job consists in keeping up to date with their artistic production, and then share it with other actors within the art world and beyond — collectors, advisors, curators… I believe there are plenty of ways to promote an artist’s work that haven’t been fully explored yet, and that go beyond the traditional white gallery space and market. I’m lucky to work with artists who share this vision and trust me.

Louise Chignac and artist Ellie MacGarry at her London studio, 2021 © Ollie Hammick / Canopy Collections

Louise Chignac and artist Ellie MacGarry at her London studio, 2021 © Ollie Hammick / Canopy Collections

How do you go about building a market for an artist?

There was a time when this was the main responsibility of the gallery, but over the past few years it has also become the artist’s duty: to have the right connections, to grow a substantial number of followers on social media and to be ‘successful’ (i.e., represented by a gallery or exhibited in a public museum) by the age of 30. I have a lot of respect for artists who excel at promoting themselves, but I also think it’s not for everyone. Building a market for an artist most often takes time, to me it’s all about commitment — for the artist to be committed to their practice, for their patrons or clients to be committed in their support and for anyone around to be committed to the conversation. There are many artists out there who haven’t had the recognition they deserve yet, but if their work is good, I do believe that commitment often pays off.

Since Canopy Collections doesn’t have a permanent space, a lot of our work when it comes to promoting artists is done through collaborations: Bowman Sculpture, the Van Gogh House, Modernity Stockholm, The Invisible Collection, Turnbull & Asser…we’ve had the privilege to collaborate with outstanding galleries and brands over the past two years, which contribute to raising our artists’ profile and reputation.

What risks have you taken in the past that did not go well but you learnt the most from?

Working with people I knew I wouldn’t get on with. It never works out in the long term, especially when it comes down to values. I feel so lucky I can choose who I work with now, and to have the best business partner in the world: Cécile Ganansia.

Cécile Ganansia and Louise Chignac, Directors of Canopy Collections in their London office @ Ollie Hammick / Canopy Collections

Cécile Ganansia and Louise Chignac, Directors of Canopy Collections in their London office @ Ollie Hammick / Canopy Collections

What are your highlights since starting Canopy Collections two years ago?

The launch of our very first online collection of course, and the moment we realised that it nearly sold out. Exhibiting our artists at the historic Van Gogh House in London. Our website being awarded by Site Inspire for its sharp and user-friendly design. Receiving a phone call, out of the blue, from a very established collector (who I can’t name here), to tell me our selection of artists was outstanding and that they hadn’t come across a better online gallery yet. And the fact that the Covid years have finally come to an end (I hope!).

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Senior Content Designer: ROSIE WANEK

I had the pleasure of working closely with Rosie Wanek at Somerset House, London. Rosie was Head of Exhibitions Management and together we worked on an ambitious programme, delivering large and mid-scale ticketed and free exhibitions, installations, and events, across the whole site.

Rosie is blessed with being a curious, surprising, compassionate creative, able to combine eclectic research and original thinking with meticulous project management (I am still in awe of her Excel skills!). She makes fascinating connections between incongruous objects and subjects, highlighting the themes and details the rest of us miss, in a subtle yet compelling way.

She is an honest, caring, and considerate leader, empowering those she works with, always running a calm and steady ship, even in turbulent creative storms. I learned so much from her and would happily jump on board, wherever she steered the bow, in still or choppy waters. She is also patient and determined enough to whizz up  the most amazing, desirable clothes in her scant down time.

Rosie Wanek, Photo Jonathan Powell

Rosie is a Senior Content Designer at Event Communications where she leads on the content design and interpretation of new visitor experiences for culture and tourism projects around the world. Rosie is driven by an interest in using stories and media to connect people which she has brought to her work as a freelance curator and trainer. Previously Rosie worked at the V&A and Somerset House, leading on the development and delivery of exhibitions programmes diverse in scale and content within the UK and internationally.

What are you doing, reading, watching or listening to now that is helping you to stay positive?

Making things and reading things keep me afloat outside work – one offers a direct connection between creativity, materiality and the bodily, the other provides an imaginative space for reflection on our humanness – these are things I really value. Cutting out monthly international travel and commuting has really helped me give more time to these things and find a bit more balance in my life which has been welcome.

I’ve been designing and making most of my own clothes since I was a teenager – I love the combination of authoring my appearance, how I feel physically and the practical challenges of working with materials (I am a super-tactile person – sometimes I think I was drawn to working in museums because it means I can legitimately touch the objects – with gloves on of course!). Recently I have been developing a series of ‘dumpling’ (read quilted) garments to stay warm and smart whilst working from home. I’ve also started to make my own bras which is a whole new exciting journey.

Designing and cutting patterns demands all my concentration but when I am making up a garment I listen to podcasts – I am particularly drawn to things which connect intimate personal stories to our wider social context. Two favourites are 99% Invisible and Earhustle. I am also particularly excited about a new discovery Kerning cultures which shares a wide range of stories from the Arab world.

As much as I have really appreciated less travel in some respects, I really miss the excitement of going to new places and especially eating new foods. So, I have been researching and cooking (and messing up) tasty new things from Japan, Mexico, India and elsewhere – we are so lucky in London to be able to get so many ingredients. I’ve also always read lots of fiction in translation from around the world and I’ve really missed hunting for new things to read in a real bookshop (ideally Foyles on Charing Cross Road where the staff picks are the best!) – I especially enjoyed Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami, Dark Satellites by Clemens Meyer and lots of travel writing from Eland Books.

And lastly there is nothing more joyful – or good for clearing the mind – than swimming in the lido on my back looking at the sky, so I have been doing that as much as I can.

Kimchi and Chips, Halo, The Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court, Somerset House, London, Photo Somerset House Trust

What are you working on right now?

So, I can’t say exactly because the project is under an NDA, but…I can say that I am working for Event Communications on the redevelopment of a museum about the history of a place in Asia. I am leading on the content design/interpretation for the visitor experience. It has me thinking a lot of about the politics of history writing, and the power of design to shape how we think about the past and present.

Over the years I have found that having a few side projects outside of my main occupation really helps me retain perspective on my own work and the sector more broadly, it can be so easy to get lost in the vastness and million details of big projects. So currently I am mentoring a fashion design duo who are developing their practice and preparing for an initial presentation of their work in progress at a gallery in the Netherlands. Accompanying them on their journey as they think through their design philosophy, shape their practice, and start to look at how this might express itself publicly in an exhibition format is so exciting and inspiring.

What are your core values and drivers that you bring to your work? What do you care about?

I suppose at the bottom of it all I believe that arts and culture are key for creating more generosity between one another, a sense of connection and investment in the success of others – and where possible empathy. It’s a place where we can look beyond the things that might appear to divide us and inspire us to think and make in new more generous ways.

I believe this lies as much in how the arts is organised and run as the content created.  Everything we do creates ripples of meaning with real life consequences which we are responsible for, so I value things that are really considered and critically thought through, processes as much as content. The result of the project is important, but the experience of working on it also hugely meaningful – this is particularly true when you are touring exhibitions internationally where you are to a degree an ambassador for the institution, culture, and country you are representing.  As part of that, respecting your audience and working partners is paramount – respect that they are choosing to spend their time/money with you, respect the variety of their motivations for being present.  I aspire to this informing every aspect of my decision making, we are there for them.

Eloise Hawser, Ring Vortex Imaging Phantom, 2018, Medical imaging phantom, glass and steel plinth, Phantom on loan from Sheffield University and Leeds Test Objects,
Part of the Charles Russell Speechlys Terrace Room Series, Terrace Rooms, Somerset House, London, Photo Tim Bowditch

How has this last year affected your ideas of what you want your contribution to be in future?

There is so much about how we behave to one another that is harmful for ourselves and the planet that has long troubled me deeply – this year has seen some of these ongoing issues express themselves in specific events attracting wider attention.

For a while, my focus was within the gallery/museum walls, wrangling with how to make the best use of the exhibition medium to create stories all could enjoy – but in the past five years what has come to trouble me more is the role arts organisations/museums have in shaping society itself – these are not the benign entities they try to present themselves as.

Working closely with international teams and particularly spending time in India with my partners’ family over the past ten years has provided a strong contrast to the context in which I grew up in terms of how knowledge (and culture) is created/perpetuated and presented.

This winter I was reading Julian Baggini’s How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy and thinking particularly about the implications for our diverse society of the fact that museums are the expression of a type of knowledge construction specific to philosophy underpinning western culture.

This aspect of museums is one of the factors limiting the range of perspectives and experiences expressed in mainstream culture.

In master-planning-thought-experiment-mode I’ve been asking myself: What might spaces where knowledge and culture are created and shared look like if they took as their foundational starting point different and/or a mixed senses of how knowledge (and culture) is created/perpetuated/presented? And what might this mean for the shape of society? I get that this sounds all a bit academic, but I believe it’s important to really dig deep and challenge the foundations of what we do if we want to create real change.

Oh, and in terms of working practices there are all the Zoom calls too! – and, sure, it is fantastic how much you can get done on Zoom, but I strongly believe quality time spent face to face with your collaborators remains incredibly important for building and maintaining strong trusting relationships. I am a very ‘in real life’ kinda person. Not least I suppose because I think we are embodied humans and there is nothing like experiencing our embodiment together for cultivating connection, generosity, and respectful behaviour to one another.

Post Modernism, V&A, 2011, Photo Carmody Groarke

What do you think should change in the way arts organisations operate?

Oh, so many things! The arts are facing some of the biggest funding cuts and I think arts organisations really need to come together as a sector (linking up with Higher Education) and work on presenting their value to society (including the economy) in a way that is compelling to the government to secure funding – we are storytellers, we should be able to do this better!

I wish we could break down/rework some of the entrenched production methods that divide sectors within (and beyond) the arts and make creating interdisciplinary experiences difficult.

The gulf between what arts organisations say they want to do for their audiences and what they achieve is often vast. Arts organisations are still far from being fully inclusive and representative either in staff or the stories told. I think in part this is a legacy from the biases of our deficient education system and arts organisations should be doing everything they can to reach out and counter this – making as many people as possible, from as young as possible, feel that their organisation is a place where they can be vital contributors.

What opportunities does the advancement of technology provide for both exhibition making and engaging audiences?

New communications technologies have been great for bringing people together in many ways – from supporting international collaborations without travel that is expensive and costly to the planet, having dialogue with potential audiences and creating and sharing new forms of content.

They offer new ways to gather and tell stories – untethered from objects and artefacts – which is exciting because there are so many people everywhere for whom important aspects of culture are not best expressed through the object-based epistemology that traditional western museums are based on.

However, I think it is super important that arts organisations approach these, and other new technologies, with caution. Especially with the full awareness that they are not innocent/benevolent tools that serve only the purpose of the user but are highly politicised and fundamentally alter the meaning of the content we load into them.

When I was at university, I came across the writings of Marshall McLuhan, who was not fashionable at all at the time, but really shaped my thinking. With the rise of social media his ideas have seen a renaissance in the last years – his frequently quoted phrase ‘the medium is the message’ has never been more important.

The Fabric of India, 2015, V&A Photo Gitta Gschwendtner

What do you want your contribution to be in future?

Hmm, this is a bit of a work in progress currently (see above!). On a day-to-day basis I hope that I always bring a useful mix of creativity, imagination, humanity, and practicality to all the projects I work on. 

Process, Part of Print! Tearing It Up, 2018, River Rooms & Lancaster Rooms, Somerset House, London, Photo Rosie Wanek

Do you have a favourite exhibition/project/event that you have curated and if so, what makes it particularly special to you?

Not really, there are lots of projects I loved for different reasons. Interestingly it is not the biggest or most high profile that make it to this list…

  • Process – was a zine festival Somerset House presented with fantastic Somerset House Studios residents OOMK! – this was a delight of a project on a shoestring budget. Walking around the festival you could see zine makers and visitors alike were having a wonderful time connecting over a shared passion. It was really refreshing as I’ve worked on a lot of very large projects where you don’t get much immediate contact with the audience.
  • Fabric of India – I really enjoyed working with the curators to draw out makers stories and processes, especially researching and setting up filming with some fantastic artisans in India – we produced the most viewed digital content the V&A had created to date.
  • Tour of Masterpieces of World Ceramics – I toured this show to three comparatively small venues in Germany, Syria and Turkey. The exhibition clearly meant a lot of each of the venues, it was the jewel in their programme for that year and I loved working with those teams, building connections as we overcame the many many challenges we faced together.

You’ve been involved in creating and managing multiple touring exhibitions – what are your top 3 key learnings?

So, in this order…

1. Get the best understanding you can of the culture you are working with – both the broader culture of the place, and the culture of the institution – and use this to build strong relationships. The more you know about ways of working, how decisions are made and by who, taboo topics or ways of expressing things, what will open conversations, what will close them down, the easier it will be to collaborate happily and productively avoiding/overcoming the inevitable challenges smoothly.

2. Try to understand what the value of the exhibition is to the host venue, and their audience. What is the institutional narrative around this exhibition? Why did they (really) choose to host it? What role does it play in their programme? How does it contribute to constructing/maintaining their brand? The answers to these questions are often not immediately evident but can be very helpful for enabling the venue to achieve their goals and understanding why they might at times want different things to you.

3.  Embrace the contract (or its equivalent). Sure, it often isn’t fun, but think of negotiating the contract as an opportunity to find out what you really both want and work through differences of agenda in a comparatively safe space – before you are under real pressure trying to install the exhibition/print the catalogue/manufacture the merchandise. That said, be very conscious of point 1 and 2 when you do approach this…you might need to take a slightly different approach, either way it is worth having those types of conversation early on to avoid bigger challenges later.

Perfume, A Sensory Journey Through Contemporary Scent, 2017, (Installation view), Somerset House, London, Photo c/o Somerset House Trust

What risks have you taken in your career that perhaps did not go so well but you learnt the most from?

Touring exhibitions internationally, especially to political unstable parts of the world, is never without risk – some risks bigger and more real than others. I have had a few nervous moments witnessing hair raising things in my time that proved useful lessons (no I will not say more on that!).

On a more personal note, though, a few years ago I left a full-time job overseeing the development and delivery of an arts programme to take a short-term curatorial contract. This felt terrifying, not least because I was wracked with imposter syndrome, but without that leap though I would not be doing the more content focused work I do now.

What helpful resources would you recommend to artists?

Resources – tricky, I think though that there are inner resources that artists can draw on to help. The imbalance of scale between an artist studio and a large arts organisation poses huge challenges for both sides – they are subject to such different demands and restrictions. Trying to understand where your collaborators are coming from and staying professional – on both sides – will really help get the best results for all. I think that the tips above relating to touring exhibitions can also be usefully translated to artists working with institutions/arts organisations.

North: Fashioning Identity, 2018, East Wing Galleries, Somerset House, London, Photo courtesy Somerset House Trust

Do you have any advice for people wanting to work in the arts?

The arts are varied, offering a wide range of working environments and jobs, try to get some insider knowledge to work out where you might be able to contribute best and be happiest. And remember job titles only mean so much look at what the job involves and go by that.

Don’t be disparaged if you don’t feel you belong – keep going, be bold and say what you think (strategically). I very much felt out of place, particularly at the start, but what made me different is also what has given me some of my most valuable successes.

Seek out mentor figures – I can’t overstate the value of having more experienced allies to reflect on your work with, give you a nudge or a boost of confidence where you need it, or suggest avenues you might never have thought of.

‘Keep your eyes on the prize’ – this is totally a Ceri quote – but it is the perfect expression of how important it is to be clear about what you are trying to achieve, and what are the priorities. Be ready to let the things/processes go that just aren’t that important to secure the things that really matter – this is also a great tip for touring exhibitions and collaborations between arts organisations and artists.

Make sure to document the projects you work on (in whatever capacity that may be) so you can use those images later in your career and reflect what you have done.

 

Follow Rosie on Instagram @greyrosiew @event_comm and visit https://eventcomm.com/

 

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Head of Programme: ELINOR MORGAN

Elinor Morgan is lucky – her face perfectly reflects the kind of person she is; warm, generous, kind, considerate and thoughtful. She radiates positivity and optimism, and is a real pleasure to work with and fun to be with. She attracts good people, with a great ethos, that make great work.

She is a champion of artists, audiences and creating extraordinary things for everybody, everywhere. She believes in situating artists, learning, critical reflection and dialogue at the front and centre, exemplified in her work at MIMA, Eastside Projects, Wysing Arts Centre and Outpost gallery.

I like the vibe of the things she creates, and the commitment she demonstrates to making colourful things resonate and sing, in a thoughtful and determined way. If I could, I’d travel to see her work more often as it’s always curious and compelling.

Elinor Morgan, Photo courtesy of MIMA

Elinor Morgan is Head of Programme at MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art. Since 2008 she has curated residencies, exhibitions, public projects and education programmes across the UK working at organisations in Norwich, Cambridge, Birmingham and on independent projects in London. She has led and supported public art projects and developed freelance projects. She co-edited ‘The Constituent Museum’ (Valiz, 2018), a reader on how arts institutions might work differently with their publics. Elinor enjoys writing and editing essays, articles and reviews.

What are you doing, reading, watching or listening to now that is helping you to stay positive?

I have Type 1 Diabetes and a job which demands a lot of energy so I have needed to get smart at balancing my life with things that bring me joy and boost my energy. Talking with artists brings me life and stimulation so I make sure I build in lots of conversations, whether focused on specific projects or open-ended, into every month.

I read and listen to a lot of fiction and find the space of narratives soothing and stimulating. I am part of a small and powerful book group which brings me much joy – our meetings are relaxed and often hilarious – and I love reading things selected by others. Wednesday is Film Night with my partner George and we enjoying traversing film-geek terrain. Learning new things always makes my brain zing and I particularly enjoy mapping the arts against social and political contexts, so as well as voraciously gobbling historical and social podcasts and audio books, I am currently doing two evening classes: one on British art in between 1900 and 1950 and one on decolonising gardening histories.

With the increased screen-time and stasis of my life in Covid, I have needed to be outside a lot and I am very lucky to live by the sea. I have taken up sea swimming, which gives me a physical, mental and emotional hit of shock and bliss, and through this I have met so many wonderful women who are all drawn to the same activity for different reasons. I have been learning a lot about gardening and spent a lot of time digging, planting and growing both by myself and with others on a shared allotment and through volunteering at a magical place called Dark Star Plants. The longer cycles of gardening slow my brain down which is essential.

Wayward, Middlesbrough Winter Garden, 2019, Photo courtesy of MIMA, photograph by Hynes Photography

What are you working on right now?

Reopening MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art! I almost can’t think about this because it’s so overwhelmingly exciting. I have been longing for the day that we can welcome people to our beautiful galleries, Kitchen and Garden again – to see people interacting and to hear and smell the life breathed back into the building.

We’ll be opening with a jubilant exhibition with Sonia Boyce in which a large sculptural structure by Sonia acts as a vehicle for the work of Saelia Aparicio, Simeon Barclay, Anna Barham, Emma Bennett, Kev Howard, Lindiwe Matshikiza, Harold Offeh, Flora Parrott, Penny Payne, Alberta Whittle ad Kenizzi Yamalimbu as well as lots of works from the Middlesbrough Collection at MIMA. The structure is clad in wallpapers made by Sonia since the 90s and the exhibition also includes a newly-commissioned video that she made with skateboarders from Tees Valley-based collective Girls Skate North East and ukulele-playing skateboarders in Birmingham.

The skaters play in urban environments, using their bodies to understand space and architectural surfaces and you can see Sonia’s fascination with improvisation threading through all parts of the show and into this newest piece. The project was imagined with Eastside Projects and it’s a real gem. Last year we also managed to collect one of Sonia’s really important works: Devotional Wallpaper and Placards, 2008-2020, with support from Contemporary Art Society. This piece gathers the names of black British women involved in the music industry, proposed by many people since Sonia began the project in 2008. We’ll be showing this as part of the exhibition.

I’m also working on a big exhibition about the legacies of the production of synthetics in the Tees Valley for MIMA in Autumn of this year. It’s a complicated story with lots of tendrils into social histories, material sciences and ecological impacts. This includes new commissions with Katarina Zdjelar, Onya McCausland and Annie O’Donnell as well as lots of scientific and social history artefacts. The brilliant academic Esther Leslie is working with me as a critical thinker and advisor on the project and my colleague Lynne Hugill from the MIMA School of Art & Design is bringing lots of knowledge about new, non-toxic materials and circular economies in fashion.

Katie Schwab, All Our Own Work, 2018, Image courtesy of MIMA, Photo Hynes Photography

What are your core values and drivers that you bring to your work? What do you care about?

People. It’s always about relationships and ethics. I want to do things that are meaningful to people and that create opportunities for others.

How has this last year affected your ideas of what you want your contribution to be in future?

I don’t know if I can answer this question yet. The first three words that I wrote down are:

Inequality Ecology Division

I believe that public art institutions must create the spaces and conditions for people to come together and make new understandings of the world. They should be places for imagining and enacting social change to creatively address our perils and crises. That’s why I do what I do.

Tom O’Sullivan and Joanne Tatham, A Proposal To Ask Where Does A Threshold Begin And End, 2017, Photo courtesy of MIMA 

What do you think should change in the arts and how can we actively contribute to bringing about this change?

Oh dear… so many things need to change in the arts. And of course, connected to this, so many things need to change in society. Actually, my experience of stepping outside of gallery and museum contexts is that we are normally further down the road on discussions that other sectors and sometimes in actions too. Life in Britain would be immeasurably improved by making art a central part of every education.

The main thing I object to in the art sector is empty rhetoric – the performative political statement that signals radical change and doesn’t shift the structures. It’s easy to say things and harder to really do them over many years with many people. To genuinely address access, equity and diversity in the arts we need to be making art embedded into every school environment and making educational and training opportunities that are accessible to people from all backgrounds. We need to be looking at long-term strategies to diversify work-forces and creatives: we should have our eyes on programmes with primary schools; on employment contracts; on how budgets are spent. We need a whole systems approach and we need different people in powerful positions.

I am particularly invested in and proud of three programmes at MIMA that I believe contribute to making change:

In 2019 we worked with the inimitable research group Black Artists & Modernism to audit the Middlesbrough Collection (with works from the 1870s to today) for contributions by artists of African, Caribbean, Asian and MENA Region descent who were born in, lived, worked or studied in the UK and to undertake close readings of work. With only 2% of the collection meeting these criteria, we’re sadly in line with the other collections across the UK audited by BAM. We wanted to start with deep research and statistics from which we could set clear targets for future work and with which we could build imaginative programmes to start a process of repair through new interpretations and the support, representation, and acquisition of artists of colour. Working with Ashleigh Barice, Sonia Boyce, Anjalie Dalal-Clayton and the BAM team has enabled us to change commitments and practices within MIMA.

Close Reading workshop with Black Artists and Modernism, courtesy of MIMA, photograph by Kingsley Hall

Our work with elders and their care-givers is really important to me. Through partnerships with social housing providers in the Tees Valley we connect artists with people living in residential care to develop creative programmes that are so joyful and that support social connectivity. Many groups have taken over the communal spaces where they live that are really well-equipped and often under-utilised by residents. The legacies of this programme have been incredible, with residents supported to set up constituted groups and gain funding to develop their own follow-on programmes.

Since 2017 we’ve worked with disability arts organisation DASH and with MAC and Wysing to develop a network of institutional support for Deaf and Disabled curators. It’s about supporting the development of creative people who haven’t had an opportunity to work on sustained projects with institutional resources and making space for their practices and voices through public programmes. It’s also about the institutions committing to anti-ableist approaches, learning and improving. The creative work that has come through this has been powerful and the learning has been intense and reciprocal. The network is about to grow and will support more disabled curators. I have loved working with others on this and found working with our associate curator Aidan Moesby incredibly insightful and valuable.

Fragile Earth, 2019, (Installation view), Image courtesy of MIMA, Photo Hynes Photography

Do you have a favourite exhibition/project/event that you have curated and if so, what makes it particularly special to you?

I have recently been feeling the deep loss of Donna Lynas, the late Director of Wysing Arts Centre, and as such have been reflecting on my time there. We did lots of unusual (understatement!) projects there and the wildest by far was the first Wysing music festival in 2010. I arrived just in time to support Donna and artist Andy Holden to realise the very ambitious festival of artist musicians playing across three stages, two of which were artworks in their own right. It was a scale of stress I’d never felt before, but ended with the most incredible feeling of elation as people experienced Wysing’s huge and rambling site and made new connections and friendships. The festival has continued ever since, taking many different forms, and I think it’s the perfect legacy of Donna’s visionary and ever-shifting artist-centred approach to running Wysing.

Working at Eastside Projects was another incredible adventure. Being there you are immersed in creative possibilities and I love how the gallery engages artists and thinks of the city as its material. Another project that meant a lot to me was Gowlett Peaks, a fleet of foot project I set up to present a series of solo shows and events above a pub in Peckham. The pub was run by an incredible duo – artist Flora Parrot and publican Jonny Henfrey– and I loved the feel of it. Running stuff above a pub is great fun and the audiences socialised and engaged with the work in a really comfortable relaxed way. It came at a really important time when I wanted to create more space for one-on-one conversations with artists.

The book I edited with others between 2016-18 fuelled my thinking and taught me a lot. It is a tome and the process was hard but having something like this behind me, and publishing the networks and conversations that are behind my work gave me confidence in what I do. I think of MIMA as a whole project in which everything is connected including the structures that underpin the creative work, so I won’t pull threads out of the tapestry here. It has been amazing to grow with the organisation and put down deep roots here that enable a different approach to time and a deeper set of reflections on the place.

The Constituent Museum: Constellations of Knowledge, Politics and Mediation: A Generator of Social Change (Hardback),
Authors/Editors: John Byrne, Elinor Morgan, November Paynter, Aida Sanchez de Serdio, Adela Zeleznik 

What do you offer or provide artists in the curatorial or creative relationship?

The word support is huge and hard to pin down. I hope that I create structures that help people to focus and develop something – an idea, an artwork, a piece of writing, a set of relationships – differently than they have previously. I hope I create space for their ideas and methodologies to come through. I hope that I work as a connector and broker. I hope I am transparent and generous. I hope that I challenge people and ask them difficult questions. I hope that I am there for people long-term. I love working over a long period with artists and getting to know what they’re interested in and what skills they have before diving into a big project. I work in a very context-specific way so it’s really important that people have opportunities to understand MIMA’s role and responsibilities and how they might contribute before they commit to working with us.

Mikhail Karikis, For Many Voices, 2020, (Installation view), Image courtesy of MIMA and the artist,Photo Hynes Photography

What risks have you taken in your career that perhaps did not go so well but you learnt the most from?

I have learnt everything by doing it and I’ve been really fortunate to be supported and trusted by those I have worked with. I’ve had to really stretch myself and struggle along the way. I’ve made loads of mistakes and done things in strange ways before figuring out how to do them better, and I have always tried to spend time reflecting by myself and listening to feedback from others.

It would be foolish and boring to imagine that I know what is going to happen with projects! It’s not about mapping every outcome but about setting up parameters for something to have a life beyond what I imagined possible. That’s the nature of collaboration and dialogue and striving to develop new ideas and work. My aim is to continually develop new skills to get better at supporting other people to do their best and most thoughtful work.

Otobong Nkanga, From Where I Stand, 2020, (Installation view), Image courtesy of MIMA, Photo Hynes Photography

Who or what inspires or lifts you up?

All of the artists, designers, writers, researchers and curators with whom I have the honour of working. The team at MIMA. I learn from people every single day. Working with Otobong Nkanga recently was amazing as her work gives so many prompts for thinking about structural inequalities and ecological crisis. I love the fact that her ideas find form through intricate, beautiful making and that she uses these processes to deal with cruelty and exploitation. Her works always have a proposal or proposition at their core.

What helpful resources would you recommend to artists?

Eastside Projects’ Extra Ordinary People associateship programme offers heaps of opportunities and support. DASH’s sessions for Disabled artists and creatives are super supportive and generous. Read a whole range of interviews with artists through MIMA’s Hearing From Artists series. G39 is an ace space for artists’ development in Cardiff. A few organisations have been holding virtual studio visits for artists over the past year, including MIMA and Wysing. The Artists’ Union England and a-n offer brilliant resources and advice for artists.

Chiara Camoni, Sisters, 2019, (Installation view), Image courtesy of MIMA, Photo Hynes Photography

Do you have any advice for people wanting to work in the arts?

Everything I know, I have learned from trying things out and from listening hard to a whole range of people. My tips are:

  • There are many routes. The art sector might look impenetrable but there are multiple art worlds and so many ways to be an artist or art worker.
  • Your peer group is everything – invest in the people who support and critique what you do. Meet and talk regularly wherever and however you can. If you don’t have these people yet, prioritise ways of seeking them out and connecting.
  • Do your research. Listen, watch, absorb and reflect. Make sure you know where and how you want your work to be experienced and seen.
  • Make personal connections with those you have an affinity with and be patient and persistent – if you think you have interests in common keep trying to have a chat. Don’t cold-call with a standard proposal as this approach won’t be respected.
  • Be kind and compassionate: I often think of David Foster Wallace’s graduation speech where he highlights how little we know about people when we make assumptions about them. You have no idea what the person in front of you in the supermarket queue is living with and experiencing.
  • Make your own party! Don’t wait for an invitation: initiate whatever you’re able to on whatever scale and invite others to be part of it and see/hear what you’ve done.

Follow Elinor on Instagram and Twitter @elnrmrgn @mimauseful and visit https://mima.art/

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Creative Director: GAYLENE GOULD

Artist Zak Ové introduced me to Gaylene Gould in 2018, whilst we were working together on the exhibition Get Up Stand Up Now at Somerset House, London.

Gaylene was Head of Cinemas and Events at BFI Southbank at the time, and we met to discuss joint programming a public event, showcasing key films by Zak’s father, Horace Ové CBE. I was struck by Gaylene’s positivity and her warm, open, considerate, and grounded demeanour. I recall thinking that I wish I’d met her sooner.

I connected with Gaylene’s passionate belief in parity, equality, social justice, and her spirit of generosity combined with a can-do attitude. Curiously, unbeknown to me at the time, we were both ruminating quietly on new possibilities for our own creative practice and leadership responsibilities.

Since then, we have both taken a leap into the unknown, having left our senior roles in art institutions at roughly the same time to chart new territories and redefine our own contribution to the sector. We share a love of learning, of taking risks, a commitment to coaching, and of the power of making space for creativity and each other.

Gaylene Gould, Photo Nina J Robinson

Gaylene Gould is the Founder and Creative Director of The Space To Come which creates interactive art projects that aim to generously transform our connections to ourselves, each other, and the world. Her collaborative practice explores the healing and growth potential of sharing space, stories, ideas and knowledge.

What are you doing, reading, watching or listening to now that is helping you to stay positive?

I’ve carefully curated my cultural intake during the pandemic. The world is full of high drama right now so I’m imbibing intimate human stories, contemporary myth and ‘new world’ thinkers.  I was lucky enough to be on the BAFTA film jury this year so saw some wonderful films. It seems I’m not the only one drawn to the intimate and profound this year. I had my heart blown open by Chloe Zhao’s Oscar-tipped Nomadland, Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari and Darius Marder’s The Sound of Metal starring the finest actor of our generation IMO Riz Ahmed. After the rightful noise created by #BAFTAsowhite, it’s great to see East and South Asian film talent getting their due. Also, scaredy-cat that I am, I was so thankful for Remi Weekes British social-horror His House that I watched it twice.

My bedtime audio books gave me much needed perspective by offering contemporary versions of ancient myths. Hat tip goes to Monique Roffey’s The Mermaid of Black Conch, Hawaiian writer Kawai Strong Washburn’s Sharks In The Times of Saviours and Ben Okri’s The Freedom Artist.

And if it wasn’t for new-world philosopher Bayo Akomalafe I think I would have festered in a pit of despair. His online course, which took place through the darkest days of the pandemic, helped me grasp the transformative potential of these global ‘cracks’ and shifts. His work reminds that a truly sustainable new world will emerge from these places.

Listening to Ourselves, Curtis & Curtis, Photo Nina J Robinson

What are you working on right now?

I have just launched my creative (ad)venture The Space To Come, a company that tests ways art can connect, heal, and transform our relationships to ourselves and each other. TSTC brings together two of my life-long practices – coaching and curation. I’m curious how artists, healers and the public can co-create sensitive spaces to reflect, repair and reimagine new relationships.

I’ve been cultivating this practice for a few years but, given the crumbling state of the old world and the urgency to create a new one, the time is now for this work. Sometimes the “space” can be an interactive art project, a participatory workshop or a residency within a community. For instance, we’re about to curate a series of conversation dinners between the people of Newcastle-Under-Lyme for Appetite to encourage more intimate and compassionate connections. Meanwhile we’re developing a live programme with the Arnolfini gallery that will invite “felt-sense” experiences of artworks inspired by my radio 4 documentary Transcendence How Can I Feel Art Again?

Essentially our projects seek to use artistic forms to practice compassion and deepen our emotional intelligence.

Listening to Ourselves, Gaylene & Gaylene, Photo Nina J Robinson

What are your core values and drivers that you bring to your work? What do you care about?

I believe there is a desperate need for compassionate societies. Compassion is more than a fluffy add-on. It is kindness in response to suffering. If stitched into our personal and social relations, compassion can radically transform how we approach ourselves and each other. Violence is a common response to unacknowledged suffering. If we can find transformative ways to first acknowledge that there is suffering, including our own, then there might be the possibility for collective renewal. Arts’ fascination with the unresolved, the search for beauty where none should exist, the spotlight on our flawed fragility, is a great starting point.

How has this last year affected your ideas of what you want your contribution to be in future?

Like many others, this past year has been deeply exposing. The removal of distracting temptations while living so closely with death has been disarming. I suppose we have now experienced what day to day life is like for much of the world.  I’m grieving, for the unnecessary deaths, the result of an uncompassionate leadership, while buoyed by the voices of resistance that are coalescing.   I am now clear that the Old World, the one built principally on shame, fear, prejudice and greed, is crumbling and it’s time for a new one to emerge.

When I launched The Space To Come I felt like I was coming out. I’ve always felt at odds with the makeup of the world and my constant and failed attempts to fit in. My work is now about actively cultivating the values – awareness, compassion, connection, generosity – that could create a new foundation from which to build afresh – ideally before we terraform Mars.

Listening to Ourselves, Steve & Steve, Photo Nina J Robinson

What do you think should change in the arts and how can we actively contribute to bringing about this change?

A new world founded on new principles would allow for new art to flourish. I dream of a time when the study of our emotional, ancestral, and imaginative intelligence comes before the study of stuff. Imagine if we were taught to listen and connect in healing ways, be comfortable with vulnerability, learn how to support wider ecologies. Art would then take a different place in society.

Art could then be woven into the fabric of our lives rather than be viewed as “content” or investment. Artists would be respected as the chroniclers, matchmakers, builders, healers, truth-sayers, doulas and undertakers that they are. A painting could take our breath away in aisle 4 of Aldi and we could be served an operetta on the bus home. Spoken word poets would open PMQ’s and a dance-off would close the day. Our schools would let children lie on their backs and tell stories as well as stick to the lines of a book.  Amanda Gorman’s poem at Biden’s inauguration encapsulated so much more than hours of speeches ever could. She helped us collectively feel, release, and emotionally process an extraordinary period of our lives. And that’s the whole point of art.

We can help by releasing art into the wild, setting it free from the hallowed halls and allowing it to inspire more expansive and urgent conversations between us.

Do you have a favourite exhibition/project/event that you have curated and if so, what makes it particularly special to you?

The Space to Come’s first online project Listening to Ourselves feels like the foundation to the work we will explore here. It’s an audio-visual project that combines photographs of people, lockdown friends in fact, seemingly in conversation with themselves. Two soundtracks accompany the images. One is a new soundscape with suggestions of how the music can be used to inspire a more intentional conversation with yourself. An intentional conversation is a way to explore our own in-the-moment thinking. It’s an experiment in developing self-awareness or self-befriending. The second audio piece is a recording of me having such a conversation.

The pieces were developed and created with photographer Nina Robinson and Gianmaria Givanni/ANNN who is an architect and a sonic spatial composer. The piece invites people to try the exercise then send back an audio response which we will weave into a new audio piece.

Listening to Ourselves explores all my key inquiries. How might we build more intentional connections with ourselves and others? How might artistic practices inspire more instinctive responses? And how might we bring together disparate voices to create new, aware communities?

This work may seem like an exercise in self-care, and while that might be an affect, the roots are social and political. It’s about testing out a new basis for new types of relationships. We’ll need those in the new world.

Listening to Ourselves, Beki & Beki, Photo Nina J Robinson 

What do you offer or provide artists in the curatorial or creative relationship?

This practice offers all collaborators – artists, healers, and the public – the opportunity to share something we haven’t shared before in a new way. With The Solace Salons, I brought together coach/therapist Jackee Holder, creative researcher Dr Sindi Gordon and myself with choreographer Freddie Opoku Addaie, comic John Simmit and composer and visual artist Liz Gre. Together we devised a new form of ‘performance workshop’ where the stories explored were brought by the participants. This way of working requires the artistic collaborators and the participants to be courageous and vulnerable. This is a nascent process. It’s felt. We must be kind to ourselves and each other as things won’t necessarily work in the way we imagined. It also forces us to be alive to what is actually unfolding.

What risks have you taken in your career that perhaps did not go so well but you learnt the most from?

Being the youngest child I was a born risk taker. I often move before I have anything fully worked out. I recently left my job as Head of BFI Southbank in order to decolonise my career in a sense. I wanted to move past a certain kind of ‘Old World’ idea of linear progress and development. This led to the formation of The Space To Come. The trouble is when I try and explain the project, many don’t understand it! So, this might be a risk that doesn’t go so well. But I am learning the most fundamental lessons of my life so far such as inquiries are not outcomes. Inquiries are to be explored which means I need the courage to step off the beaten path and then to cultivate the attention required to pick my way through unbeaten territory. If I want to create a new way of living I must first prepare to let go of everything.

Mission to the Land of Misplaced Memories, 2014, Gaylene Gould / dubmorphology, Tate Britain

Who or what inspires or lifts you up?

Conversations that allow us to say things or reveal parts of ourselves that we wouldn’t usually. Within each of us there is a library of experiences and emotional complexities.  Conversations with friends, family, shop assistants, the person in front of in the coffee queue….Satiating my salacious interest in people revives me. My broader passion in stories and art stems from this desire for human understanding and a deeper awareness.

What helpful resources would you recommend to artists?

Learn to have really great conversations with yourselves and others. Have rigorous conversations with yourselves that help you constantly review your held positions. Soothe your internal critic by practising Kristen Neff’s self-compassion exercises so you can hear your quieter voices. Practise spending time in unbeaten territory alone – even if it’s simply walking down streets you don’t recognise. Reveal your vulnerabilities to people then ask them kind, expansive questions in return. There are many resources that can help with craft but I think the work of creation is about activating a curiosity and befriending your own vulnerabilities.

Well Fed curated conversation dinner event, Photo Nina J Robinson

Do you have any advice for people wanting to work in the arts?

The Arts (capital A) is in a very contentious place. The growing commercial pressures can be distorting and the funded sector can be restricting and protectionist. Artists and cultural workers interested in new, expansive territories can find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Understanding the operating systems of these worlds whilst articulating and cleaving to your own value base seems particularly critical right now. Lucky for us, a brave new world is coming so it’s time to invent more values-led, compassionate spaces to exist in.

Follow Gaylene on Twitter @gaylene_g Instagram @gaylenegould / @thespacetocome or visit www.gaylenegould.com / www.thespacetocome.com 

 

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Gallerist Interview: PAUL HEDGE

Paul Hedge is the co-owner and founder of Hales gallery, located in London and New York.

Over the last three decades he has skillfully ridden the relentless waves of change in the art world.

As an evangelical arts enthusiast, he has an irresistible way of communicating the transformative power of art. He is deeply curious and has developed an encyclopedic knowledge of artists, movements and the cultural contexts that have shaped them. He is a warm, generous host, and captivating storyteller.

In every exchange, Paul’s genuine love and appreciation of the artists he works with is evident. He is truly delighted when anybody connects with the artists and artworks he shines a light on.

I appreciate Paul’s eye, his programme and that he sees opportunities where others see obstacles. I have so appreciated his generosity, time and support over the years.

Paul Hedge, at Hales London, 2017. Photography by Charlie Littlewood

Paul Hedge was born in Stevenage New Town in 1961 and is the Co-Owner/Founder, Hales (London/New York). He studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths college in the early 1980s, gaining a first-class hons degree. He was a co-founder of the short lived but innovative Scratch Gallery, one of the first pioneering, artist led spaces in London, located in New Cross.

In 1992, after art school and nine years working as a postman, Hedge, along with his business partner Paul Maslin, opened Hales. The gallery produced numerous influential shows in the 1990s with artists including Jake and Dinos Chapman, Mike Nelson, Hew Locke, Sarah Jones, Richard Woods, Hans op de Beeck and Tomoko Takahashi. In 2004 Hales relocated to The Tea Building, a former warehouse space at the heart of in London’s Shoreditch, a site that the gallery occupies till today. In 2016 Hales, opened a gallery space in New York’s Lower East Side, relocating in 2018 to the district of Chelsea.

Today, the gallery represents a wide array of international artists and artists estates and is a regular on the international art fair circuit.

During his time in the art world, Paul Hedge has served on the boards of The Contemporary Art Society and The Society of London Art Dealers. He has lectured extensively and has acted as an advisor to artists and collectors.

Paul Hedge and Paul Maslin, Deptford, London,1996

What are you doing, reading, watching or listening to now that is helping you to stay positive?

I generally take a very positive approach to anything and everything. “Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think”. If I ever had the desire to have a tattoo then this quote would be at the centre of it!

The Specials version of this 1949 classic penned by Herb Magidson with music by Carl Sigman is a tune I have been returning to (among many other things) for a headphone moment over this lockdown. It’s a cheerful number with a simple message.

Of course, I understand that it is not possible to enjoy everything in life, (I too have my dark nights of the soul) but I generally believe that good things can be drawn from seemingly very unpromising moments and this view is supported by my experience. This simple song drives me on. I say to myself, “get on with your mission Paul, and do it with cheer and good grace!”.

I’m currently reading a very eclectic group of books which I’m dipping in and out of. I have been reading  material associated with the curator Lawrence Alloway’s exhibition, Situation which took place at the RBA galleries in 1960.It is quite an important show for those of us interested in the development of abstract painting in Britain.

There is so much to know…it never stops!

My 83-year-old mum sends me a bible verse each day which I look at first thing in the morning. The bible is quite a read!! One day she might send me bloodshed and slaughter and the next day is all peace and love!

Other than that, I’m reading gardening books. I’m currently getting my head around garden designer Nigel Dunnett’s essential guide to naturalistic planting. It’s very engaging! The Sheffield botanists are making all of the big leaps forward.

Rachael Champion, Interstate 495 is a Terminal Moraine, 8 September – 13 October 2018, Photo by JSP Art Photography

What are you working on right now?

I have become aware that there is an audience for what I have to say about my thirty years working as a dealer in the art world. It’s not been a predictable journey and more of a roller-coaster of events than anything else. I think my working-class background makes me a rare beast among art dealers and so as a consequence, I have been writing about my experiences with the aim of encouraging others. A book maybe??

I have also latterly discovered Instagram. I was never very keen on social media but I have inadvertently developed my own idiosyncratic diary style of presenting an image with a related short text each day. It’s a (sort of) analogue approach to the digital world and runs quite separately to Hales social media. I have made it what I want it to be and I am comfortable with that. It’s quite nice to be able to present contemporary art in the context of other things. Cooking, gardening, studio pottery, interiors, in fact anything is fair game I think.

Hew Locke, Where Lies the Land, Hales London, 26 September – 9 November 2019, Photo by Anna Arca

What are your core values and drivers that you bring to the gallery? What do you care about?

Most commercial art galleries are a labour of love and that is how we have always run Hales. I personally care about it! Every detail! All of it!

I talk about Hales in the plural as we are a very tight knit team. There is much more to Hales than me. We like each other and we enjoy working together. Over the course of my career, I have seen the London scene grow from punk-style DIY into a highly competitive capitalist driven marketplace. I often ask myself how somebody with essentially socialist values should behave in the face of that?

Simply expressed, I would sum up my response in this way: Be aspirational, be honest, be efficient and be kind!

Paul Hedge and Trenton Doyle Hancock at Mass MoCA, 2019

How has this last year affected your ideas of what you want your contribution to be in future?

Anyone who says they have breezed through the time of Covid is not being entirely truthful.

The pandemic has put the cat among the pigeons and has posed an existential threat to an art world reliant on travel and gatherings. I have been looking at my personal carbon footprint. It is much bigger than I would like. I am thinking more carefully about how I can do my job in the face of possible catastrophic climate change. It is certainly making me rethink.

This quiet period of reflection has also been good in regard to re-thinking the positioning of the artists and estates that Hales works with. I would like to be able to say that we (at Hales) have shone a light upon artists and placed them within a context that people can understand and enjoy. Part of my job is to shine that light as brightly as possible!

What do you enjoy the most about running a commercial gallery?

When Hales opened in 1992, we had little cash but we decided that above all, we wished to avoid any reliance upon conventional sources of funding. Essentially, we felt that the freedom afforded us by being able to make decisions independently of political interference or dictates from on high would be a preferable route to take.

At the time this meant that we earned our livings from the frothing of cappuccino, the cooking of pasta dishes and the preparation of sandwiches. In essence, we ran a café to fund exhibitions in our gallery. It was extremely hard work but gave us a great deal of autonomy.

The café is no more but it served us well. It gave Hales time to get off the ground and we continue to reap the rewards of that decision made way back then. I am proud about the manner in which we began our venture and I enjoyed my role as chef/curator/dealer for many of those years. However, I am also glad that our success allowed me to focus on the art and I am eternally grateful that I no longer have to rely on my culinary skills in order to run a dynamic gallery.

What do you feel proud of?

The fact that Hales has been an enterprise of resourcefulness and innovation and continues to thrive as a business after thirty years. Often the most artistically adventurous galleries leave the business structures to one side and collapse because of a lack of attention to the fiscal basics. The reverse is also true. I am proud of the balancing act that we have performed and continue to do so. I think that we have changed the course of many artists careers for the better. We may even have contributed to an understanding of art history is some small way. I am personally proud that I was able to progress from my former job as a postman and hold it together sufficiently to develop a vision for Hales which in turn led to where we are today.

Maja Ruznic, Name of the Voice, 10 September – 24 October 2020, Hales London

How do you discover artists and what makes you finally decide you want to work with an artist?

All I can say on the matter is that I have to fall in love and be obsessed with the work initially. I do not see any way to avoid this personally. In reality, myself and the two directors, Sasha Gomeniuk and Stuart Morrison, bring together our discoveries and we think things through together. Decisions are never made lightly.

Paul Hedge with Basil Beattie, Frieze London 2019

How do you gauge which artists and artworks will be interesting to audiences?

Our job as a gallery (at least a very simplified version) is to:

a) get excited about artists ourselves

b) present and contextualise their works along with our findings to others

c) encourage contagion and financial exchange

It sounds straightforward but it really isn’t easy!

Ask yourself, who are the people who make up the audience for the art shown at a commercial gallery? Are they the clients of the gallery?….or does the gallery have a responsibility to whoever decides to walk in on any given day? Or both? Again, ask yourself, are the works on show for the sole purpose of sales? or are commercial galleries a free service provided for the public? In my view, a gallery run for profit (which benefits both the artist and gallery team alike has unknowingly agreed to partaking in an extraordinary feat of dexterity and balance. As my uncle (who worked as an electrician for British rail all his life) once asked me “are you a shop, a showroom or a museum?”

I am still puzzling over that question!

Carolee Schneemann, More Wrong Things, 2017, Hales London

What kind of support or expertise do you offer or provide artists?

I think embarking on a career in art can be likened to leaping from an aircraft without the requisite understanding of how a parachute operates. Artists require that sort of freedom but it certainly has its dangers! Galleries try to provide a means of safe landing. Commercial galleries do much more than enact financial transactions but it is impossible to pin point exactly what will be needed for each career at any given time.

The best relationships between galleries and artists are ones of an unspoken understanding. Having said that, often the most direct support a gallery can provide for the artists is money. Money = freedom…at least in theory!

Paul Hedge and Omar Ba at Omar’s Supernova Exhibition, Hales London, 2017

How do you go about building a market for an artist?

This is the area of a gallery’s work I feel most able to contribute something meaningful to.

I think about this night and day…sometimes literally night and day (especially during lockdown)! I can only skim the surface with my answer here. I would like to supply you with a more nuanced reply, but it would run to pages of text…another time maybe?

Here are the basics. It is clear to me that art history has been written from a particular perspective which is not terribly sympathetic to many of the things and the art I care about and hold dear. Artists are often over looked and unjustly forgotten. It really doesn’t matter at what point in their careers that this might take place. Their work is neglected for a reason but it is rarely because it isn’t good or important. Race, gender, class are all issues that Hales has been concerned with since its inception and are often (but not exclusively) reasons for a historical re-assessment, re-analysis and finally re-presentation.

I often ask myself, why has this career been overlooked? What has this artist done that is important? What makes them stand out? Which particular moments are most relevant to a contemporary debate?…and finally, how can we at Hales present this in a dynamic way so that a wider audience can understand its relevance?

Contemporary art dealing is as much about providing an interesting narrative that runs parallel with an understanding of the work itself. Timing is also key. Often younger artists require more direct attention. A helpful word at the right moment can go a long way to progressing a career! In mid-career, artists need to have more control over their output. A gallery can help by assisting the artist to prioritize where their work will be best placed for the longer term.

Omar Ba, Supernova, 2017, Hales, London

What risks have you taken that perhaps did not go so well but you learnt the most from?

It seems to me that entering into anything at all from the position of strength is unlikely to be a big risk. If you have pots of money and gamble with 5% of it then the risk is small and the result of losing is not likely to inflict irreparable damage. Not surprisingly, things are often weighted in favour of those with substantial resources to draw upon. What does one do in the face of such competition?

At almost every stage of developing Hales we have had to take some highly risky decisions, but at each juncture I draw upon our togetherness and the resourceful attitude we have developed as we find a way to deal with the problems. Taking risks has led to many successes and it has undoubtedly made us stronger and taken us to new heights.

Virginia Jaramillo, Conflux, 10 September – 31 October, Hales New York, Photo by JSP Art Photography

What new strategies are you trying or considering in the current climate? How will you measure success?

In my lifetime, this has been the first global pandemic that I have faced (thank goodness). It is hard to know what to do in the face of it, except talk with my colleagues and artists regularly and try to put what we come up with into practice.

The art world will inevitably learn to live with Covid but it is likely to trigger a root and branch reassessment of our current business practices and usher in a new way of doing things.

This presents opportunity. I like to think that the Hales team is independently minded enough to be at the forefront of that innovation and also smart enough to recognise the breakthrough’s made by others which can be adopted to improve our own lot.

Sunil Gupta, Christopher Street, 30 April – 1 June 2019, Hales New York, Photo by JSP Art Photography

What insight from your experience in the art world would you like to share to empower others?

It goes full circle to your very first question…and my reply “Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think”!

Try and take pleasure in what you do at every stage. Granted, sometimes it isn’t easy. It takes perseverance. Remember to take time to reflect on your achievements whilst simultaneously attempting to shape the future.

I often think to myself, how can I begin to effect change for good with the resources I have available right here right now? This approach has helped me immeasurably throughout my career.

 

 

Follow Paul on Instagram @_paul_hedge_ @halesgallery and visit the gallery website Hales Gallery

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Curator interview: MATTHIEU LELIÈVRE

I first met the dynamic art historian and curator Matthieu Lelièvre when we found ourselves stationed in neighbouring gallery booths at an art fair in Basel in 2009. I was representing Ceri Hand Gallery alongside my wonderful Gallery Manager Lucy Johnston. Matthieu was representing Hamish Morrison Galerie, alongside the lovely and charming Founding Director Hamish.

We quickly discovered that we all bonded over a serious commitment to our artists and the hope and joy they bring to our lives, whilst sharing a gleefully devilish sense of humour. Our squawks of delight in the banal certainly helped break the waves of inevitable crushing tedium and paranoia experienced intermittently during the run of the fair.

I kept in touch ever since, visiting Matthieu in Berlin and Paris, following his intrepid adventures in the artworld and enjoying his programming immensely. We continue to connect over a shared love of visceral, darkly playful interdisciplinary artworks and working with artists who challenge perception and societies norms.

I admire the pace that Matthieu works at and enjoy his ability to consistently conjure something from nothing. I connect with his grit and determination to effect positive change for artists and audiences. His willpower and delight in decolonising the institution and engaging a more diverse range of creatives and audiences in a collaborative dialogue is much needed right now.

I also love our conversations. His generosity in sharing and exchanging knowledge and skills is the kind of expansive thinking and community building attitude I believe wholeheartedly in. I am always keen to know what he does next and love seeing him lifting others up wherever he goes.

Matthieu Lelièvre, Copyright E Vion-Delphin, Artwork by Jean Jullien

Matthieu Lelièvre is an art historian and independent curator for contemporary art. Since 2018 he has served as Artistic Advisor at Contemporary Art Museum in Lyon (macLYON), developing a programme dedicated to international emerging artists and international relations. Simultaneously, as a writer and an independent curator, he is currently developing several exhibitions, performances and workshops with artists and organisations in Brazil, Italy and Tunisia.

Previous experience ranges from curator and head of collections for museums and galleries such as the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, independent foundations and commercial galleries, including Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac In Paris and Hamish Morrison Galerie in Berlin.

From 2016 to 2018 he joined a private foundation as its Artistic Director to build the prefiguration of its artistic and artist residency program, while initiating a collaboration with the Fine Arts Museum of Orléans, developing several exhibition’s projects of emerging artists in dialogue with the museum’s collection and the city’s history. In 2019, he joined the Palais de Tokyo to co-curate the 15th Lyon Biennale Where waters come together with other waters.

Matthieu graduated from a MA in Museum Studies at the Ecole du Louvre and a MA in art conservation at the French Institut National du Patrimoine and has served on several boards and juries.

What are you doing, reading, watching, or listening to now, that is helping you to stay positive?

It is a very good question! It is very important for me to constantly discover new things and as it is impossible to attend to concerts, exhibitions, meet new people, I really had to question myself on how to keep learning and discovering in this restrictive context, especially now that everything is and must be online. So, I subscribed to several newspapers and I gave myself some challenges like learning Russian and reconnecting with a love from my youth: video games. It gave me of course the opportunity to dig even deeper the subjects I am working on.

Jasmina Cibic, « The Gift », 2019, 3 channel video, Courtesy of the artist

What are you working on right now?

A lot of different projects. For the Contemporary Art Museum in Lyon, which I accompany as an artistic advisor, I am still working on the exhibitions we opened last October, and I prepare some new projects, for example the first solo show in France of London based Slovenian artist Jasmina Cibic, or later solo show of Jesper Just and Mary Sibande in 2022.

Simultaneously I am working with a Rio-de-Janeiro based foundation, InclusArtiz, developing a residency program for Brazilian artists at the MADRE in Naples, Italy, and we should start the program next fall if everything is going as planned.

Also, I am working on several projects with the Tunisian art scene, work I have been developing for some time now. Next spring should open a solo show of Thameur Mejri at the B7L9, the art centre of the Kamel Lazaar Foundation in Tunis.

How has this year affected your ideas of what you want your contribution to be in future?

The purpose of a museum today. At the Contemporary Art Museum in Lyon, I am accompanying the institution to develop some ideas and values, thinking around the museum’s role in society, questioning the established standards of our programmes, for example thinking of ways to co-create with new publics. Questioning the process is a never-ending job which is also fascinating because the pandemic really pushes us to renew the practices. I have worked for different structures including teaching and working with the art market. These past months have just reinforced my desire to have a curatorial practice with can help society opening its mind, based on a social dialogue. Taking the opportunity as a producer of content to defend some values and causes. In three words: to be useful.


Edi Dubien, macLYON, 2020, Copyright Blaise Adilon

What is one of your personal favourite exhibitions you have curated and why?

The most recent one which opened this autumn at museum of contemporary art, Lyon, in France. Man of a Thousand Natures is the first museum solo exhibition of an extraordinary self-taught artist named Edi Dubien. There is a lot of happiness and pride in this exhibition. Edi Dubien, through a marvellous series of drawings and sculptures shares his thoughts and experiences about an abusive childhood, a beautiful and constructive vision of Nature and some fierce messages about gender transition. In this context, we are working with fantastic people like Eva Hayward a writer and a faculty member of the Department of Gender and Women Studies at the University of Arizona, and sociologists and activists defending the cause of trans and intersex children and teenagers.

Beside presenting extraordinary artworks to the public and a beautiful show, the exhibition and its program serve a strong and progressive purpose which turns the museum into a platform of discussion and exchange but also brings consciousness and give voice to trans and intersex people. So, my pride comes from the fact that we succeed in delivering both at the same time a marvellous exhibition and a strong and useful message.

Can you describe what you ideally want to achieve when curating an exhibition? What would you hope that people experience and learn from experiencing one of your creative outputs?

Serving the artist in spreading his/her message. Helping young artists finding their audience and helping them in the process of professionalisation. When I open an exhibition, I don’t feel excited because I receive feedback that it is “beautiful”, but I am when I am told that it is interesting, challenging and that the show raises questions in the mind of its spectators. In that way I think of the spectator as an actor of the exhibition. I identified several topics and social issues I feel directly concerned by and I am doing my best to be useful, being a voice or an ally to these causes I consider to be important to defend. I don’t believe that art should necessarily “bring people together” I think it should open minds, bring awareness and self-consciousness. Give a space of expression and affirmation. That is why I am very attentive to work with women, LGBTQI+ and diversity, racial and gender…But working in public institutions forces us to work on other subjects, less personal for the sake of the diversity and the spectrum of the audience. That is why I love the opportunity of co-curating and collaborating with other professionals.

Thameur Mejri, Walking Target, 2020/21, Courtesy Galerie Selma Feriani

What do you offer or provide artists in the curatorial relationship?

The good side of having worked in commercial art galleries helped me to question and find my role in the chain between accompanying the artist being an artist, helping him/her developing their project, finding their audience, promoting it, placing the works in private and public collections, and helping them getting the attention from curators and press. Even anticipating the questions of the future like its conservation once in the collections. That range of experience gave me a lot of different skills to work with an artist during all the steps of their professional life. At the same time, working for commercial galleries, I was not interested in the process of selling but rather helping the artist building their career, so now, even as a museum curator, I am always paying attention to the global, not just getting a work done for the purpose of the show, but helping the artist’s process, to think, anticipate, produce, and place his/her work. I develop also quite often a very strong connection with the artists I work with, always remaining if not a friend, at least an advisor, a collaborator and sometime a mentor, connecting, writing for them. As I am working on several precise topics, the road does not end once the show is opened.

What risks have you taken in your career that perhaps did not go so well but you learnt the most from?

The good thing is that, with the right attitude, learning from your mistakes can bring so much more, than the damages or pain caused by the actual mistakes. There are not so many things I would have done differently because they brought me where I am today. That will sound cheesy, but I think that in a career the biggest risk is to not take risks. And if you have regrets, you are also learning to use this consciousness to adapt your choices and find more energy to move and act. For me I could give the example of having trusted at some point the wrong people, but I learned so much from that, that I really cherish the lessons. I learned for instance more about the reasons why I am doing this job, and how art can serve a bigger purpose in our societies.

What was the last artwork you purchased and why?

During the lock-down Paul Pretzer, a fantastic painter I worked with in Berlin, 10 years ago and who is quietly and beautifully developing his career in Spain yet remaining at the same time very true to his aesthetic, posted a picture of an artwork on Instagram. I asked him about the story behind the painting, the price, I considered it for ten seconds, and I jumped in. I had the feeling that it could help him, but also… it helped me. Literally cheering up, (it’s a very funny and cute painting…) and gave me back the feeling that despite the distance, art keeps people close to each other.  During the COVID-19 crises many artists are severely impacted by the reduction of possibilities, cancellation of residencies and exhibitions as well as the slowing down of the sales in the galleries.

What helpful resources would you recommend to artists?

Mostly to care about the people and to build strong connections. On the contrary of some romantic idea, Artist as a profession is not a job you do alone.

Do you have any advice for people wanting to work in the arts?

I’d like to address mostly to people who might think that working in the arts is not for them. Mostly people who hear about it but have the feeling this is a world they do not belong to. I want to say that their lives, their experience, and vision is probably going to serve a bigger purpose and help other people.

Follow Matthieu on Instagram @matthieu_lelievre and Twitter @matthlelievre  

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Producer Interview: ZERRITHA BROWN

I was introduced to the inspiring change-maker Zerritha Brown by Dhikshana Pering, Head of Engagement and Skills at Somerset House.

I was immediately struck by Zerritha’s creative vision, her genuine desire to create opportunities for others and to platform the contribution of creative pioneers. She has a passion and commitment to effecting long-lasting social change through care, collaboration and co-production. She is warm, engaging, yet charmingly humble and self-effacing, which is admirable given her powerhouse credentials.

Zerritha hatches dynamic projects with creatives and audiences, rooting them in the community and contexts in which they are conceived, and they resonate way beyond their delivery date. She is a master of taking people with her on a wild and wonderful journey of creative exploration, guaranteeing outcomes that creatives, communities and global audiences connect with.

Zerritha Brown, Photo Roy Mehta 

Zerritha Brown is a Cultural Producer, Arts Manager and Leader with 20 years’ experience in community and participatory arts and large scale events. Over the last 10 years she has led on culture for Brent Council, most recently leading the production of the Brent 2020 No Bass Like Home digital archive and online festival, which captured the borough’s reggae history through community stories, as well as the Windrush 70 exhibition, a heritage project co-produced with the community to celebrate the contributions of the Windrush community in Brent.

Her previous roles at Brent include Cultural Operations Manager responsible for the artistic and operational management of the new £10m flagship library, museum and cultural centre and London 2012 Manager for Brent responsible for the development of the borough’s Cultural Olympiad programme and implementing the 2012 Olympic torch relay route and community engagement activations.

A Clore Leadership Programme Alumni, she is passionate about equality and access and committed to creating deep and meaningful engagement which effects lasting change.

Brent 2020 No Bass Like Home, Digital Archive Launch at Jamaican High Commission February 2020, Photo c/o Brent Council

What are you doing, reading, watching, or listening to now, that is helping you to stay positive?

I love listening to music, it nourishes my soul and keeps me positive. Reggae music, house and garage and cheesy 80’s classic, all take me to happy places, connecting me to my youth, friends and family.

No Bass Like Home Online Festival, General Levy behind the scenes, November 2020, Image Credit Brent 2020

What are you working on right now?

Leading on the legacy of Brent’s London Borough Culture, embedding culture across the organisation and continuing to build a cultural coalition across the council, with partners and the wider community.

Brent 2020 No Bass Like Home Bass Rewind Engagement Event, November 2019, Image c/o Zerritha Brown

What are your core values and drivers that you bring to your curatorial work? What do you care about?

I am passionate about communities, representation and inclusion and I’m committed to creating deep and meaningful engagement which effects lasting change. I love uncovering hidden histories and working with the community to create an artistic response. Over the last few years my practice has been focused on documenting black British history in Brent through the Windrush 70 exhibition and most recently the Brent 2020 No Bass Like Home digital reggae archive and online festival. At the heart of both projects was building meaningful relationships, embedding the projects in the community whilst connecting with nationally and international audiences.

Windrush 70: Brent’s Pioneering Generation exhibition 2018, Display case with original British Trinidad and Tobago Passports
and first edition copy of the Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon, Photo ℅ Brent Museum and Archive

How have the events over the last year influenced your ideas of what you want your contribution to be in future?

The pandemic has been devastating on many counts for everyone, but there has been some chinks of light..it’s brought out a sense of community and forced us to slowdown and take stock of the things that are important and drive us. Coming out of this, I think community, collaboration and well-being will be really important in the Covid19 recovery and the arts and culture are well placed to support this.

What do you think should change in the arts and how can we actively contribute to bringing about this change?

Throughout the multiple lock-downs we have seen people gravitate to culture, whether that be reading, singing, knitting or engaging with online content.

I think this demonstrates the need for culture but that also it comes in different shapes and forms and approaches. The future of the sector should use this an opportunity to look at place based culture so that we are truly creating experience which are representative and connect with wider audiences.

Of course representation and inclusion is also a priority. More opportunities for young producers, curators, artists to enter and progress in the sector, development and mentoring as well as representation at every level of the organisation, not just entry level but mid career and managers.

Windrush 70: Brent’s Pioneering Windrush Generation Exhibition, 2018, Intro panel, Photo ℅ Brent Museum and Archive

Do you have a favourite exhibition/project/event that you have curated and if so,
what makes it particularly special to you?

The Brent 2020 No Bass Like Home project was both a professional and personal journey for me. My father is one of the Trojan Records session musicians who came to the UK in the early 70’s to promote reggae music and toured with many of the reggae greats including Dave and Ansell Collins, the Cimerons band and Jimmy Cliff so I grew up in reggae. No Bass Like Home sought to capture the reggae history of Brent which was home to labels such as Trojan Records, Jetstar as well as artists Janet Kay, General Levy to name a few.

This is a history that the reggae community know but outside of this it isn’t well documented.

This created a platform for unheard stories which as well as being on Spotify will now have permanent home in the boroughs archive to preserve the reggae history.

My highlight however was leading the creative vision for the No Bass Like Home Online festival, a 7 hour festival curated by Seani  streamed from Brent, Jamaica and Florida celebrating the borough as a powerhouse of production and distribution for reggae and black British music. As well as profiling local and international artists, it was important to me that the festival featured interviews from the community and pioneer artists who were integral to the reggae movement.  The stream has received over 100k online views and I’m absolutely thrilled that London Live will be airing it throughout February for Reggae Month. Having a dedicated reggae show on prime time TV is unheard of so I’m incredibly proud to have the opportunity to bring the boroughs rich reggae history to a wider audience.

Windrush 70: Brent’s Pioneering Generation exhibition 2018, Installation View, Photo ℅ Brent Museum and Archive

What do you offer or provide artists in the curatorial relationship?

Creative freedom to create an artistic response, but I provide support and knowledge where needed. I act as an enabler, brokering relationships with other artists and the wider community and facilitating creative conversations.

What risks have you taken in your career that perhaps did not go so well but you learnt the most from?

I’ve made programming decisions which haven’t quite landed right and led to poor audience engagement. But I learnt from this that you need a strong marketing and communications strategy, thinking outside the the conventional methods but also developing trust and credibility with your audiences.

Brent 2020 No Bass Like Home Online Stream, Cimarons Band behind the scenes, November 2020 Image Credit, Brent 2020

Do you have any advice for people wanting to work in the arts?

It’s a great sector to be part of. People are genuinely passionate about creating work which engages, excites, sparks debate and encourages conversation.

My top tip would be to build your networks, both support and professional as they will be an invaluable support.

Follow Zerritha on Twitter @ZeeBrown50

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Curator interview: KATHLEEN SORIANO

KATHLEEN-SORIANO

I first met the wonderful Curator and TV presenter Kathleen Soriano on a group excursion to China in 2007. The trip was an international exchange organised by the British Council for UK Curators and Directors to learn and develop new connections and potential partnerships.

It was an extraordinary 10 days, spent with an amazing, inspiring range of leaders, and together we asked our gracious creative hosts curious questions, shared a diverse range of experiences and reflected together. I am delighted that so many of the group remain firm friends to this day.

I was struck by Kathleen’s wide ranging knowledge and energy, her sense of humour and keen ability to cut through any nonsense. (I was also thrilled to learn that Kathleen’s contribution to a Karaoke night involved performing Flamenco – cementing that she was my kind of woman).

I have thoroughly enjoyed our conversations ever since, finding our exchanges nurturing and enriching. If I was ever in need of an honest take on a creative or leadership challenge, Kathleen would be one of the first people I’d reach out to. I am also in no doubt that I am one of many (particularly women) that would call on her for sage, frank advice.

Kathleen is generous, playful and astute, deeply committed to artists and the power of creativity and culture. She is a creative polymath and able to weave the historical and contemporary together seamlessly, whether through directing, curating, writing, broadcasting or presenting. She is full of light and a real tour de force.

Kathleen Soriano in the Royal Academy of Arts’ Main Galleries, London

Kathleen Soriano began her career at the Royal Academy of Arts over 35 years ago. In 1989 she joined the National Portrait Gallery, where as Director of Exhibitions & Collections she was also responsible for national and international programmes. In 2004 she became one of the first cohort of Clore Leadership Fellows, working at the South Bank Centre and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. In February 2006 she became Director of Compton Verney Art Gallery, Warwickshire. January 2009 saw her appointed Artistic Director at the Royal Academy. In 2014 she set up her own curatorial, artistic advisory and strategic consultancy company. In addition she has recently acted as Interim Director at Firstsite, Colchester and Artistic Director of the Jakober Foundation, Mallorca. As well as curating many successful exhibitions she has lectured and written extensively in her field and her book Madam and Eve on women artists, was published in April 2018. Her broadcast activities include the seven series of Portrait/Landscape Artist of the Year for SkyArts.

She is Chair of the Liverpool Biennial, and a specialist advisor to the National Trust. Previously she has held roles on the strategic committee of the Grand Palais, Paris, the Wellcome Collection exhibition advisory group, chaired the Churches Conservation Trust’s Art Advisory group, was a founder member of Women Leaders in Museums Network and is currently a Trustee of ArtUK, on the advisory council of 2 Temple Place, the editorial board of Apollo and the visual arts committee of St Paul’s Cathedral, London.

What are you doing, reading, watching, or listening to now, that is helping you to stay positive?

For someone who is most clearly NOT an artist, I’ve come to realise that what I most want and need to be doing is being creative. For me, in this second lockdown, that’s taken the form of cooking and knitting. Returning to knitting after a 30-year gap was somewhat disconcerting but, like the proverbial bicycle, it wasn’t long before the clackety clack of the needles fell into its old, familiar pattern. Having completed my first effort (a sloppy Joe cardigan since you ask), I am now bereft that it’s finished and wondering what to do with my hands as I sit in front of the telly each night. It’s not a cheap hobby…Like everyone else, I’ve exhausted all the box sets but have just spent a delightfully, self-indulgent morning wallowing in the truly appalling, but quite brilliant, musical homage Prom on Netflix. I don’t recommend it, but I do, but I really don’t. Just watch it.

Tai Shan Schierenberg, Kathleen Soriano and Kate Bryan on location at Broadstairs for Landscape Artist of the Year

What are you working on right now?

Making TV from home has kept me extremely busy over the last few months. Setting up a makeshift studio in my box room cum office cum wardrobe, preparing home-made video tapes, getting the lighting and sound right for our Sunday morning Portrait Artist of the Week series, has been the focus of my week. In some ways I’ve enjoyed it more than the Year as it’s just me and my laptop and thousands of artist friends all around the world, logging in to paint-a-long with us every Sunday morning. It’s been a real tonic for the soul, not just for the incredible community of artists it’s built, but also for all of us making it.

In exhibition terms, I’ve been busy shaping my Eileen Cooper RA exhibition for Leicester Museum & Art Gallery for Autumn 2022, a Mario Testino show for Compton Verney in early 2022, the Mikalojus Ciurlionis (Lithuanian late 19th century Symbolist artist) exhibition for Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2023, as well as creating two shows for the English Civic Museums Network that will travel to Japan in 2023 and 2024.

It’s also been a busy time at the Liverpool Biennial, which I chair. Having postponed our July 2020 opening to March 2021, a huge amount of work and re-alignment needed to happen with the programme and in the city and I cannot praise our Guest Curator, Manuela Moscoso, and the team around her, enough for all that they have done and all that they have achieved under difficult circumstances.  We look forward to March 2021 and the opening in the fabulous city of Liverpool – a moment for us all to rejoice in new hopeful dawns … hopefully. Come! Covid-willing.

Kathleen Soriano at the Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest – Active Collections Conference, 26-29 April 2018

What are your core values and drivers that you bring to your curatorial work? What do you care about?

I have always suffered from being a perfectionist and being overly conscientious. As a direct consequence, many around me have also suffered – apologies to you all. Those two characteristics can mean that you carry the weight of your role within a major institution with some heaviness. Having done that with pleasure and delight for over 30 years, whilst working in major institutions, I find that now that I work for myself, I am more selfishly driven by the idea of working on projects that give me genuine pleasure – no matter how grand or insignificant the task (I’m a sucker for a good bit of admin). And, generally, my work aims only to bring joy and happiness to those involved be they artists, organisations, audiences, whatever.

Whilst I may have become more pragmatic in my old age, truth, honesty, beauty in all its extreme variants, generosity and kindness remain the values that I care about most in life and in work.

How has this year affected your ideas of what you want your contribution to be in future?

This year has only confused me even more in relation to my contribution, specifically with regards to my sector. I see our museum and gallery directors on the front-line dealing with insurmountable issues and still trying to champion all that we do. That’s not my role any longer but I couldn’t have more respect for their tireless work on this front. I see the world changing, I see need and opportunity changing and wonder how I must alter and adapt to be useful and of service. But ultimately the community of artists that have come together through Portrait Artist of the Week (and PAOTY and LAOTY) show me that there is powerful passion for creativity at all levels, grassroots and all the way to our elevated iconic artists, and it is my job to credit them all, to value their work and to encourage that creativity in the most democratic way I can.

What is one of your personal favourite exhibitions you have curated and why?

That’s like asking me to pick my favourite child. But two shows stand out, for very different reasons. The Anselm Kiefer retrospective at the Royal Academy of Arts in 2014 felt like a huge personal achievement – working with one of our greatest living artists, building a pathway through his monumental oeuvre, blowing visitors away with the rhythm and pace of the hang, and installing the works in what are to my mind the most beautiful galleries in Europe. Secondly I would have to mention the big Australian landscape art survey show that I made, again for the RA, in 2012. Sure it had its faults, but it served its purpose in bringing art that people should know but didn’t know to their attention, on one of the world’s most significant stages, spawning Australian art shows across Europe and the US in the years that followed.

Broadening the canon has always been central to my approach and intentions, especially when you have such a platform as indeed I was lucky to have at the RA.

Anselm Kiefer and Kathleen Soriano at the press preview of his retrospective at the Royal Academy of Arts, London

Can you describe what you ideally want to achieve when curating an exhibition?

I’m always looking for an elegant rhythm and pace to the hang and to the storytelling that sweeps the viewer along so that they leave with a fully rounded experience in which they might have learnt something or felt something meaningful or just achingly beautiful. For me, whether it’s on the wall or in a book, it starts with the images and I allow them to dictate the story that they want to tell.

What do you offer or provide artists in the curatorial relationship?

I like to think that I provide artists with a fresh pair of eyes. Eyes that understand the art world context that we all operate in and that can help them strategically navigate their way through it. That, and a fabulous eye for hanging…

What was the last artwork you purchased and why?

Just this morning I bought two works from Liorah Tchiprout – one a gift and, as always happens when I’m buying something for someone else…one for myself! Liorah featured on Portrait Artist of the Year and whilst her work was probably not literal enough (in likeness terms) to see her go on to win, I was drawn to the strange, otherworldly nature of it. Her work tends to depict puppets that she has created, posed in a seemingly life-like manner that bring all sorts of narratives to the compositions, some a little bit disturbing and unnerving, but which I rather like. They remind me a bit of Honoré Daumier’s works but her approach is very Paula Rego, but looser and more distinctively Liorah.

Liorah Tchiprout, Princess Study, 2020, Charcoal and oil on gessoed paper, 14.5 x 19 cm

What helpful resources would you recommend to artists?

My next book How to be an Artist which I’ll be writing with my fellow Judges, Kate Bryan and Tai Shan Schierenberg. Watch this space.

Do you have any advice for people wanting to work in the arts?

If you can, go in at the bottom of a larger organisation and look around you before you make any firm decisions about the role that you most desire. The range of different types of work within the arts is phenomenal and whilst we all know about curators, directors and the like, there are still incredibly invaluable roles be they in fundraising, digital content, press and marketing, learning or whatever. Often these are not apparent from the outside so getting into a larger organisation where you can see these roles at play, and learn more about them, might just help you refine and define your own future pathway in a less obvious and more creative way.

Follow Kathleen on Instagram @kathleen.soriano and Twitter @KclSoriano 

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Curator interview: KIERA BLAKEY

I was a fan of Curator Kiera Blakey’s work way before having had the pleasure of meeting her. If you’ve used public transport in London, you will probably have seen or experienced some of Kiera’s work with artists, positioned in and around the London Underground stations.

It takes an extraordinarily committed and tenacious Curator to support artists producing new work for such complex public sites. Kiera has a lovely balance of being gentle, considerate and yet fiercely determined when comes to supporting of artists realising their ambitions. She is generous, kind, refreshingly down-to-earth, and believes in the transformative potential of creativity.

We share a passion for connecting artists with a broad and diverse public, and in prising open the art world, to be more welcoming, inclusive and for treating people fairly and respectfully. I can’t wait to see what she brings to Nottingham Contemporary.

     Kiera Blakey ┬® Chris Rawcliffe, 2018

Curator Kiera Blakey was raised in the Lake District and lives and works in London and Nottingham. She is currently Head of Exhibitions (maternity cover) at Nottingham Contemporary and until recently was Curator of Art on the Underground, where she led a number of ground-breaking public art commissions that sought to challenge our conception of what art can be. These include with artists Larry Achiampong, Laure Prouvost, Assemble and Matthew Raw, Linder and Nina Wakeford.

Kiera has edited publications with Book Works and Self Published Be Happy; written for Camden Arts Centre and is regularly invited to talk and teach. Recent freelance projects include Elisabeth Wild at Focal Point Gallery and Karen Cunningham at The Showroom. Kiera recently joined Daily Life Ltd. as a trustee and has served on the advisory board for Banner Repeater since 2018. She has a BA in Fine Art and MA in Philosophy.

What are you doing, reading, watching, or listening to now, that is helping you to stay positive?

I love podcasts and listen to a huge array, from the Paris Review to the Frost Tapes. Recently I’ve been listening to the BALTIC’s new series For All I Care which was recommended by my new team. I’ve especially felt nourished by Johanna Hedva’s reading from their new book Minerva the Miscarriage of the Brain, that delves into mysticism, madness, motherhood, and magic. As we come to the end of a year spent online, I’ve been finding short texts and poetry to be my saviour and I’ve been devouring Divided Publishing’s new book Night Philosophy by the inimitable Fanny Howe. I also wanted to give a shout out to my new team, who run currently an excellent online public programme. I knew of Five Bodies before I joined the gallery and it’s an absolute must. Some of the most interesting writers and poets gather to read together. Last week Sandeep Parmer read and spoke about the importance of the archive as a means to bring people to life, better than any biographer can, because of course no life is conclusive. It was beautiful and I felt alive afterwards.

Assemble and Matthew Raw, Clay Station, 2017, Photo: Assemble

What are your core values and drivers that you bring to your curatorial work? What do you care about?

I’m passionate about engaging audiences in order to transcend geographic, racial and socioeconomic barriers and thus the role that public institutions have in creating inclusive environments. I’ve had a fair few jobs where I’ve witnessed and been on the receiving end of appalling behaviour. How can we make programmes about care and equality when our own institutions and infrastructures are perpetuating the very behaviours our programmes are seeking to challenge?

How do you develop your curatorial ideas? How do you test or scope your ideas?

Nothing extraordinary really. By being curious, listening, talking and open to unexpected opportunities. Visiting lots of exhibitions, reading and talking ideas through with friends and peers.

Laure Prouvost, Pocket Tube Map, 2019, Photo Benedict Johnson_2019

What emerging artists are you excited by right now and why?

Larry Achiampong who rightly the deserves the accolade he’s achieved. Johanna Hedva who moves between performance and writing and whose words deeply move me. Cooking Sections who use installation, performance, mapping and video to explore the overlapping boundaries between visual arts, architecture, ecology and geopolitics in a way like no one else right now.

Larry Achiampong, PAN AFRICAN FLAGS FOR THE RELIC TRAVELLERS’ ALLIANCE, 2019, Photo GG Archard

What do you usually have or need in your office or at work to inspire and motivate you?

Lots of books, the Internet and a door I can close.

What systems, rituals and processes do you use to help you get into the creative zone?

I’m an absolute creature of habit so I need routine to be able to focus and work at my best which isn’t always possible! I normally walk or run in the morning before I start work, I need the fresh air and vitamin D to set me up for the day, especially since the pandemic has meant working from home. And I’m a morning person, you’ll get me at my best first thing.

What recurring questions do you return to in your work?

Public voice – who has it, who gives it, who gets to decide.

Jade Montserrat, hand this piece to one Jacob Aston West (b. approx. 1941-43, Montserrat), 2018;
LINDER, The Bower of Bliss tube map cover commission, 2018. Photo Benedict Johnson

What risks have you taken in your work that paid off?

I don’t know if it’s so much of a risk but I remember some people questioning why I was taking up a post at Art on the Underground as it wasn’t deemed ‘cool’ I suppose; whatever that means. I had the most amazing six years there, though that isn’t to say there weren’t plenty of challenges. It was an amazing job with a lot of autonomy, each commission was so unique and meaty, it was never boring and I learnt an unbelievable amount. It taught me to follow my own goals and values, not an idea of what I thought I should be doing with my career.

What risks have you taken that perhaps did not go so well but you learnt the most from?

I would say nearly every exhibition or commission I’ve worked on has something go awry, that’s just the nature of working with people. I’ve had some shocking moments, been screamed at, installations going wrong in the final hour, artworks stolen, you name it. It’s all part of it and you just learn how to be comfortable in the mess and plan for it.

LINDER, The Bower of Bliss, 2018. Photo Thierry Bal

What is your favourite exhibition or event you have curated or participated in and why?

I can’t choose one as every exhibition is so different and I’ve been lucky to work with so many brilliant people. A highlight for me was definitely working with LINDER. I’d been an enormous fan of her work since I was a young girl (I grew up in the North West like her). We made an 85-metre photomontage, the largest LINDER had ever produced, that included work from six local collections, women’s groups, dancers, musicians, costume designers, architects; it was so rich in its source material. The work was on display for 18 months and it changed over the course of that period, “like a giant sticker book” LINDER called it. It responded to current events, it was political, it was pop, a giant image of women’s empowerment through history to today.

What would you hope that people experience from encountering your work?

To welcome the imperfections, to create space for different bodies/ perspectives/ experiences; that the material, whether through words, performance or literal, has an important role in how we relate to each other and the world around us.

LINDER, The Bower of Bliss, 2018, Photo Thierry Bal

What compromises have you made to sustain your practice?

Being broke and working for free, though I absolutely wouldn’t encourage that and in fact am actively against it!

What advice would you give your past self?

Not to care so much what people think of you and trust yourself.

Laure Prouvost, you are deeper than what you think, 2019, Photo Thierry Bal

Can you recommend a book, film, or podcast that you have been inspired by that transformed your thinking?

Can I choose an artwork? It isn’t necessarily the work I love but what it introduced me to. Growing up in the North West I had zero access to contemporary art apart from the books I read, in fact I didn’t really know it was a thing. When I first moved to London, I went to see Gregor Schneider’s Artangel commission Die Familie Schneider in 2004 which took place across two adjoining terrace houses in Whitechapel. You collected a key from a nearby office and were instructed to let yourself in alone. The houses mirrored each other and were dark, dingy, stale and terrifying. Each room had live actors – a man masturbated in the shower; in the bedroom a small figure sat calmly under a bin liner. I was petrified at the time but it really opened my eyes to a new possibility.

Follow Kiera on Instagram @kiera_blakey and visit Nottingham Contemporary website 


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Curator and Collector interview: MARCELLE JOSEPH

I was first introduced to Curator and Collector Marcelle Joseph by artist Charlie Billingham, at a preview at the Tate in 2012.

We both exhibited Charlie’s work, and our interests and enthusiasms for artists and ideas continue to connect. I have enjoyed following Marcelle’s curatorial and collecting initiatives and really appreciate her holistic support of artists, over a longer period of time.

She truly loves and appreciates artists, and is passionate about their work and contribution. She is deeply committed to finding ways to support the arts, in diversifying the landscape and is generous in her wider support and contribution to the arts ecology. She is a patron of artists, galleries, arts charities, education initiatives and commissions and buys new work regularly.

We are both Trustees of Matts Gallery, and I find her sincere determination and passion for ensuring a greater parity in the artworld refreshing and much needed. She is a positive, respectful, considered, calm, and thoughtful contributor and a real pleasure to work with.

Marcelle Joseph, Photo, Gabrielle Cooper

Marcelle Joseph is a London-based American independent curator. In 2011, Joseph founded Marcelle Joseph Projects, a nomadic curatorial platform that has produced 38 exhibitions in the UK and the rest of Europe, featuring the work of over 200 international artists. Joseph’s expertise is in early career artists based in the UK, in particular, female-identifying and non-binary artists, and has an academic specialization in feminist art practice after completing an MA in Art History with Distinction from Birkbeck, University of London.

In 2013, she executive edited Korean Art: The Power of Now (Thames & Hudson), a survey of the contemporary art scene in South Korea. Additionally, Joseph is a trustee of Matt’s Gallery, London and served on the jury of the 2017-2019 Max Mara Art Prize for Women, in collaboration with the Whitechapel Gallery and Collezione Maramotti, and the Mother Art Prize 2018. She also collects artworks by female-identifying artists under the collecting partnership, GIRLPOWER Collection, as well as more generally as part of the Marcelle Joseph Collection. Throughout 2020, Joseph has acted as Curatorial Consultant for Lychee One, a commercial gallery located in East London.

What are you doing, reading, watching, or listening to now, that is helping you to stay positive?

I’m a sucker for the here, the now and the new, and I love literary fiction. So I am drawn to the debut novelist just as I am drawn to the early career artist, and two years ago, I vowed to myself that I would only read the prose of women and queer writers and writers of colour. Who wants to read about a world envisioned by a white straight male writer when we are governed for the most part around the world by white straight males for the benefit of the same group of people largely to the exclusion of all ‘others’. Looking at recent reads on my Kindle, these are some of my recommendations for those of you with reading predilections like mine: Catherine Lacey’s Pew, Yaa Gyasi’s first two novels, Candice Carty-Williams’ Queenie, Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half, Jeanine Cummins’ American Dirt, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ The Water Dancer, Tayari Jones’ An American Marriage, Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other, Kate Elizabeth Russell’s My Dark Vanessa, Esi Edugyan’s Washington Black, Jesmyn Ward’s novels and Curtis Sittenfeld’s Rodham.

At the moment, I’ve gone back in time to fill in some holes in my lexicon. I’ve just ordered most of the books written by Octavia E. Butler and Toni Morrison. I had to buy physical copies as I have a feeling they will be heavily annotated and nourish me with inspiration for future exhibitions.

Other than reading, I have been hiking in a forest near my home in Ascot while listening to The Great Women Artists and Talk Art podcasts. Supposedly, ‘forest bathing’ strengthens our immune system, reduces blood pressure, increases energy, boosts our mood and helps us regain and maintain our focus in ways that treeless environments just don’t. So London doesn’t have the same allure it once did for me before the lockdown.

I do have a few current guilty pleasures to help me stay positive: Darren Star’s Emily in Paris and Katherine Ryan’s The Duchess – both on Netflix and both featuring strong and funny female protagonists with killer wardrobes. I’m dying for the days pre-pandemic when we had occasions to dress up for.


Installation view of PROUDICK, curated by Marcelle Joseph at Hannah Barry Gallery, London, 2018,
with artworks by Lindsey Mendick and Paloma Proudfoot, Photo: Damian Griffiths

What do you enjoy the most about curating?

For me, it’s everything that happens prior to the opening of the exhibition: the research, the writing of the text and the placement of the artworks in the space, but, most importantly, it is all of the conversations and studio visits with the artists that led me to choosing them to participate in an exhibition I am curating.

How do you develop your curatorial ideas?

It usually starts with a text I am reading or song lyrics I am listening to. Previous thematic group exhibitions have been inspired by the likes of Frank Ocean, Haruki Murakami, J.G. Ballard and Ursula K. Le Guin. Once the theme has been formulated, I start to think about what artists I would like to include, and always ensure that the mix of artists is as diverse as possible across the gender and racial spectrum in order to attract audiences that are equally diverse.

Installation view of Monster/Beauty: An Exploration of the Female/Femme Gaze, curated by Marcelle Joseph at Lychee One, London, 2020,
Artworks left to right: Rafaela de Ascanio (ceramic vase), Chelsea Culprit, Lisa Brice, Cristina BanBan, Hanne Wilke, Sophie Thun and Zanele Muholi. Photo: Corey Bartle Sanderson

How do you discover artists and what factors contribute to your decision to curate an artist’s work?

I am an art addict and see as much art as I physically can, whether it be at degree shows, museums, galleries, project spaces, art fairs around the world or on Instagram or in art magazines. Most of my recent curated exhibitions have been thematic groups shows so I choose the artist’s work that I feel fits the theme the most. If I do not yet know the artist, I will arrange to meet the artist in their studio to learn more about their practice and what drives their creative impulses.

Installation view of Young Monsters, curated by Marcelle Joseph at Lychee One, London, 2019,
Artworks l-r: Glen Pudvine, Gray Wielebinski and Neil Haas, Photo Corey Bartle Sanderson

What do you offer or provide artists in the curatorial relationship?

A friendly ear, a creative eye, a critically engaged outlook and sometimes even a shoulder to cry on. As a curator, I literally want to be a safe space for the artist to realise their full potential. I want to be a sounding board too. I love the exchange of ideas between a curator and an artist. I may recommend to an artist a certain theorist to read or an artist reference to check out and they may recommend other artists’ work to me or texts to read or films to watch.


Installation view of Dancing at the Edge of the World curated by Marcelle Joseph at Z2O Sara Zanin Gallery, Rome, 2020,
with artworks by Saelia Aparicio (wall works), Charlotte Colbert (bed) and Lindsey Mendick (ceramic work on floor), Photo: Sebastiano Luciano

What is one of your personal favourite exhibitions or events you have curated and why?

One of my favourite exhibitions I have curated was Dancing at the Edge of the World, a group exhibition in 2020 at Z2O Sara Zanin Gallery, a large commercial gallery space in Rome, featuring the work of ten female-identifying artists and inspired by my favourite feminist science fiction writer, Ursula K. Le Guin. The featured artists were Saelia Aparicio, Charlotte Colbert, Monika Grabuschnigg, Zsófia Keresztes, Alexi Marshall, Florence Peake, Proudick (Lindsey Mendick and Paloma Proudfoot), Megan Rooney and Eve Stainton. And the exhibition envisioned a feminist or non-binary utopia – a new universalism of sorts, devoid of inequality, domination and exploitation and full of feminine pleasure. So it had many of my favourite things: identity politics, empowered female/femme voices, feminist theory, artists with process-based material-led practices, two commissioned wall paintings and two commissioned performances.

This exhibition also attracted my first ArtForum review and four different mentions in Italian national newspapers, so I was very proud of its reception both in Italy and internationally. I really enjoy curating exhibitions outside of the major art world hub that I live in – London – as there is less competition for viewers’ eyeballs so an exhibition can have greater visibility and promote more important conversations about art and the world outside of the gallery in a smaller city.

Can you describe what you ideally want to achieve when curating an exhibition?

I would like the viewer of an exhibition I have curated to still be thinking about the exhibition the next day, the next week or the next month – either a specific artwork moved them aesthetically, spiritually or intellectually or the dialogue between works by different artists made them think differently or gain new insight about that artist’s work, or the theme of the exhibition made them interrogate or examine the world or their own interiority, in a socially, politically or emotionally engaged manner.

Marcelle Joseph in her drawing room in Ascot with artworks left to right:Laurence Owen (ceramic vases),
Athena Papadopoulos (sculpture), Colden Drystone (painting), Jesse Darling (sculpture) and Brian Griffiths (sculpture on coffee table). Photo: Kâthe Kroma

What are your core values and drivers that you bring to collecting artists’ work? What do you care about?

I care a lot about supporting artists at the point in their career when they need it the most, so I am predominantly buying the work of early career artists. But what I’m most interested in achieving across all my activities – whether it be curating, collecting or patronage – is the representation and support of artists who have been marginalised by the patriarchal canon and the white male dominated art world. It started with my support of female-identifying artists through the curation of all-womxn group shows and the GIRLPOWER Collection, a collecting partnership I founded in 2012 with Kimberly Morris, a Zurich-based friend, that acquires only work by female artists. Slowly, over time, this support has grown to encompassing the queer community of artists and artists of colour as an extension of feminist theory to queer and post-colonial theory.

In 2017, I curated You see me like a UFO in my home in Ascot. It was the first exhibition I curated that featured my own collection. I hung all of my works by female and queer artists and artists of colour in prominent positions and commissioned artists Marie Jacotey and Evan Ifekoya to make a set of curtains for the show, behind which were hung the works in my collection by straight white male artists. It was not an attack on these male artists in my collection but a gesture of letting other artists be ‘seen’ and relish the power normally reserved for the patriarchy – a little like Eddie Murphy in Trading Places (1983) – a role reversal of sorts as well as a forecast of better times to come. As Oprah Winfrey said, ‘There is no discrimination against excellence’. And I am attempting to support excellence that may not be recognised by the broader art market, that is largely led by men for men, whether they be artists or collectors.

Installation view of You see me like a UFO curated by Marcelle Joseph at her home in Ascot, Marcelle Joseph Projects, 2017):
Evan Ifekoya’s commissioned curtains, Where is your Sense of Urgency?, 2017, and other works by Morgan Wills, Colden Drystone, Grant Foster David Micheaud,
Ralph Hunter-Menzies, Robin Seir, Laurence Owen, Brian Griffiths, Matthias Merkel Hess, James Capper and Nikolai Winter. Photo: Jan Krejci

What do you enjoy the most about collecting?

The thing I enjoy the most about collecting is living with the creative expression of so many amazing artists that I have met, written about or worked with over the years. I often call my collection a collection of conversations, as it is very important for me to meet the artist before I collect their work. There are exceptions to that rule but very few. My collection is like living with some of my best friends. And many of my relationships with artists have taken many different guises over time. For example, I may have a studio visit with an artist just after they leave art school, then I invite them to participate in an exhibition I am curating a year later, then I buy their work for the collection a year after that and then two years later I throw a dinner party in their honour for them to meet other collectors and curators, then two years after that I loan their work to a museum exhibition.

Jessie Makinson, Spiral Bound, 2017, Oil and pigment on canvas, 195 x 165 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Marcelle Joseph Collection

Do you have a focus to your collection?

Most definitely, but not from the very start of my collecting in 2010. I have really enjoyed developing my eye over the years, learning what drives my taste and honing the philosophy of my collection. I call myself an activist collector as I largely collect early career women and queer artists who make work that is about the performativity of identity politics and/or is all about materiality and the processes of making.

Chelsea Culprit, High Spirited Chimeras witih Hypnotic Digital Masks II, 2018,, Oil, acrylic, enamel, gouache, graphite,
pastel, fabric on canvas, 150 x 241 cm, Courtesy of the Marcelle Joseph Collection

Can you describe the kinds of artists and works that light your fuse? 

Given that I am attracted to material-led practices, I tend to buy more painting and sculpture than time-based media. I absolutely love ceramic and textile works. I do have photography and video in the collection but it represents a smaller percentage. Although some of the latest works I have added to the collection are in fact photographic works – including two works by Larry Achiampong.

In terms of geography, the collection is predominantly focused on UK-based artists given that I am physically based in London, most of my curatorial activities take place here and I prefer to meet the artists before I collect their work. I also need to keep shipping costs low so that limits my collecting universe. I do reach out to artists and galleries outside of the UK so the collection contains some works by artists from around the world as well. Given my penchant for identity politics, I am partial to figuration and representational styles at this moment in time.


Artworks in Marcelle Joseph’s home in Ascot, l-r: Caterina Silva, Athena Papadopoulos and Liane Lang, Photo: Jan Krejci

What kinds of supporting information & materials do you use to help you make the decision?

I do a lot of research before adding an artist’s work to my collection. I often already know the artist as explained above, but I look at artist and gallery websites and Instagram accounts; I read online press reviews and artist interviews; I subscribe to ArtForum, Art Review, Frieze, Art in America, Kaleidoscope, Mousse, Cura and Elephant; and I parse through the artist’s CV as I value pedigree and an artist’s choices throughout their career in terms of art school, exhibitions, residencies and awards. And if the artist lives outside the UK, sometimes I wait until I am travelling somewhere that I can meet them in person before acquiring the work.

Do you have a maximum budget when collecting (monthly? annually?) Do you stick to it? If not, what kind of work has made you stretch?

Since I am interested in supporting artists in the earlier part of their careers, I do have a maximum budget per artwork and that is currently £7,500. The few times that I have stretched over that amount was because it was a GIRLPOWER Collection acquisition as Kimberly Morris and I are 50/50 partners in that collecting partnership.

Do you have a preferred range of galleries you buy from? What is it about their way or working or roster of artists that you connect with?

I often buy an artist’s work directly from the studio if they are not represented yet or from an exhibition I have curated. But there is definitely a group of galleries that are my go-to galleries as I trust them and their way of working with their roster of artists. Typically, as gallerists, they stage exhibitions that are more curatorial in scope. This is often not the most commercial way to run an art gallery, but I think it is more important to contextualise an artist’s work properly than to focus solely on shifting an artist’s work to the highest bidder. My current favourites are Arcadia Missa, Bosse & Baum, Copperfield, Emalin, Hannah Barry Gallery, Seventeen, Soft Opening and The Sunday Painter in London and Gianni Manhattan and Sophie Tappeiner in Vienna and Queer Thoughts in New York (in alphabetical order of course).

Marcelle Joseph in her cloakroom in Ascot with a permanent commission by Ludovica Gioscia, Photo Kâthe Kroma

Where do you show and store your collection?

Currently, the 250 pieces in the two collections – the GIRLPOWER Collection and my own personal collection – are on display in my homes in London, Ascot (UK) and upstate New York (US). I try to rehang every 6-12 months to get the newer work on the walls and out of my spare bedrooms in Ascot where I store whatever is not on display.

Exhibition view of Electronic Superhighway, MAAT, Lisbon, Portugal, 2017, Including GIRLPOWER Collection’s work on right: Amalia Ulman,
Excellences & Perfections (Instagram Update 19th June 2014), 2014, 150 x 150 x 2.5 cm, unique, Phromogenic print dry mounted on aluminium mounted on black edge frame

Do you loan from your collection? If so, can you give an example of the kinds of requests you receive?

The GIRLPOWER Collection and I both loan works from the two collections. For example, a work by Amalia Ulman that is part of the GIRLPOWER Collection was loaned to Whitechapel Gallery’s Electronic Superhighway exhibition in 2016 where it later toured to MAAT in Lisbon, Portugal. And I have loaned a work by Eileen Cooper RA to her solo show at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2015.

Do you have any advice for artists who engage with collectors IRL and online?

My advice to artists is to make the effort to keep your CV’s and websites up to date and post all current developments on your Instagram feed. Network as much as possible at private views and other art world events as you never know who you will meet. And remember that collectors are always eager to meet new artists.

 

Follow Marcelle on Instagram @marcelle.joseph and visit her website www.marcellejoseph.com

 

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