Consultancy

Arts&Heritage (A&H) deliver award-winning curatorial support and consultancy work with a range of heritage organisations, supporting:

• Developing contemporary art projects and commissions, from funding and conception through to delivery
• Advising on artistic strategies
• Crafting commissioning briefs
• Workshop facilitation on numerous topics, including understanding where the potential for projects might lie
• Researching and advising on future partners
• Forging relationships with the right artist, whether through open call, a nominations process or direct approach

 We collaborate with and support a range of organisations such as:

• Small scale independent museums, including those run by volunteers
• Local authorities
• Regional & national museums and archives
• Universities and educational institutions

Past clients include:

• National Trust, on a range of projects at different sites, including Lindisfarne Castle, Standen House and Gardens and Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal.  
• Ripon Museums, working with artists including Faye Claridge and Paul Rooney
• Birmingham Cathedral
• Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, working with artists including Mark Fairnington and Mat Collishaw
• Wakefield Council, with Pontefract Castle
• Hampshire County Council, with Gosport Museum & Art Gallery and artists including Mary Branson and Heinrich & Palmer
• Lakeland Arts, with Windermere Jetty Museum

Find out more about some of our previous Consultancy projects. 

Past partners have said:

• “Birmingham Cathedral really enjoyed working with A&H. The partnership helped us develop our Arts Strategy, make the most of our opportunities, and think of new ways to engage people using contemporary art.” – Andy Delmege, Birmingham Cathedral

All A&H Consultancy projects are tailored to the client and we ensure that any partner is left feeling more confident about programming and running future commissioning strands. A&H always embeds thinking around legacy and sustainability into its consultancy approach. Through our consultancy work, we aim to:

• Build bridges between the heritage and arts sector
• Ensure more artists’ work is seen in a broad range of heritage contexts
• Support museums and heritage organisations to have the necessary tools and understanding to focus on marginalised or untold stories in their collections
• Engage meaningfully with collaborative or participatory art practices
• Connect to the communities surrounding individual sites and collections

Please email Stephanie Allen for further information. 

Workshops for Museums

Arts&Heritage provides structured training programmes to curatorial teams and project managers across the heritage sector.  It has experience of delivering action learning projects, inspirational visits and opportunities to meet artists which enables staff to take a new look at programming approaches and feel more comfortable about incorporating contemporary arts commissions and projects into their core programmes.

Previous clients include National Trust properties and a range of independent heritage venues and sites.

Example training modules include:

• Ambition: Why engage with contemporary art?
• The Artist: Strategic programming and the stages of an arts commission.
• Identifying Audiences: Who are you wanting to reach and how to do it.
• Evaluation: What do you want to achieve and what next?

Workshops for Artists

A&H also provide workshops and training sessions for established artists, emerging artists, students and artists interested in working in a heritage context.

Example training modules include:

• How to pitch an idea
• How to respond to a brief from a heritage organisation
• What are heritage organisations looking for in artistic partners

Curatorial Forum

Arts&Heritage is currently developing a national curatorial forum to support curators working in heritage situations and outside of formal gallery spaces. This will be comprised of sharing sessions, meet-ups and group visits aimed at supporting arts professionals, curators and producers working on contemporary commissions and projects.

Please email Becky Orwin for further info.