The Schwarzman Centre will house the Humanities Division and comprise a state-of-the-art concert hall, theatre, cinema, performance space and exhibition gallery. It is at the heart of a transformational investment in how Oxford teaches, researches and shares its research with the world. We were appointed to undertake a visual arts and exhibition consultancy, researching and writing a foundational strategic report. Our advice included how to create a new and distinctive exhibitions programme, showcasing the research of the Humanities Division to resonate with the other cultural offers of the Cultural Programme; ideas for individual exhibitions and exhibition programming across a season and five-year period; local and national comparisons; potential staffing structures; costs and income streams.

National Portrait Gallery, London

Strategy

Strategy and planning for the early stages of the NGP’s redevelopment (2014-16), followed by strategic work on the ambitious learning programme during the period of its public reopening in 2023.

National Portrait Gallery, London

Curatorial

Curator for digital learning content for the major 2024 exhibition Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens, chronicling the representation of Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr throughout history and popular culture through the centuries.

Historical research for a new UK-wide digital learning hub created for every secondary school history and art & design teacher in the UK (launched in 2023).

Co-produced an exhibition with NPG partner Wolverhampton Art Gallery and the city’s Punjabi community on their migration experiences.

National Portrait Gallery, London

Interpretation

Adviser to NPG’s partner Southampton City Art Gallery on an exhibition relating to portraits connected to the city.

Wigmore Hall, London

Curatorial - Design - Project Management

Appointed by the Director to curate, design and deliver a permanent 100-photograph exhibition, Wigmore Hall: Portraying Our People, to re-launch and announce their 2023-24 season. We worked on the selection, wrote the exhibition texts and designed the hang across all public spaces.

University of Applied Arts, Vienna

International Exhibition Tour

Appointed by the Director to represent the University and its collection in negotiations with the Directors of Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, who borrowed the collection for an exhibition and ongoing multi-venue European exhibition tour. Drafted and negotiated the exhibition contracts with the tour organisers and ongoing venues.

TopFoto, independent picture library, Kent

Curatorial - Collection Development

TopFoto is an independent picture library with vast collections of classic, rare, and unseen images across every subject and era. Its collections relating to 20th-century British social history are of national significance. In 2020, TopFoto received a Cultural Recovery Grant from Arts Council England to appoint Sian as curator and develop exhibition concepts based on significant British photographers and collections.

The Mike Stanfield Collection, Oxford

Collection Development - Exhibitions Strategy -
Loan Negotiation

The first appointment was to assess the collection and produce an exhibition proposal document based on the collector’s unique collection of Cold War propaganda posters and publications from Castro’s Cuba (OSPAAAL).

The collector requested further work to approach museum directors nationally and internationally to propose an exhibition of the collection. The House of Illustration (now the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration) created an exhibition based on the collection Designed in Cuba: Cold War Graphics (2019). We worked with the Artistic Director to realise the exhibition, negotiate the contract and advise the collector on all aspects of the exhibition up until the opening.

National Portrait Gallery, London

Strategy

University of Applied Arts, Vienna Learn more

International Exhibition Tour

National Galleries of Art Scotland

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The Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers, City of London

Curatorial

Aga Khan Development Network, London

Exhibitions Strategy - Gallery Design - Staff advice

Nash Ensemble

Curatorial - Project Management - Design

The North Wall Gallery, Oxford

Curatorial - Development

TopFoto, independent picture library, Kent

Curatorial - Collection Development

Artist, London

Collection Assessment - Strategic

North Wall, Oxford

Strategic Review

Undertook a strategic review for the Trustees of the gallery space to improve the quality of the exhibitions programme; reviewed commercial exhibition hires and fees; set up the first year of exhibitions to implement the vision and prove viability; recruited a Gallery Manager. Subsequently, Emeline joined the Board of Trustees.

Artist, London

Collection Assessment - Strategic

Appointed by an artist of international reputation to catalogue their archive in order to propose viability for an international exhibitions tour or whether to put it up for sale. The collection was subsequently sold.

The Butler Family Collection, UK

International Exhibition Tour - Contract

Advised the late Sir Michael Butler on negotiations for his collection of 17th-Century Chinese porcelain to travel as an exhibition to the Shanghai Museum, V&A London and other possibilities. Wrote the contract for Sir Michael to use as a basis for negotiations.

All England Lawn Tennis Club, London

Exhibition Strategy

Consultant for the development of a new Visitor Experience Strategy for the museum and tour, which comprised rethinking their entire existing museum offer.

Aga Khan Development Network, London

Exhibitions Strategy - Gallery Design - Staff advice

Appointed by the architects of the planned Aga Khan Cultural Centre in Kings Cross for three distinct consultancies, advising on: requirements when designing a large public temporary exhibition space; how to design an exhibitions programme related to Islamic art, budgetary expectations and potential issues in the subject area; the appointment of graphic designers.

Nash Ensemble

Curatorial - Project Management - Design

Appointed by the Artistic Director of the Nash Ensemble to curate, design and project manage an exhibition of Children’s Drawings from Terezin at Wigmore Hall to accompany a series of concerts and talks on related historical subjects.

The North Wall Gallery, Oxford

Curatorial - Development

Advised on a series of exhibitions at the North Wall Arts Centre, from Lenin Photographs in 2017 to The Dambusters and Beyond in 2018, Backstage at the Ballet: Photographs by Colin Jones in 2020 and Changing the Story: Photographs of British Life in Black and White (1917 - 1962). Led the curating process for the Dambusters and Ballet exhibitions and the exhibition development process for the Changing the Story exhibition.

Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre,
Great Missenden

Governance - Strategy

Working with the Director on governance, staffing structures and setting up ambitious new projects to ensure this museum (founded in 2005) remains viable and fit for purpose into the 2020s and beyond.

The Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers,
City of London

Curatorial

Working with the Master and Liverymen to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the granting of the Company’s Royal Charter by Elizabeth I in 1571. Leading the curating and creation of a public exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery (2021). The exhibition was delivered despite setbacks created by COVID-19.

Private Collector, Oxford and Scotland

Collection Assessment - Exhibition Development

Assessed the collections and created an exhibition proposal based on the unique collection of photographs of Cuban revolutionary billboards from the 1990s and 2000s. Then approached a national museum to create an exhibition based on the photographs.

Private Collector, London

Strategic - Collection Development

Advised on how to create an exhibition of an early 20th-century Soviet art collection. Created an exhibition proposal document, advised on venues and made introductions to museums and galleries.

Michael Clark Company, London

Advised on strategy and governance during a critical period for the Company.