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*Our Team

*Consultancy

Supporting the charitable mission of the organisation, *Consultancy drives its profits back into the purchasing of great works of art for museums.

Colin Ledwith

Colin Ledwith, Head of *Consultancy

colin@contemporaryartsociety.org

+44 (0)20 7017 8401

Colin is a passionate advocate for cultural placemaking and the potential of artists and culture to animate, innovate, inspire, define and change public space for the better. Developed over a 30-year career across both the public and private arts and property development sectors, his experience and knowledge in the coordination of nuanced, community-led, collaborative strategic cultural placemaking has seen him develop cultural strategies for the GLA and Mayor of London office-led Royal Docks Development; Westminster City, Wakefield Council, City of Birmingham Council, Pembrokeshire Council, Swansea Council, Oxford and Cambridge Councils, the London Boroughs of: Newham, Greenwich, Fulham & Hammersmith, Waltham Forest, Brent, Tower Hamlets, Croydon, Wandsworth, Hackney, Camden, Hounslow, Hillingdon, Islington, Southwark and Barking & Dagenham.  

Colin is particularly adept in building innovative partnerships between diverse groups of stakeholders such as property development agencies, businesses, BID’s, local authorities and corporate and cultural organisations to build funding frameworks to deliver real and meaningful cultural outcomes promoting community cohesion and addressing local authority planning and levelling up priorities. Selected commercial clients include: The Crown Estate, Lipton Rogers, Savills, British Land, Freshwater, Lendlease, Quintain, Bellway, Knight Dragon, Sellar Property Group, Derwent, Treasury Holdings, YTL Group, Arsenal Holdings Ltd., Battersea Power Station Ltd., Canary Wharf Group, Almacantar, Wembley Stadium PLC, Berkeley Group, St. George Group, St James Group, St. Joseph Group, Bouygue, CIT Developments LLP, Greens, Ballymore Properties, CapCo, Grainger PLC, Hutchison Whampoa, Countryside Properties, Berkeley Homes, Liberty Property Trust, Foyles Group, Shaftesbury, LandSec, Peel Holdings, Allied London, Linden Homes, Minerva, Affinity, Barratt, Heathrow Airport Holdings, Greenland Group, Related Group.

Colin has worked extensively with the City of London Corporation since 2010 when he developed ‘The City Art Initiative’, a report which described a delivery framework for the promotion of the city as a world leading cultural destination. It details an approach to the procurement and delivery of public art and cultural activities that transcends departmental boundaries and acts as a tool to attract inward investment from current square mile occupants. The City Art Initiative was officially adopted by City of London as ‘The City of London Cultural Strategy’ in July 2011. As recommended in the report, an Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee was established to oversee the initiative amongst all arts programmes the City undertakes, including the annual Sculpture in the City project which was originally proposed within the City Art Initiative.

He led the development of the Crossrail Art Programme Delivery and Funding Strategy, joining TfL in 2016 to coordinate the subsequent simultaneous delivery of ten corporate sponsored permanent public artworks for the Elizabeth line across central London stations.  Formerly Director of Strategy for Futurecity (2007-2019) and a Curator for the British Council (1995-2007), in 2003 he was appointed Curator of the official British Pavilion at the 50th Biennale of Art, Venice. The critically praised exhibition featured an ambitious reconfiguration of the pavilion interior through the construction of a building within a building by British artist Chris Ofili working in collaboration with Arup engineering.

 Jordan Kaplan, Senior Art Producer

Jordan Kaplan, Senior Art Producer

jordan@contemporaryartsociety.org
+44 (0)20 7017 8417

Jordan manages and delivers public art and arts programming projects for CAS *Consultancy. She is a founder-trustee of Parabola, a curatorial group that commissions contemporary art for non-gallery spaces and has curated residencies at the National History Museum and the Royal Geographical Society as well as the first three editions of Tatton Park Biennial. She originally trained as an actor at Drama Centre, London and holds an MA in Art Criticism from City University. She is a member of AICA (the International Association of Art Critics) and a Fellow of the RSA. 

Megan O'Shea

Megan O'Shea, Senior Art Producer

megan@contemporaryartsociety.org
+44 (0)20 7017 8416 (or 8409)
 

In her role as Senior Art Producer, Megan is involved in the research, analysis and writing of cultural strategies as well as managing curatorial projects for both private and public clients, developing artist briefs, commissioning artists and overseeing design development, fabrication and installation. Megan has been working in the contemporary art world for more than 15 years, firstly for Frieze magazine and the inaugural Frieze Art Fair and then as Assistant Director at greengrassi and a futher two years as Artist Liaison at Timothy Taylor Gallery. More recently she worked freelance for artists including Aleksandra Mir and Susan Hiller as well as galleries and organisations including Matt's Gallery and Christie's Education. Megan is also co-editor of the magazine P.E.A.R (Paper for Emerging Architectural Research). 

Staff Photo

Katharina Worf, Senior Art Producer

katharina@contemporaryartsociety.org

+44 (0)20 7017 8408
 

Katharina Worf manages public art and programming for the Contemporary Art Society (CAS) Consultancy, focusing on acquisitions and strategic guidance for corporate collections. As a curator, producer, and consultant based between London and Berlin, she has extensive experience in both commercial galleries and public institutions across Germany, Austria, and the UK. Katharina has worked at renowned institutions such as Hamburger Bahnhof Berlin, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and Temporäre Kunsthalle Berlin, and held key roles in London, including Associate Director at Laura Bartlett Gallery and launching König Galerie’s London space. She also co-curated three editions of the international performance festival, Block Universe London. In 2018, she served as Curator and International Representative for a new Art Foundation in Vienna before joining CAS.  Katharina is also Senior Curator at E-WERK Luckenwalde, where she co-programs the annual exhibition schedule and leads the biannual interdisciplinary festival POWER NIGHTS. She acted as visiting mentor at Acme Studios, London and holds an MA in History of Art & Visual Studies from Humboldt Universität, Berlin, and a BA in Art History from Technische Universität, Dresden

Lisa Slominski

Lisa Slominski, Senior Art Producer

lisa@contemporaryartsociety.org
+44 (0)20 7017 8408

Lisa Slominski is a curator, writer, and cultural producer. She advocates for neurodiversity in the current contemporary art discourse and actively questions how to reframe historical artists considered ‘self-taught’. Her book, Nonconformers: A New History of Self-Taught Artists was published by Yale University Press in 2022, and her articles have been published by Hyperallergic, ArtUK, Burnaway and Cambridge University Press. In addition to her role as a Senior Art Producer, she is the co-founder of the inclusive international curatorial platform Art et al. which focuses on international commissions and collaboration between arts professionals with and without disability. Prior to moving to London, Lisa curated the first series of permanent public art commissions for the CTA’s Art in Transit Program with the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs.

*Consultancy Associates

 

Andree Cook

Andrée Cook, CAS *Consultancy Associate

Contemporary Art and Design Specialist

Andrée Cooke is a contemporary art and design specialist with thirty years of experience working in the visual arts sector, both in public organisations and private companies, nationally and internationally.  

Having been Director of three galleries during her career - The British Council Window Gallery, Prague CZ; Spring Projects and David Gill Galleries in London - she has extensive experience in all aspects of operations management within a contemporary art galleries, and specific expertise in launching new gallery ventures and commissioning craft-based projects. 

Since 2014 she has worked as the Artistic Executor for the Estate of Rose Finn-Kelcey, promoting the artist's legacy.  As a consultant, much of her current work involves the curation and purchase of artworks for clients. She has an international clientele of collectors for whom she creates bespoke VIP events in London. 

Anna Harding

Anna Harding, CAS *Consultancy Associate

Artist and Curator

Anna Harding has worked in the artworld for over 35 years, and has recently started her own art practice alongside her consultancy work. Having trained in the USA as a curator, she has held a number of senior roles: Director of Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge; Programme Director of the MA Creative Curating at Goldsmiths, University of London; and until recently CEO of Space Studios.

Her expertise covers strategic and creative development in a range of contexts: curating, place-making, developing and managing creative workspace, artists in community engagement settings, and SMART business planning and governance. She has edited and published several books including Curating: The Art Museum and Beyond; Magic Moments: Collaboration Between Artists and Young People; and Artists in the City: SPACE in ’68 and beyond

Mary George

Mary George, CAS *Consultancy Associate

Curator, Producer and Facilitator

Mary George is an independent curator, producer and facilitator, working with artists and institutions to develop projects that have multi-layered social values and which engage, activate and debate plural narratives in the public realm.  

As former Senior Project Manager at Bagri Foundation, she was responsible for implementing a new funding strategy that supported commissions such as Shezad Dawood's  Encroachments at Sharjah Biennial 14 and New Art Exchange 2020; Anicka Yi at Venice Biennale 2019; and Ali Kazim, Artist-in-Residence 2019 at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. 

Ruth Garde

Ruth Garde, CAS *Consultancy Associate

Curator, Producer and Writer

Ruth is an arts curator, producer and writer with over 15 years’ experience curating, producing and delivering transdisciplinary exhibitions and events that incorporate the arts, humanities and sciences and has collaborated with clients including Wellcome Collection, King’s College London, the Institute of Physics, Science Gallery London and the Liminal Space in the curation and development of museum exhibitions. 

Her core exhibition development interest lies in the intersection of the arts with medicine and health - particularly mental health, and with environmental concerns such as climate breakdown and biodiversity loss. She is driven by a commitment to social and environmental justice, to principles of equity & inclusion, and to amplify the lived experience of non-dominant voices that are marginalised on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, disability or neurodivergence. 

Her working principles are collaboration and communication, and she relishes working with (and fostering relationships between) partner organisations, creative practitioners, academics, and scientists. 

Claire Doherty

Claire Doherty MBE, CAS *Consultancy Associate

Creative Director and Senior Cultural Leader

Claire Doherty is a creative director and senior cultural leader known for ground-breaking arts producing with a particular specialism in art in the public realm. Claire has worked with a range of partners and clients to deliver outstanding programmes and strategies rooted in places from rural, coastal locations to major city developments such as Oslo’s harbour and Melbourne’s metro tunnel, and from sensitive historical sites to significant anniversaries and festivals. 

Awarded a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Breakthrough Award for outstanding cultural entrepreneurs in 2009, she led Situations, one of the UK’s foremost arts producing companies for fifteen years. Projects included Nowhereisland for London 2012 Cultural Olympiad; the 100-year Future Library in Oslo and the acclaimed, non-stop 552-hour-long Sanctum with American artist Theaster Gates. Claire’s writing, research and teaching on new forms of public art rooted in place are widely acclaimed. 

Claire has supported organisations through transformational change, as Director of Arnolfini from 2017-2019 and through her work as Associate Consultant for People Make It Work. Most recently, she led the £6m project, GALWAD, for National Theatre Wales and Sky Arts, achieving Rose d’Or and  SXSW Innovation Award nominations. 

Mark Sladen

Mark Sladen, CAS *Consultancy Associate

Curator, Adviser and Cultural Leader

Mark has worked for many years as a curator, adviser and leader in the realms of art and culture. His past positions include Senior Curator at the Barbican Art Gallery (London), Director of Exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (London), Director at Kunsthal Charlottenborg (Copenhagen) and Head of Exhibitions at the Design Museum (London).

Mark has extensive knowledge of contemporary art and has produced many solo exhibitions with emerging, mid-career and senior artists, often with an emphasis on new work. His commissions include an architectural pavilion in a Danish park, a panoramic film shot in a Bolivian desert and an orchestra of amplified plants in an English glasshouse.

In addition, Mark has a pronounced interest in contemporary design, architecture and urbanism, and has been responsible for major showcases and public commissions in these fields. Finally, he has acted as a consultant on many projects, such as a recent programme advising museums and science centres that wish to reach out to – and co-create with – underrepresented communities.

Katherine Stout

Katherine Stout, CAS *Consultancy Associate

Art Consultant & Senior Leader

Katharine Stout is an art consultant with thirty years of experience working at a senior leadership level in the public art sector. She offers in-depth, expert knowledge in curating, organisational development, fundraising, project management, evaluation, critical writing, collection management and acquisitions. From commissioning major public art commissions to coordinating complex exhibitions, Katharine has a wealth of organisational experience to deliver projects on time and within budget. A focus of her work in recent years has been supporting the creative industries to develop local economies, serve communities and attract international audiences. Katharine’s values are centred on inclusion, environmental sustainability, and social justice, believing that cultural diversity is the life force of our society.

Katharine was Director of Focal Point Gallery in Southend-on-Sea, also contributing to regional cultural strategies as co-chair of the South-East Creative Economies Network (SECEN). Previously she was Deputy Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London and Head of Programme. Before the ICA, Katharine was Curator of Contemporary Art at Tate Britain curating contemporary exhibitions, the Art Now series, Turner Prize and collections displays and acquisitions. In 2001, she co-founded the Drawing Room with Mary Doyle and Kate MacFarlane and is Associate Director. She sits on the Board of Artist’s Studio organisation, Tannery Arts. Katharine conceived and delivered the inaugural contemporary art programme at the National Maritime Museum as part of a major refurbishment completed in 1999. She has written numerous texts on contemporary art and artists and her book Contemporary Drawing: 1960s to Now was published by Tate.

*Consultancy

Mark Wallinger