Creating Engaging and Inclusive Public Art with Curator & Artist Chantelle Purcell

Ceri speaks with Chantelle Purcell, a curator, producer, and visual artist who co-founded Hive Curates and Other Landz. Chantelle shares her experiences, from grassroots creative spaces to large public art projects, discussing how she manages the balance between community engagement, inclusive spaces and the art. With a passion for creating inclusive spaces and championing culturally diverse artists, Chantelle discusses her approach to curating with care at its centre. Ceri and Chantelle also discuss securing funding, building meaningful collaborations and creating a lasting legacy in public spaces.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Creating inclusive environments in the arts means challenging traditional models, through initiatives like Other Landz and Hive Curates, Chantelle builds platforms that specifically support culturally diverse artists and those who haven't had opportunities to create work in public spaces.
• The power of 'meanwhile spaces' lies in their flexibility and community impact, Chantelle's BroadWorks project transformed a disused building in Liverpool Street into a vibrant cultural hub, supporting over 300 creatives and attracting more than 10,000 visitors in 18 months.
• The etymology of curate is rooted in care, which should extend to artist development, community engagement and creating accessible spaces that honour local contexts and heritage.
• Chantelle's work with Enfield Winter Lights and Light Up Kilburn shows how Light festivals can create community engagement. These types of events can change perceptions of public spaces and create platforms for showcasing underrepresented artists.
• Building relationships with local authorities and developers requires understanding their priorities. You should research cultural policies, understand community demographics and begin engagement 6-9 months before events to build meaningful connections.
• The role of curator includes both curation and production. Beyond selecting artworks, curators must understand fabrication, planning permissions, community engagement and the entire ecosystem of networks that support public art projects.
• Chantelle shares that project management fees typically run about 20-25% of total budgets, with artist fees guided by industry standards, ensuring resources flow back into local communities.
• Chantelle began with a passion project that evolved into a sustainable business, demonstrating how creatives can test concepts, iterate, and develop their unique approach over time and create their own opportunities.

BEST MOMENTS

"I was always passionate about creativity from a really early age. I was lucky that I had the support of my mum, I was raised by a single parent, but she always encouraged fine art and creativity."

"Often we don't think of curation as being about care, if you think about the etymology of the words and the idea of care, I think we often forget this."

"For me, curation has evolved. It's changed. When I was working in a commercial context, it was more about curating a body of works for an exhibition. Now it's really about creating legacy and working with local communities."

"We realised that the physical interaction or encounter could happen in the public realm and so that's when we started to pivot."

"My idea of curation is challenged by the context in which I'm working in."

"It's being able to work with an artist, to give them all of the funding, perhaps the tools that they need to fabricate something that they have never fabricated before, to be part of that process

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.chantellempurcell.com/about

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

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