East Street Arts has appointed a senior project manager for its four-year partnership programme, Guild. Gaynor Seville joins the project from Mayo County Council where she has developed public art programmes for the last 12 years.
Guild was launched in April and seeks to help artists’ spaces become more resilient. It is led by East Street Arts in partnership with a-n, Key Fund, the University of Leeds and the Stockholm Institute.
The programme is funded as a Sector Support Organisation within Arts Council England’s National Portfolio. It will see 10 artists’ spaces gain support and mentoring to strengthen their business models. Alongside this, the project will work with 10 colleges or universities from around the UK.
Seville said: “I’m extremely excited to be managing the Guild project working with our fantastic partners who are all set to bring a depth of expertise to the project.
“Our next steps will be to initiate the development of a dedicated online platform for the programme and identify the groups who will be involved with Guild going forward.”
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Working in partnership with the University of Leeds, Guild has also selected Benedetta d’Ettorre, a recent graduate from the MA in Contemporary Curating at the Royal College of Art, to undertake a PhD looking at the financial sustainability of artists’ studios. It will focus on various business models and managerial structures.
Jonathan Ward, cultural and creative industries lecturer at University of Leeds, said: “With funding from the University of Leeds’ Cultural Institute, Benedetta will be able to make an invaluable contribution to developing our understanding of how arts organisations can remain a sustainable part of their communities, and work to share findings with practitioners, policymakers and businesses.”
He added: “Being part of a Guild is a great opportunity for a doctoral researcher, and continues our commitment to collaborations with creative sector partners to deliver important research and enhance opportunities for students.”
D’Ettorre said: “Guild will be a fantastic testing ground for innovative ideas and approaches to sustainability. The project is multilayered and multifaceted; I am excited to work with national and international partners to tackle the complexities of running artists’ spaces and make my research a useful resource for the future.”
The Guild team will also be bolstered with two further appointments. Roles for a research and development assistant and a project coordinator are currently being advertised.
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