Olivia Colling and Laura Smith have been appointed as Co-Directors of The Hepworth Wakefield, with Olivia taking the role of Executive Director and Laura as Artistic Director. They will be replacing Simon Wallis, who has been at the helm of the gallery since its inception in 2008.
The role of museum Director is multifaceted, requiring a broad range of skills, experience, and knowledge to succeed. Olivia and Laura complement each other’s strengths brilliantly. They demonstrated an ambitious vision for the gallery’s future, supported by a clear strategy to achieve it and a talent for inspiring their teams. They have proven success in fundraising and growing commercial income, are well networked locally and nationally, and are building the gallery’s international reputation through our expanding touring programme. The selection committee were excited by their ideas for the future exhibition programme, which are dynamic yet grounded in art history, ensuring Wakefield residents and wider Yorkshire audiences can experience the very best art on their doorstep, while also attracting audiences from across the UK and overseas.
Olivia and Laura were both born and grew up in Yorkshire. Each has extensive experience working in major museums and galleries in London, including Tate, the V&A, the Design Museum, and Whitechapel Art Gallery, as well as in regional galleries such as Tate St Ives, Nottingham Contemporary, and, most recently, The Hepworth Wakefield.
The Hepworth Wakefield’s board ran a far-reaching, thorough process, working with a leading international executive recruitment firm to find the right leadership to take the museum into its next phase, which generated significant interest. The board, together with representatives from Arts Council England and Wakefield Council, unanimously agreed that Olivia and Laura’s ambitious vision for The Hepworth Wakefield and their leadership proposal were the right decision to ensure the gallery continues to develop its outstanding global reputation while remaining firmly embedded within its local community. We look forward to seeing them thrive in their new roles.
Steve Langan, Chair of The Hepworth Wakefield Trust, said: ‘The Hepworth Wakefield Board is delighted to promote Olivia Colling to Executive Director and Laura Smith to Artistic Director. The role of museum Director is multifaceted, requiring a broad range of skills, experience, and knowledge to succeed. Olivia and Laura complement each other’s strengths brilliantly. They demonstrated an ambitious vision for the gallery’s future, supported by a clear strategy to achieve it and a talent for inspiring their teams. They have proven success in fundraising and growing commercial income, are well networked locally and nationally, and are building the gallery’s international reputation through our expanding touring programme. The selection committee were excited by their ideas for the future exhibition programme, which are dynamic yet grounded in art history, ensuring Wakefield residents and wider Yorkshire audiences can experience the very best art on their doorstep, while also attracting audiences from across the UK and overseas.
‘We look forward to seeing them thrive in their new roles.’
Colling added: ‘It is a true honour to be appointed as The Hepworth Wakefield’s Executive Director and to work alongside such a talented curator and creative thinker as Laura in the role of Artistic Director. We share a great passion for art and the transformative effect it can have on people’s lives, and want our local community to benefit from The Hepworth Wakefield, as well as being known internationally as the most exciting place in the country to experience modern and contemporary art. Laura and I would like to express our sincere thanks to the whole team at The Hepworth Wakefield for their incredible support, particularly over the last six months as interim directors. We have so many exciting plans for this, our 15th anniversary year, and beyond, which we look forward to sharing in due course.’
Laura Smith said: ‘Olivia and I feel deeply privileged to be appointed as Co- Directors of a museum that we are both so passionate about. Thank you to The Hepworth Wakefield Board of Trustees, Arts Council England, and Wakefield Council for their openness to our proposal to jointly run the gallery. Olivia and I have worked together for almost four years and have developed a deep respect for each other. We are excited about our plans for the future, and confident that our combined skills, experience, shared values, and our empathetic approach to leadership will enable The Hepworth Wakefield’s team to achieve ever greater success for the gallery in the years ahead, both on an international stage and within our local community.’
Top Photo: L-R: Laura Smith, Artistic Director and Olivia Colling, Executive Director. Photo: The Hepworth Wakefield
Visit