Christopher Naylor has been Director of engage since 1995. Previously he was Director of Charleston Farmhouse in Sussex, UK, the former home of the Bloomsbury artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, where he developed a new contemporary exhibitions programme, an artist-in-residence scheme, and a schools programme with Arts Council England support. Previously he was co-founder of the new Almeida Theatre in London, working with artists and performers including John Cage, Peter Greenaway, Yoshi Oida and Pina Bausch.

Christopher Naylor won a scholarship to study PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was Chair of the Oxford Students Arts Council. He has spoken at numerous conferences and training events including National gallery Australia, Mori Art Museum, Louvre, National Gallery Ontario. He has served on the boards of many art projects including Study Gallery, Healthcare Arts Trust, IOU Theatre Company.

ABSTRACT

Spaced out

Christopher Naylor will discuss his experiences of the importance of being aware of perceptions of the gallery space, particularly for those less confident with cultural organisations, and the tension between the significance of the gallery as exhibiting venue and as institution. He will refer to the new Study Gallery in England, which embodies a commitment to both art and education, and to other venues such as the Meguro Arts Centre and the Miyagi Museum of Art in Japan, and the former Bloomsbury artists’ home, Charleston in Sussex. He will explore the balance between art education and cultural empowerment in British gallery education practice.