I was invited to help the National Trust’s Nostell Priory see their house and collections from a fresh perspective, with a particular focus on the Chippendale furniture and room settings. I spent a day working alongside a small group of creative thinkers, including artists, curators, exhibition designers, digital specialists and heritage professionals.

 

It was a real pleasure to spend time exploring the house and to bounce ideas around with the team. We explored ways for creating a more engaging, immersive and memorable experience for visitors. We discussed ideas for bringing these delicate objects to life, thinking about why they were originally made and showing how they were used.

Catherine joined us for our creative consultation day, where we had set ourselves the challenge of thinking up new ways to ‘make new Chippendale fans’. Catherine had such a fresh approach- responding in a very sensitive and personal way to the county house setting, not just appreciating the collection,  but really picking up on the layers of history, the patina of stories that fill a house like ours. In our creative sessions in the afternoon Catherine’s interpretation ideas went beyond the visual or the written word and inspired us to explore sound, smell, light and the fleeting reflections in mirrors. A wonderful, refreshing contribution, thanks.
Christine Blackburn,  Creative Project Curator – Transform Nostell, National Trust