Nottingham Art Gallery Hands Leadership to Citizens’ Assembly

A Nottingham art gallery has become the first cultural institution globally to permanently transfer leadership to a citizens’ assembly, empowering local residents to shape its future.

The New Art Exchange (NAE) in Hyson Green, Nottingham, has given 40 residents, representing a community speaking 52 languages, full decision-making power over events, funding, and artist selection. Since its inception, the assembly has allocated £285,000. Felix, a 20-year-old nursing student and assembly member, stated, “I used to see this place on the street but I didn’t know what was here, I didn’t even know it was an art gallery. And now I’m here shaping its future.” This innovative approach to governance aims to address longstanding issues of accessibility and representation within cultural spaces.

Changes implemented by the assembly include the removal of an intimidating street gallery and increased investment in a welcoming café space, responding directly to community feedback. After identifying a lack of Friday evening social opportunities, the NAE began hosting popular events like poetry readings and DJ sets. “Removing the street gallery felt counterintuitive to us. But straight away that street gallery was in the bin, and in the bin for ever,” said Saad Eddine Said, chief executive and artistic director at NAE. The gallery, which focuses on African, Caribbean and south Asian artists, has seen a 22% increase in overall engagement and a 48% rise in visitors from global ethnic majority backgrounds. Similar initiatives are gaining traction; the National Gallery recently announced its own citizens’ assembly to inform future recommendations.

Leaders at NAE emphasize the value of this collaborative model, noting it has fostered a deeper connection with the community and broadened the gallery’s perspective. “Collectively, we’ve got so much more knowledge because we’re doing the things we know we need to do,” explained Adam Roe, the gallery’s executive director. This shift in leadership comes as many cultural organizations face financial challenges and seek new ways to remain relevant, as reported by The Art Newspaper. Said indicated the assembly was “hugely expensive and time consuming” to set up, but has proven invaluable.

NAE officials are now developing a blueprint to help other organizations implement similar citizens’ assemblies, hoping to share the benefits of this community-led approach to cultural governance.