‘Local Communities Are a Priority’: Ann Gallagher on Launching Goodwood Art Foundation

Sean Burns After your influential tenure at Tate, what drew you to the Goodwood Art Foundation, and what excites you most about its potential?

Ann Gallagher When I was approached to consult on the curatorial vision for the Foundation, the UK was just beginning to emerge from its final COVID-19 lockdown in 2021. At that time, access to green space had become increasingly important for maintaining a sense of wellbeing, so this new venture – offering the experience of contemporary art within a landscape setting – seemed particularly compelling.

It was important to me that the Foundation be envisioned as a non-profit with a strong educational focus, and that there be potential to refurbish the existing buildings on the site into flexible galleries, enabling art to be shown in a variety of locations. With designer Dan Pearson engaged to develop a masterplan for the landscape, it became especially exciting that the selection of artworks could be considered in tandem with the planning of the environment.

The ambition to create something truly distinctive – serving local, national and international audiences into the future – was impressive. The site has now expanded to 70 acres, nearly three times the size of the former Cass Sculpture Foundation, which had operated there since 1992. This opening year marks the first phase, with considerable potential to further develop the landscape and introduce new opportunities for diverse forms of art to inhabit it.

SB Goodwood sits at the intersection of contemporary art, landscape and cultural heritage. How do you plan to shape its curatorial vision to reflect and expand on this unique setting?

AG We imagined the journey a visitor would take – walking through varied landscape settings to discover artworks integrated into the environment rather than competing with it. As a result, most of the time only one work of art can be seen or experienced at once. All the artists featured in the opening season have an affinity with the natural world, or their work has a connection to the history of Goodwood itself. Of course, each piece also engages with many other themes. I believe there is great potential for future intersections between art, the landscape and Goodwood’s distinctive cultural heritage.

SB How will the Foundation connect with local audiences while remaining a site for international artistic exchange?

AG From the earliest planning stages of the Foundation, learning has been a central focus – one of three guiding pillars, alongside art and the environment. The Goodwood Estate already has an established Education Trust aimed at connecting local young people with nature, and the Art Foundation’s Learning Consultant, Sally Bacon, has developed a rich and targeted programme designed for schools and families to explore and engage with both the art and the landscape in diverse ways.

The goal is to make resources as accessible as possible, with visits and transport offered free of charge to schools and groups that lack funding or face complex needs – particularly important at a time when young people are confronting multiple challenges related to health, wellbeing and educational opportunity. Local communities are a priority. The Learning team has been strongly supportive of the programme’s diversity in all aspects, ensuring it offers the broadest possible scope to further their aims.

SB With ongoing shifts in the art world – from political challenges to debates around accessibility – what are your priorities for building a resilient institution?

AG These are challenging times in which to establish a new not-for-profit art foundation. And yet, to do so successfully and ensure its resilience, it is essential to be ambitious and confident in artists’ ability to provoke engagement and thought – while also ensuring accessibility for a wide range of audiences.

The Foundation is designed as a space for both enjoyment and learning. We recognize that some visitors may come primarily for the landscape, with little initial interest in art, but may find themselves more engaged upon encountering it. Signage is clear and concise, with QR codes linking to Bloomberg Connects for those seeking more detailed or in-depth information.

For those with an extensive knowledge of contemporary art, many of the featured artists will be familiar – though not necessarily in this context. There are also works that are entirely new, or that have never been seen in this country or on this continent. We have worked closely with the galleries and estates of Isamu Noguchi and Hélio Oiticica, establishing long-term relationships in both cases.

All of the living artists included in the first season – who, notably, are all women – have been closely involved in the process. We worked individually with each artist, including them in the selection and placement of their work.

The selection of art for the first year was guided by its relevance to the location and the diversity of our audiences, with a particular focus on work that speaks to the present moment. The Foundation must respond to the times in which we live. While works selected for long-term display have been chosen for their enduring relevance, the inclusion of new work will continue to be reassessed over time.

SB Can we expect new models of commissioning, residencies or cross-disciplinary projects under your leadership – and how might they define how we experience contemporary art at Goodwood?

AG I am engaged as the consultant curator for the Foundation, and while I have shaped the initial programme, this has been done in close collaboration with Charles, the Duke of Richmond – Chair of the Foundation and its board members – alongside Richard Grindy, the Foundation’s director, and more recently with full-time curator Eleanor Clarke and the wider Art Foundation team. It has also been invaluable to work closely with Dan Pearson Studio and Sally Bacon on their respective landscape and learning plans.

As was the case during my time at Tate, exchanging and discussing ideas across teams is an essential part of working with art in the public realm. Together, we have many plans – commissions and residencies are certainly among them, as are both local and international collaborations. In terms of art selection, we intend to remain as ambitious as possible.

The artists featured in the first season deserve great praise for the leap of faith they took in committing to a Foundation that was not yet physically realized – at the time, the site was either overgrown or a muddy building plot, with fundraising still in progress. Now, as we open to the public, our focus is on making the first season the best possible experience, while also looking ahead.

SB What themes, artists or approaches might audiences look forward to at Goodwood in the coming year? How have you approached structuring the programme? 

AG In its opening year, the art programme both establishes a foundational format and signals the potential for future growth and change. Simply put, the ongoing structure will include a single focus exhibition – featuring works both indoors and outdoors – that changes annually, alongside a seasonal exhibition presented in various locations across the landscape. These include the smaller pavilion, the café and the amphitheatre. Some outdoor works will remain in place for extended periods to establish visual focal points. Performances – curated by consultant curator Helen Nisbet, who is developing a dynamic, dedicated programme – will naturally follow a more flexible rhythm in both scope and duration.

This year’s headline exhibition is dedicated to Rachel Whiteread, an artist historically associated with the urban environment, but who is increasingly exploring sculpture in remote natural settings. Among the works sited in the landscape is a new monumental sculpture based on a staircase. Inside the gallery, recent sculptures are presented alongside a new photographic series – an under-recognized part of her practice. One of the new galleries created during the site’s refurbishment was formerly a concrete-clad archive space; its distinctive character felt particularly well-suited to her work.

The smaller pavilion, the Pigott Gallery – designed in 1994 by Studio Downie, who also created the main gallery in 2006 and the new café building – allows us to showcase work that may not suit the open landscape. This year, it features Amie Siegel’s film Bloodlines alongside her print series ‘Clouds’ (both 2022). Lubna Chowdhary is the first artist featured in the café. In the landscape, an installation from Hélio Oiticica’s ‘Magic Square’ series (1977–79) – the first to be installed outside Brazil – will remain in place for several years, forming a visual link between the western woodland and the wildflower meadow. A new sculpture by Rose Wylie and works by Noguchi overlook the view south toward the sea, while two new works by Veronica Ryan are nestled in woodland glades. Another sculpture by Wylie overlooks the chalk quarry. A sound work by Susan Philipsz will play at regular intervals at the edge of the ancient eastern woodland. Additional works by Whiteread are also situated throughout the landscape. In the amphitheatre – and beyond – there will be a vibrant programme of performance, music and more.

Rachel Whiteread will be on view at Goodwood Art Foundation from 31 May until 2 November

^{Main image: Pigott Gallery (detail), Goodwood Art Foundation. Courtesy: Studio Downie Architects LLP; photograph: Tom Baigent}