Moira Lascelles is Director of Burgh House, a Grade I listed Queen Anne house built in 1704 in the heart of Hampstead Village. As an independent charity and Arts Council England Accredited museum, Burgh House is a vibrant cultural hub that brings together heritage, art and community programming. Prior to joining Burgh House, Moira was Co-Director of UP Projects, the UK’s leading public art commissioning organisation specialising in social practice. For over two decades, UP Projects has delivered ambitious, impactful commissions that empower communities and drive social change.

Moira was also previously Deputy Director of The Architecture Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation championing new ideas and emerging talent in architecture. In 2010, she was Consultant Curator for the London Festival of Architecture, where she curated the Union Street Urban Orchard with the Wayward Plant Registry—an acclaimed meanwhile use project that left a lasting legacy in the Bankside area. Earlier in her career, Moira held roles at Office for Metropolitan Architecture, CABE and Phaidon Press.

She is currently Chair of Trustees of Metroland Cultures and an Arts Emergency mentor.

Please tell us about your role

I have recently been appointed Director of Burgh House, a heritage house, art gallery and Arts Council accredited Museum with a beautiful collection that relates to Hampstead where the House is located. Burgh House also has a lovely café and a small gift shop!

As Director I will be setting the vision for the future curatorial programme as well as overseeing the strategic direction of the organisation including thinking through audience development and new ideas for income generation.  It is an exciting role as Burgh House is a real hidden gem within the London cultural scene and there is lots of potential to build on the programme they already host. My background is in socially engaged commissioning, so I am excited to bring that knowledge to the
organisation and start to bring contemporary artists into dialogue with the House and its collection.

What was your journey into the arts

I don’t come from a visual arts background but studied Architectural History and German and worked for over a decade as a curator of contemporary architecture holding positions at The Architecture Foundation and the London Festival of Architecture. During this time, I often worked to curate off-site projects activating empty spaces or places within the city, commissioning both temporary and permanent community gardens and even setting up artist studios in a vacant portacabin!

I transitioned properly to the world of contemporary art as Co-Director of UP Projects, the UK leading public art commissioning organisation specialising in socially engaged public art. During my time at UP Projects, I worked closely with Founder, Emma Underhill to create ambitious projects in the public realm that foregrounded community participation working with brilliant artists including Jasleen Kaur, Ruth Ewan, Shezad Dawood, Mandy El-Sayegh
and many more!

I am also the Chair of Metroland Cultures – a brilliant arts organisation and studio space in former health clinic behind Kilburn Market in Brent in North London. I encourage you to check out their latest Justice & Change programme exploring how the law shapes our lives.

What inspires you

I feel most inspired when I am swimming. Probably because I am forced to step away from my phone or my inbox and my mind is free to just wonder. I am also inspired by people – this could be family members or friends or just stories of strangers who show resilience in the face of adversity.

How does your experience contribute to CVAN London, and what are your ambitions for the London network

My expertise lie in community engagement, curating programmes that are accessible and relevant to broad public audiences and thinking through strategies to make small arts organisations more resilient. In my new role I will also bring knowledge of programming within a heritage setting which I would be excited to talk to others about.

I am a firm believer that more heads are better than one - so open and honest knowledge sharing amongst peers is vital to ensure we are all learning from each other and the CVAN London network feels like the perfect place for this to happen! It would also be nice to find ways for the network to engage with and visit Burgh House in the future.

What are you currently working on and what does the future hold

I am genuinely just two and half weeks into my new role at Burgh House so at the moment I am just focused on getting my feet under the table and meeting everyone who makes this place tick.

I have however already confirmed a date for cultural organisations based in Hampstead to meet at Burgh House in May. This area has such a rich cultural scene from Camden Art Centre and the Freud Museum to Keats House and Willow Road so I am looking forward to finding ways for us all to work together and connect up our offer locally.