Jane Marriott has been appointed to the new role of director of Chatsworth House Trust.
Jane has recently started in her new position following a successful six-year tenure as director of Harewood House Trust, during which time she oversaw a significant increase in charitable income and visitor engagement with this historic country house in West Yorkshire, driven by new and innovative programming such as the Harewood Biennial and an ongoing commitment to inclusion and diversity, working closely with contemporary artists and makers.
Jane joins Chatsworth at an important time. Her remit as the new director includes leading the development and delivery of a compelling creative programme to reach and engage new audiences in the UK and globally. She is also tasked with increasing the social impact of the Trust’s activities, overseeing the Devonshire Collections of art, artefacts and archives across its various sites, and building the Trust’s endowment to ensure an ever more secure future for the heritage assets under its stewardship.
Jane’s 25-year career has been spent predominantly in leadership roles in museums and galleries at times of major transformation. She started out as assistant curator at Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, before joining the team that launched Tate Modern in London in 2000 and then becoming the youngest female director of Royal Academy Trust and director of development at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Whilst at the RA she raised £36 million for the David Chipperfield-designed capital project and established an international fundraising operation in Hong Kong. Jane then moved to Yorkshire, firstly as deputy director and then Managing Director of The Hepworth Wakefield where she instigated the creation of the new Hepworth Gallery Garden designed by Tom Stuart Smith and launched the Hepworth Prize for Sculpture, which amongst other initiatives helped The Hepworth Wakefield win the Art Fund ‘Museum of the Year’ in 2017.
Jane Marriott, director of Chatsworth House Trust, said: “Chatsworth has a great reputation, with an outstanding collection of art, established learning programme and strong exhibitions that together represent a visitor offering to rival any national institution in the UK. Chatsworth also has an incredible reach with more than 600,000 annual visitors, meaning there is huge potential to engage with, and have a positive impact on, a wide and diverse audience.
“Through a shared commitment to learning and programme at the heart of the organisation, designed to maximise the incredible collections of art, decorative arts and gardens, we have the potential to reimagine Chatsworth’s role within the UK’s cultural economy.
“I look forward to working with the family and the team at Chatsworth to widen our reach and demonstrate value to our communities as a charitable trust, whilst protecting this vital piece of our national heritage for generations to come.”
Lord Burlington, chairman of the Chatsworth House Trust, said: “I am delighted to welcome Jane to Chatsworth as director of the Chatsworth House Trust. The Trust was set up by my grandfather in 1981 to look after the house, collections, garden, woodlands and park for the long-term benefit of everyone.
“Jane’s experience and achievements in the arts, culture and heritage arenas make her the perfect person to lead an ambitious new chapter of growth and development for the charity. There is a great deal of excitement around this appointment, we look forward to working closely with Jane and we wish her every success.”
