Catherine Holden Email & Phone Number

Working In Edinburgh, London, Across Scotland & The Uk, And Further Afield

An independent consultant working in arts, culture, heritage, media and tourism, enabling individuals and teams to explore and grow. Specialisms include organisational development & culture change; branding & marketing; governance; visitor engagement; fundraising strategy and leadership. I have helped:• a national theatre to review and develop communications, create a digital strategy and recruit a director• a London museum to develop communications in advance of a major capital development• a historic house & gardens to improve visitor engagement, and to develop Board governance• a multi-arts centre to build fundraising skills and capacity• a leading contemporary gallery to explore branding and make an HLF application • a membership organisation with strategy for profile, programming and funding• a university, international festival and national orchestra to recruit senior posts• the Director and Board of a sector development agency to review strategy• a theatre with creative ideas for daytime visiting and heritage interpretation• a local authority to develop a marketing strategy and branding for a planned new museum• Chairs and Trustees to review governance and support fundraising• established and emerging leaders through coaching and mentoringOther projects include: speaking at two Edinburgh International Cultural Summits, ESRC and Arts & Business; career development ‘speed mentoring’ for young professionals; Personal Branding workshops for women leaders.Catherine has held leadership roles at Tate, the Natural History Museum, National Theatre and National Museums Scotland, launching Tate Modern and the Darwin Centre, and four capital projects at NMS, raising over £80m and achieving record visitor numbers. Non-Exec Board experience spans creative industries, heritage, tourism, festivals and professional development bodies. Catherine currently Chairs the Board of Craft Scotland.Please see Recommendations (below) for client testimonials.

Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

London, England, United Kingdom

London, England, United Kingdom

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Chair for 6 years at Craft Scotland (www.craftscotland.org) - the national development agency establised to inspire, develop and champion high quality craft in Scotland. Craft Scotland is a top 30 Creative Scotland RFO (Regularly Funded Organisation)creates opportunities for makers to exhibit, sell and promote work, and for the public to see, purchase and learn about craft. Creativity across ceramics, glass, textiles, furniture, jewellery, metalwork, wood, paper and willow is promoted online, at high profile exhibitions in Scotland, London and internationally, and through an active events programme - including the successful 'Meet Your Maker' series. Surveys estimate that Scottish craft contributes over £70million to the economy, through an estimated 3,350 makers.

Edinburgh

Trustee for 18 months before becoming Chair

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Trustee for 13 years at Fruitmarket (www.fruitmarket.co.uk) - a leading contemporary gallery which presents world class, thought-provoking work by Scottish and international artists, in an environment that is welcoming, engaging and always free. The gallery relaunched in 2021, improving and doubling the size of the building and transforming programming. In my Board role I supported this capital project, overall organisational strategy, marketing & branding, audience development, fundraising, commercial initiatives, staff recruitment and Board succession.

Edinburgh And Beyond

Responsible for four teams: Marketing Communications, Digital Media, Development (fundraising) and National & International Partnerships - working corporately and across five sites: the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, the National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle, the National Museum of Flight in East Lothian, the National Museum of Rural Life south of Glasgow, and the National Museums Collection Centre. Key projects included: a transformational series of capital projects at three sites; raising over £80million in charitable and private donations; comprehensive re-branding; developing national and international strategies; expanding digital engagement; expanding Membership, Patrons and corporate support programmes; doubling attendance; developing a new organisational vision.

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Trustee for 10 years at the Edinburgh Art Festival (www.edinburghartfestival.com) - the UK's largest annual visual arts festival, with half a million visitors each August. The festival typically presents over 50 exhibitions, a wide-ranging events programme and major commissions from leading and emerging artists. I helped the organisation develop from its very early days, with a focus on profile and PR, branding, audience engagement, fundraising and staff recruitment.

Edinburgh And Beyond

As above - recruited initially to develop branding, marketing communications and fundraising, and to help shape major capital projects.

London, United Kingdom

Key projects included: launching the first Darwin Centre; marketing a diverse public programme to achieve record media coverage and visitor numbers; developing internal communications; reshaping brand strategy; and increasing public engagement with behind-the-scenes science.

Cambridge, United Kingdom

Twice elected to the Board of the Arts Marketing Association (www.a-m-a.co.uk) - the UK's professional development body for marketing cultural organisations. I supported the senior team in growing membership and programming, taught on the Advanced Certificate course in Cambridge, wrote for JAM (the Journal of Arts Marketing) and Culture Hive (www.culturehive.co.uk) and served on task forces for Professional Development, Publications, Visual Arts and Branding. Beyond my Board role I created and hosted an annual conference series for museums and galleries, wrote a membership development strategy for Scotland, and was a regular conference, seminar and webinar keynote speaker and trainer.

London, Liverpool, St Ives

I worked at Tate during a time of major transformation and expansion, setting up the marketing team (to complement the press office); launching the hugely successful Tate Modern and Tate Britain; developing the brand identity with Wolff Olins; creating the award-winning Tate website; and marketing a dynamic programme of historical, modern and contemporary exhibitions, including the annual Turner Prize, to build record visitor numbers across the four Tate galleries.

London, United Kingdom

My first role in the cultural sector, designing and delivering campaigns to reach large audiences for a diverse repertoire across the NT's three theatres. I also created and edited the NT's education newspaper StageWrite.

London And Beyond

My first role after Oxford provided an excellent commercial training in marketing, brand management and business planning, working on national FMCG grocery brands with manufacturing, distribution, finance and sales colleagues.

Ma (Oxon), Ba, Entrance Scholarship, English Language And Literature, General, First Class

Activities and Societies: Journalism, Rowing, Theatre

Education record

Activities and Societies: Hockey, Orchestra