Vivienne Bennett Mbe Email & Phone Number

London, England, United Kingdom

Margate, Kent

Hampshire

London, United Kingdom

Project managing a small scale domestic extension to bring it in on time and on budget

Kingston Upon Thames, United Kingdom

As a key member of the Council’s Executive Team at a time of huge change, I managed a broad portfolio of services: adult education, arts, festivals and events, international partnerships, libraries, museums, music service, sports and leisure centres. My main achievements included: weaving a commitment to culture into the council’s future vision including a new museum (and securing funding to develop a bid to HLF); commissioning a review of future governance options for Adult Education… Show more As a key member of the Council’s Executive Team at a time of huge change, I managed a broad portfolio of services: adult education, arts, festivals and events, international partnerships, libraries, museums, music service, sports and leisure centres. My main achievements included: weaving a commitment to culture into the council’s future vision including a new museum (and securing funding to develop a bid to HLF); commissioning a review of future governance options for Adult Education Service; creating an outcomes-based funding agreement for The Rose Theatre in Kingston; developing international partnerships and initiating a Korean Festival in Kingston (as the home of the largest Korean population outside Korea in Europe); contributing to the modernisation of the library service; developing new governance options for Creative Kingston, working closely with Kingston College and Kingston University; encouraging the Culture team to work together to be dynamic and ambitious and work with other areas of the Council. Show less

Bristol

I ran a busy service for Bristol City Council comprising 5 museums, the film office, the festivals and events team, Bristol Record Office, the Bristol archaeological service and Bristol and Region Environmental Recording Centre. During this time I successfully applied for Arts Council Major Partner Musem funding 2015-18 (over £4.5m), developed long-term plans with clear outputs, restructured the organisation, and created a new Senior Management Team, improved working practices and shifted the… Show more I ran a busy service for Bristol City Council comprising 5 museums, the film office, the festivals and events team, Bristol Record Office, the Bristol archaeological service and Bristol and Region Environmental Recording Centre. During this time I successfully applied for Arts Council Major Partner Musem funding 2015-18 (over £4.5m), developed long-term plans with clear outputs, restructured the organisation, and created a new Senior Management Team, improved working practices and shifted the organisation to be more dynamic, better organised and more resilient. Show less

I was the director at Head Office, responsible for the overview of the visual arts at Arts Council England. I focused on implementing all aspects of Turning Point, an ambitious ten year strategy for the visual arts and as a result, the visual arts sector is already demonstrably stronger, more resilient and better networked. I worked across the country, working with artists and art organisations as well as across the Arts Council making policy, contributing to the development of new funding… Show more I was the director at Head Office, responsible for the overview of the visual arts at Arts Council England. I focused on implementing all aspects of Turning Point, an ambitious ten year strategy for the visual arts and as a result, the visual arts sector is already demonstrably stronger, more resilient and better networked. I worked across the country, working with artists and art organisations as well as across the Arts Council making policy, contributing to the development of new funding streams, juggling multiple priorities, meeting tight deadlines, balancing conflicting needs, and helping to connect people. Show less

I was responsible for the highly complex £215m project to transform Tate Modern which is currently under construction. I worked with architects Herzog & de Meuron, the Design team and staff across Tate, reporting directly to the Deputy Director, Director and Trustees of Tate. I ensured that we met tight deadlines and stringent financial and environmental targets but did not compromise on quality. I managed a wide range of stakeholders from staff at Tate to land owners, property developers… Show more I was responsible for the highly complex £215m project to transform Tate Modern which is currently under construction. I worked with architects Herzog & de Meuron, the Design team and staff across Tate, reporting directly to the Deputy Director, Director and Trustees of Tate. I ensured that we met tight deadlines and stringent financial and environmental targets but did not compromise on quality. I managed a wide range of stakeholders from staff at Tate to land owners, property developers, the GLA, the Environment Agency and Trustees of Tate and gained planning permission for the development to proceed. Show less

Building on my experience as Project Director for all aspects of Imperial War Museum North in Manchester I moved to the V&A Museum in London to be responsible to the Director and Trustees for the direction and project management of the V&A Spiral, a £95m scheme to build a new extension. Working with the architects, the Design Team and right across the staff at the V&A, we developed a more affordable iconic design and worked with the Director and Trustees to try to raise the necessary funding… Show more Building on my experience as Project Director for all aspects of Imperial War Museum North in Manchester I moved to the V&A Museum in London to be responsible to the Director and Trustees for the direction and project management of the V&A Spiral, a £95m scheme to build a new extension. Working with the architects, the Design Team and right across the staff at the V&A, we developed a more affordable iconic design and worked with the Director and Trustees to try to raise the necessary funding to realize the project. We developed a new approach to exhibiting and displaying twentieth century design and fashion and worked to ensure that the approach to learning was equally cutting edge to ensure that the content was as exciting and innovative as the architecture. Show less

London And Manchester

Reporting to the Director-General and Trustees of the Imperial War Museum I was responsible for all aspects of the creation of this national museum, designed by Daniel Libeskind, which opened in July 2002. This involved managing multiple teams, meeting tight deadlines as well as severely constrained finances to create a new branch of the Imperial War Museum and make it fully operational and cost-effective and to bring the project in on time, on budget and to critical acclaim.

Diploma In Museum Studies, Fine And Decorative Arts

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), History And Philosophy

BA Hons in HIstory and Philosophy