Place/Art/Folk
Claudia Zeiske is a curator and cultural activist who gained her experience in arts curating and management over 25 years through working both in the UK and internationally. With a Social Anthropology background her interest lies in ‘transformational fieldwork’ through a multitude of cultural practices. With an interest in the notion of place, her unique curatorial methods are based on a balanced approach between artistic criticality and community involvement. Having worked with well over 100 artists from all over the world, her socially engaged projects bring local issues onto a global level.
Claudia was the founding Director of Deveron Projects (1995-2021), an international artist residency programme where the town is the venue rather than a gallery or arts center. Influenced by Patrick Geddes’ Place/Work/Folk triptych of community planning, Claudia has recently completed a PhD research at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen. Her key research interests surround the question: Transformational Fieldwork. Or: How might a sustainable cultural provision in the rural/small town context be framed?
View here for: Full PhD and Biography and CV
Project Work
What kicks me are all sorts of projects surrounding art, place and social engagement with a special interest in the rural context. Assignments include for example:
hands-on project management: ranging from advice and mentoring, vision building, fundraising to discussing how to kick off an art project or organisation
bespoke projects surrounding place making or breaking as well as walking art
conferences, workshops and other events
Just contact me to discuss your ideas: claudia.f.zeiske@gmail.com
Intertrail/Eutopia is a travelling research project to investigate curatorial/organisational practice of rural arts initiatives across Europe.
Following my Phd research on rural arts development I was invited to travel across Scotland to visit rural and remote arts spaces from Dumfries to Caithness, from Shetland to Bute.
Transformational Fieldwork. Or: How might a sustainable cultural provision in the rural/small town context be framed? (2022). Click for full PhD.
Deveron Projects: Claudia was the founding Director of Deveron Projects , where the 'town is the venue' rather than an arts centre or gallery from 1995 to 2021.
Walking Curator: path-making as a cultural practice. With friendship at heart, her walks combine a desire for a slower pace of life with socio-politically and environmentally sensitive issues.
Conversations between Richard Demarco about his times working with artists beyond the iron curtain in the 1960ies and 70ies.
Floragista is an emergent floristry project. It addresses the negative impact of global cut-flower production while offering kindness to those in need of a bit of beauty and love, sympathy or compassion.
Press and other Articles
BBC Scotland Radio Outdoors: Travels with a pink tablecloth
The National (February 2024): Artist utilises 'harrowing' Covid tales to produce memorial
Grampian Online (February 2024): Community walking and artists are the focus of Aberdeenshire Covid memorial project
Ellen Mueller (November 2023): Interview with Claudia, Slow Coast 500
The Scotsman (September 2023) Art Review: Art Walk Porty including Slow Coast 500
The Northern Times (July 2023): Claudia sets off on Slow Coast 500 trek from Caithness to Berwick
The Press & Journal (November 2022): Whilst on Mountain to Sea journey, The Press and Journal came to interview me about my travels, and the stories I had collected. The finished article is available to read.
Senza Cornice (March 2021): Walking Without Walls, and Beyond: A Conversation About Art and Walking with Claudia Zeiske
The National (March 2021): How a north-east town became an international leader in socially engaged art
Fleming Collection (January 2021): Room to Roam
The Scotsman (January 2021): Claudia Zeiske on 25 years running Deveron Arts in Huntly: “We invented this idea of the town as the venue”
The Herald (December 2020): Galleries: Woman who put art at town’s heart
Scottish Parliament (December 2020): Celebrating 25 Years of Deveron Projects
The Herald (January 2017): 'Huntly is a good place': 21 years of Deveron Arts marked as founder looks to the future
Talking Walking (January 2016): Claudia talking with with Andrew Stuck while walking a circular route around the Whitechapel Gallery, London.
MAP Magazine (September 2007): RESIDENCY: WORDS AND SCULPTURE (HUNTLEY) Duncan McLaren visits Huntley and finds a festival of art and words