STORY
Art & People is a Bristol based art advisory service offering guidance to artists & collectors.
Prior to launching Art & People in 2019, founder Claudia Kennaugh, worked in the arts for 15 years. First as a musician and performing artist, then gallery manager, art advisor and partner of the Hollywood Road Gallery, London.​
Over her years co-running the gallery – established by her family in 1980 – she curated countless fairs and exhibitions with hand-sourced artworks from the UK, Europe & South America. She carefully nurtured the careers of their represented artists and offered bespoke services to the gallery collectors, helping them to buy, frame and hang art in their homes. The increasing demand for her personalised approach motivated Claudia to branch out and start an advisory service for artists and collectors alike.
Today, Art & People provides professional development support to artists with one-to-one coaching sessions, online tutorials and workshops. In partnership with organisations including Bow Arts Trust, Spike Island and Wimbledon Art Studios, Claudia helps to foster thriving artist communities with her engaging group sessions. Accessibility to art advice is key and this year Claudia shared her expertise as an artist mentor on the BBC One TV programme ‘Make it at Market’.
​
For collectors, Claudia draws on her experience to embolden people with the tools to become their own art advisor. As well as online tutorials, she hosts interactive workshops to demystify the process. Claudia’s curating work continues in exhibitions and online collections. In 2022 she launched Precious Postcards, a open call collection of original postcard-sized works by artists in her community. The now annual event showcases early career artists to budding collectors and galleries, whilst raising funds for the FoodCycle charity. Panels and talks include judging the 2022 Jackson’s Painting Prize and speaking at the 2023 Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair with Oliver Projects.
By guiding artists and collectors simultaneously, Art & People is able to create connections and opportunities. Bringing it all full circle.
