Brits in the Big Apple

Sheena Wagstaff leads the Met’s commitment to modern and contemporary art, including the design of the international exhibition program at The Met Breuer (2016-20), artist commissions, and collection displays. She has also curated numerous shows at the Met, amongst which are Gerhard Richter: Painting After All (2020);  Like Life: Sculpture, Color, and The Body (1300-Now) (2018); and Nasreen Mohamedi (2016), and oversaw the David Hockney exhibition (2017). Significant acquisitions have been brought into the collection under her leadership, including works by Pablo Bronstein, Cecily Brown, Phil Collins, Tacita Dean, Peter Doig, Nick Goss, Chantal Joffe, Hew Locke, Sarah Lucas, Adam McEwen, Steve McQueen, Lucy McKenzie, Cornelia Parker (who was also featured as The Met’s 2016 Roof Garden Commission artist), Bridget Riley, Rachel Whiteread, as well as Vanessa Bell, Lucian Freud, Roger Fry, and Barbara Hepworth.  A new Met Façade commission, and an exhibition, each by British artists, are planned in the coming years. With a curatorial team representing expertise from across the globe, she is building a distinctive collection for the Met, both culturally and geographically, to reflect the historic depth of its global collections.

Before joining the Met, Wagstaff was Chief Curator of Tate Modern, London, where, for 11 years, she was responsible for initiating the exhibition program, the Turbine Hall artist commissions, and contributing to the conceptual framework of collection displays. With the Tate Director, she worked with architects Herzog & de Meuron on the design for the Tate Modern Switch House building. She curated noteworthy exhibitions such as Roy Lichtenstein; John Burke + Simon Norfolk: Photographs from the War in Afghanistan; Jeff Wall Photographs 1978-2004; Darren Almond: Night as Day; and Mona Hatoum: The Entire World as a Foreign Land. Over the course of her career, Wagstaff has worked for the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London; The Frick Art Museum, Pittsburgh; and Tate Britain, London, where she played a seminal role in its transformation from the former Tate Gallery. She is a member of the Foundation for the Preservation of Art in Embassies (FAPE), and from 2013-2019, she was a United States Nominating Committee Member for Praemium Imperiale. She has written and edited many publications, and lectured widely.

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Ian Rivers – Row Sentinel Atlantic Challenge – One man rowing a small boat 3100 miles across the Atlantic with only the stars to guide him home. On Memorial Day 2021, former SAS soldier Ian Rivers will leave New York Harbour and row the 3100 plus nautical miles to the Isles of Scilly. Ian will be unsupported and will be using only the sun, the stars and a sextant to guide him.  He will not have access to GPS. This crossing will test human endurance, navigation and seamanship to the absolute limit. Nobody has ever managed to complete an unsupported solo row of the Atlantic using the Northern Route. He will be rowing for between 9 and 12 hours per day and estimates that the crossing will take him between 60 and 90 days.

Ian, 55 from Hereford, has led a life of adventure.  He joined the army after becoming inspired by the Falklands War. He fought in theatres across the world and was a member of 22 Special Air Service regiment for more than a decade. In December 2012, whilst working for an American news network, he was kidnapped in Syria.  He escaped his captors and managed to find his way to safety using only natural indicators. Ian, who’s just become a grandfather, is a qualified mountain guide and was part of the British Army West Ridge Everest challenge in 2005. He is a qualified ocean yacht master and has represented Britain in the age group European and World championships. 

“I’d describe myself as an adventurer,” he said.  “I’ve always been drawn to the ocean, ever since I was a kid. It frees you up. I’ve wanted to attempt this challenge since I was in my 20s.” 

“I’m looking forward to the calmness, the equilibrium of being alone for a long time.  If I’m honest, I don’t really like my own company so it’s the ultimate challenge for me to be on my own for that long.”

Ian is raising money for two charities; the SAS Regimental Association’s Sentinels programme and St Michael’s Hospice in Herefordshire.  He is aiming to raise more than half a million pounds for the charities.

The Row Sentinel Atlantic crossing has only been possible thanks to the support Ian has received from his sponsors. His platinum sponsors Grenade are the market-leading sports performance and active nutrition brand.  The Spectra Group is a leading global provider of Cyber Services and Satellite communication, Hexegic are leading cyber security consultants and Valbruna is a leader in the production of rustproof construction steel and metal alloys.

For more information please contact [email protected] or phone +44 (0)7966 546068

You can support Ian by donating - https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/displayCharityCampaignPage.action?charityCampaignUrl=sentinel

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Rob Stringer is Chairman, Sony Music Group. In this role, he is responsible for leading the overall global activities of the world’s largest music publishing company and second largest recorded music company which is home to many of the world’s most accomplished international superstars and local artists, as well as a vast catalog of some of the most popular and important recordings in history.

Sony Music Entertainment’s iconic record labels include Arista Records, Columbia Records, Epic Records, Legacy Recordings, Masterworks, RCA Records, Sony Music Latin and Sony Music Nashville, representing music from virtually every genre around the globe. Sony Music Publishing has a catalog of more than three million copyrights from some of the world’s greatest songwriters.

Over the course of a more than three-decade career with Sony Music, Stringer has worked with a broad array of global superstars including AC/DC, Adele, Barbra Streisand, Beyoncé, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, The Clash, Daft Punk, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Dixie Chicks, George Michael, Harry Styles, Jack White, John Legend, John Mayer, Pharrell Williams, Pink, Sade, Tony Bennett and Travis Scott. During that time, he has also been at the forefront of growth and innovation in the recording industry, expanding and evolving the company’s approach to both artist development and breaking hits. In addition, he has led hugely successful collaborations between the worlds of music, television and film, and drives the continued development of digital and interactive content strategies and platforms.

Before becoming CEO of Sony Music Entertainment in April 2017, Stringer was Chairman and CEO of Columbia Records, one of the world’s leading record labels. Under Stringer’s successful leadership, Columbia ranked among the industry’s top labels by market share, with a roster including many of the most successful artists in the world.

Over the course of his leadership, Columbia was home to some of the most groundbreaking releases and biggest commercial and critical hits of the last decade, including the record-breaking album “21” by Adele, the groundbreaking visual album “Lemonade” by Beyoncé and the final studio album by David Bowie, “Blackstar.”

The label’s artists were awarded numerous Grammys, among them six wins for Adele in 2012, including Album of the Year for “21” and eight wins for Adele in 2017, including Album of the Year for “25.”

Stringer started his career at CBS Records (later to become Sony Music) as a graduate marketing trainee in 1985. Rising through various A&R and marketing positions in the company, he became Managing Director of Epic Records in 1992, and Chairman of Sony Music UK in 2001. During this time, he worked with multiple successful UK artists including The Clash, George Michael, Jamiroquai, Sade, and Lightning Seeds, as well as Manic Street Preachers, who were his first signing in an A&R role.

Stringer attended Goldsmiths College, University of London where he gained a BA Honours in Sociology in 1984 and was awarded an honorary fellowship in 2010. He currently resides in New York with his wife and two children, and, during non-COVID-19 times, regularly returns to the UK to watch his beloved Luton Town Football Club where he is a director and shareholder.

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Jess Shadbolt is the co-head chef and owner at King in Soho, New York City, where they serve a daily changing menu inspired by regional Italian cooking and food from the South of France.  Having met Clare de Boer and Annie Shi her partners - in London - they opened King in 2016. In 2017 The New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells awarded King a two-star review, and later recognized them in his annual list of  "Best Restaurants of 2017.” In 2018 Clare and Jess were named Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs for 2018.

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