Calls with CURA: Stories from the Art World

Hormazd Narielwalla is a London-based artist who is known for his geometric collages made from repurposed tailoring and sewing patterns. His work also encompasses original prints, artist books, and sculpture. After moving to the UK from his home of Pune, India, to study fashion, he had a conversation with a Savile Row Tailor that changed the course of his art practice. The tailor described the disposal of bespoke paper patterns of customers who had passed away and this ended up influencing Narielwalla’s creative journey and continues to play a large role within his work. 

Narielwalla has an impressive resume. His work is held in public and private collections worldwide, some of which include the Victoria & Albert Museum, The Ben Uri Museum Collection, the British Library, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York; and Parsons School of Art & Design, New York. 

Lily Ackerman founded Ackerman studios – a London-based art consultancy working closely with artists and galleries, connecting them to hotels, restaurants, and private spaces. They offer full services including strategic planning and conception, art curation and procurement, and advisory. 

Built on over a decade of experience, Ackerman Studios work closely with a variety of hospitality spaces, most recently including 45 Park Lane and the Daisy Green Collection. They pride themselves on working with both established and emerging artists and focussing on the narratives underpinning each project.

Capitalising on her extensive relationships with artists and galleries, Lily enjoys transforming the way people interact with art - making it a spectacular part of the everyday. 

Lily is a great advocate of both emerging and established artists and is continually looking to discover the most exciting new talent, as well as nurturing relationships with established figures with whom she already enjoys long-standing associations.

Philip Smith is an auctioneer and specialist in 20th Century Design and Modern & Post-War British Art, running these departments and as Associate Director at Lyon & Turnbull.

After graduating with a Masters from the Courtauld Institute in 2007, Philip has over 10 years’ experience within the auction industry, beginning his career at a leading provincial auctioneers in the South of England. 

During this time he has developed some of the leading sales in the country within these fields and is particularly known as a leading specialist in studio & contemporary ceramics, post-war art and artist’s studio sales. He has developed his specialism further with multi-disciplinary auctions at Lyon and Turnbull, notably the ‘Modern Made’ sales.  

Philip is a trustee of Court Barn; the Guild of Handicraft Museum, in Chipping Campden which includes curating and organising exhibitions for the Museum.

He has also contributed to a number of publications including Ceramic Review, The Times and The Telegraph, and has given lectures on the changing nature of Studio Ceramics in the art world at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

Victoria Chapman founded VC Projects in 2014, out of a desire to aide artists and curators with both gallery and museum exhibitions. Her services also include art advisory, proposal writing, and social media outreach. Victoria studied at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, at Tufts University, starting her professional career early, working at the college art gallery and at The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 

Over the course of the next 30 years she worked with Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Laguna Art Museum and Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach. As an Art Director for Daniel Fine Art Services, Laguna Beach she curated art collections domestically and internationally for the hospitality sector. She was then an Associate Director at Art Cube Gallery, Laguna Beach. 

In 2019 she co-authored a book with Los Angeles based International artist Shane Guffogg, and now divides her time supporting Shane and other artists, assisting Hollywood galleries including The Lodge, and with curatorial support for  Italian based, Cultural Institutions; Casa Regis: Center for Culture and Contemporary Art, and Villa Emma artist residency.

Last year, she introduced many new initiatives, including the 'Artists in Isolation' series on Instagram TV, which consisted of detailed interviews about each artists state during lockdown. 

Ashleigh Brown is a trained paper conservator and collection care advisor with experience in both the private and public sector on both sides of the Atlantic. She studied History of Art at Manchester University before completing a master’s degree in Conservation of works on paper at UAL. 

She gained significant experience outside of conservation as an Art Collection Manager to ultra-high net worth individuals and further knowledge in insurance and the legal aspects of the art trade in her role as Head of Conservation at John Jones. She has since founded a conservation studio called The Conservators Ltd. in London. 

Skylar Hughes is an artist living and working in Los Angeles who explores relationships and the artistic process revealed through his meditative brushstrokes and warm color palette. He is interested in one’s experience and relationship to nature.

The artist’s first major solo exhibition, “One Big Gust of Wind” was held at the New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut in 2013. Since then, Hughes has participated in multiple shows throughout the U.S. and has work in numerous public and private collections.

Helen Armon-Jones studied Art History at Manchester University before pursuing a career in commercial marketing (including managing art sponsorship for Hiscox Insurance, where she worked with The Whitechapel and Serpentine galleries) and went on to develop her knowledge and expertise at Sotheby’s, and in galleries in London and Surrey.    

She founded her business The Art Buyer, with the aim of banishing blank walls and filling our homes with beautiful art.  Her website states: ‘We know that buying art can be daunting for many people and it’s often difficult to even know where to start. We also know that many artists making amazing and affordable art often struggle to find the right audience. We’re here to help. We scour degree shows, exhibitions and fairs and work collaboratively with emerging and established artists across the UK.’   

Sacha Halona Baumann is a woman of many talents. She is an artist, curator and art business consultant where she helps Los Angeles based artists problem solve and achieve their goals. Sacha is the independent publisher, designer and editor of  FULL BLEDE, a newspaper which features contemporary art and writing and usually launches in conjunction with an exhibition opening in LA. Since 2019, Sacha has also been working with Bettina Hubby as the studio manager of Hubby Co.  Born in Hollywood and after growing up in California, Alaska and Utah, Sacha currently lives and works in downtown LA and has a true and deep love for the city.

 Alayo Akinkugbe is currently reading history of art at Cambridge University, having grown up in Lagos, Nigeria.  After studying she hopes to become a curator, whilst pushing the globalization of African Art.    

We met Alayo on Instagram, through her incredible account @ablackhistoryofart – which highlights the overlooked Black artists, sitters, curators and thinkers from art history and the present day.     

With growing need for reform in terms of diversity in the field of art history, we wanted to hear more from Alayo about her studies of the subject and her aspirations for her future career. 

Kamila M. Korbela is an award-winning and accredited German Art Conservator with almost 15 years of experience in the field. She has held positions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Balboa Art Conservation Center, the National Gallery of Denmark and the German government to name a few. 

Kamila is the founder of LA Art Labs, a Los Angeles–based conservation studio devoted to museum-quality conservation and the study of paintings, sculptures and painted objects, with a large focus on contemporary art.