I was introduced to Jon by a good friend of mine at the Tate. He has over a decade of experience in his field and works regularly with all the big London art museums and galleries. He’s a passionate advocate for creating meaningful connections between audiences and art, with a focus on ethical practices and community collaboration. He designs learning programs and curates exhibitions that empower learners, amplify marginalised voices, and address representation gaps within collections. His work ultimately aims to foster a more inclusive and representative art world.
Jon delivering a tour at The National Gallery, 2023
Tell me, what does arts and audience engagement mean?
I’d characterise arts engagement with audiences in two words: accountability and care. Getting to working with audiences and the most amazing national art is a uniquely humbling experience - I meet so many thousands of people from many different communities.
I’m at my most passionate when working with audiences and histories that have experienced marginalisation. Art collections, gallery buildings and their perception can make us feel so ‘other’ (myself included). Arts engagement for me is more than the storytelling of art pieces, history, leading tours or workshops. It’s bringing a human connection to art, using our shared national art heritage to uplift others in advocacy and emotion. Engagement with an audience is understanding that art pieces are an emotional, social, political and personal encounter. I get to build that encounter, be with others during it, and ultimately hold the artwork and ourselves in a dialogue.
What some of the clients you’ve worked with?
I’ve worked with The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, Historic Royal Palaces, the Tate, The Wallace Collection, The Government Art Collection, The Arts Council Collection, and also the V and A.
So just a few big ones haha
So what is a typical day like for you? How do you actually go and do this work?
Dressed in my bowtie and armed with good vibes, my heels click across the marble floors of gallery spaces across the country in bespoke audience engagement. A typical day for me consists of travelling, hosting a tour or workshop, taking a couple of meetings with colleagues either online or in person, some writing time, and tea and biscuits.
Jon working with audiences on the development of the new Museum of London site
Doesn’t sounds too bad to me!
Haha! Repetition is rare for me, no two days are the same - the artwork, themes and locations change. The one constant I have is kindness and warmth - even within challenging conversations I encounter the most amazing people. I’m a very lucky chap indeed.
How did you get to be working in this area of the arts world?
A vivid memory in my childhood was my dad taking me to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. We’d go ‘hunting’ for the t-rex - I'd race past cases of art treasures to catch a dinosaur. As I got older, I slowed down to see those treasures and I fell in love with them.
Post undergraduate years, luck brought me to my career. I had the help of some amazing colleagues believing in me and I found ways to create opportunity as well. I'd like to say it was all hard work but it's the alchemy of many things that has helped me get to where I am now. The easiest answer is to say I’ve continued to follow my passion, which is to care - deeply - about art and what it can do for others.
I began my career working front-of-house in galleries. Within a few months, a learning team noticed my passion and that I can use this to connect with others. They invited me to sessions, which snowballed to my first job in learning. 15 years of consistent practice later, I'm a learning curator working nationally on a freelance basis (but I still hunt for dinosaurs in museums).
I see you studied Medieval history, art and theology. What genre of art would you say you specialise in? Why?
16th, 17th and 18th century portraiture are my sweet spot - but I’m equally at home with contemporary art styles. Medieval studies were my ‘gateway’ to wider art history - it’s there that I learned, particularly with medieval works, that it’s not just what an artwork looks like, it’s what it feels like. Faith, identity and history weave a magical web that’s powerful to explore. Ultimately the medieval world reminds me we have more questions than answers - empowering us to use all our senses, empathy and actively use our lived experience to find answers that are meaningful to us in art.
Jon delivering a tour and ‘draw along’ session at the Walker Art Gallery
What are some of the core blockers that you work with in trying to engage audiences with art?
Belonging. Systemic inequality is baked into not just our shared history, but also the perception of opportunity. I meet many who are uncomfortable in arts spaces - feeling that they belong to others, not to them. To not see yourself represented hurts - it fosters unbelonging.
In my career I have many examples of this. I’ve work with members of the public who have shared with me they decided to enter a museum or art gallery, only to change their mind at the door feeling overwhelmed or lacking confidence that it's a space for them. This can stretch across generations.
Belonging and the feeling of this is very real, and it’s something I’ve certainly felt myself. Growing up I never saw Queer representation openly discussed in my local museum - so I couldn't bring my full self to the experience or feel I belonged there.
I agree with that, it reminds me of growing up with storybooks where it was very clear to me the absence of Asian representation… Goldilocks etc. So I can see how not being represented can be just as powerful and negative.
Yes exactly that. I work with art to make people feel seen, hopefully - to have and to use their voice. Trust is a vital part of that - so much of art history presumes a lot from us. Presumes interest, access, comfort, willingness to be open. I work hard to explore that trust and hopefully make space for it.
How does curation play into your work?
My curation works on the principle of “nothing for us without us”. I collaborate with others in co-production and co-curation, incorporating multiple voices to tell emotional stories about art. Typically I start with the premise of an art gallery tour. If I had five pieces of art to use to tell a human-centred story, to start with, what would that story be? I imagine myself telling that story through art to a friend over a brew. I then build on that - selecting artworks, working with others to understand how to express their ideas, developing not just the story but a purpose for telling it that is in service of others. Then the jigsaw puzzle begins - what would that story look like as an exhibition? Endless permeations later, a room or online space forms that for me, should still feel like you’re having a brew with someone and telling them a story.
Tell me about your perspective as an arts educator? What do you see in the value of arts education?
Of the many values of arts education, I'd say my biggest is togetherness. In a world with social algorithms that foster and reward divide, art is a place to meet. It’s not binary - there is no right or wrong answers when we are considering how we feel and our perception. Sharing that in equity, respect and for inclusion with others is a powerful path for togetherness. Our stories begin long before us and will continue long after. Arts education gives scale to the human experience, allows us to zoom in on detail or zoom out to a bigger picture. It reminds us ultimately, we are not alone, we are interconnected. I treasure that.
Tell me your thoughts on art engagement throughout history.
Museums and art galleries are not neutral. They were never intended to be, historically speaking. For my own identity as a queer man, I am the sum total of generations of those who fought for the rights I have today. In turn, I use my privilege now to fight for the rights of others'; by uplifting one voice in social justice, we uplift so many others.
That for me defines where we are today and is arguably in sharp contrast to where art engagement was traditionally. It is a relatively ’new’ discipline of the 20th century as we know it now, and one of the most powerful shifts we’ve made, that we have moved from conveying presumed knowledge to asking for knowledge from audiences. Art engagement is and should be a conversation - one that offers but also listens. Where once galleries arguably did not ask for the lived experience or perspective of those featured within art, now it strives for that dialogue.
How does this topic work across different cultures?
Art and culture (in multiplicity) are increasingly fast moving - our sociology is as alive as we are in communities. Respect for multiple cultures isn’t just in social justice initiatives but sits within intersectionality.
Jon’s book, WHAT ARE MUSEUMS FOR?
Intersectionality, where different social identities like race, class, gender etc interact with each other.
Yes. We are many things, encompass many experiences, occupy many communities and cultures simultaneously. Art is an amazing space to be the multiplicity of ourselves and express that. Our history and its trajectory are not linear - geographically we can read inclusion as moving both forward and backwards globally. Art galleries and museums are powerful mirrors to hold up to any society.
Tell me about your book, why you decided to write it, what it's about?
My first book ‘WHAT ARE MUSEUMS FOR?” challenges the idea that museums are just these ‘stuffy' institutions displaying their wealth and wisdom to a reverential public. Museums today are a potential cultural battleground. Who should decide what is put on display and how it is presented? Who gets to set the narrative? I set out to explore this very much in the same way I work - taking my audience on an imaginary tour over conversation. It argues that museums must be for all people and inclusion must be at the heart of everything they do. Structured like a museum tour, I use seven illustrative museum objects from seven very different museums to explore wide-ranging issues such as trust-building, representation, digital access, conflicting narratives, removal from display and restitution.
I wrote it on this central premise: “Have you ever felt a bit out of place in a museum?“, me too, and I actually work in them. In that, I wanted to challenge my own privilege and unravel my career asking that very question. It was an emotional ride writing this book, from Northern Ireland, to London, America and Australia. I learned and felt so much in the amazing company of my peers. Be able to share that was a career highlight.
What kind of people in the arts world do you find you work with most often?
Ones with big hearts! Partially in learning and curational fields. There is a vocational passion in this field which is a driving force in why people do what they do with the long hours and their dedication. I’m drawn to this passion in people, it’s a true joy.
Jon working with communities on developing access for the new site, at the Museum of London, 2023
And more with galleries or museums?
The scale of the galleries/ museums I work with varies - from huge national collections and projects to teams sometimes of one or two people running niche projects. What never changes though is finding people with huge hearts - dedicated individuals who teach me so much. Did I mention what a lucky chap I am?
What is the biggest frustration for you that you see in this line of work?
Working class representation continues to be lacking in my field - more-so after the pandemic of 2020. Our voices are vital in bringing art to life and its perspectives, yet we arguably continue to lack the opportunity to hear some of those voices. I love the working-class community and the values they have that are the same values that raised me. I'd love to see that, and many others celebrated more widely in the arts and museums.
What would be your dream accomplishment in your lifetime?
More publishing is the goal. I’ve also got some exhibitions in the pipeline that are the culmination of years of work and study. I’m tempted to go back to uni as well.
The biggest life goal by far though, is to complete seeing in person a list of artworks that I love. Treasures that mean a lot to me and that I only saw in faded books from the 1970’s growing up. I’ve seen a lot from the list so far but a few pieces still elude me - my greatest career ambition would be to sit in a comfy chair and see those.
Feeling inspired to find out more about concepts behind Courtney Bae’s work? Visit the About page to read up.