The Wick Culture - Interview Paul Smith’s Foundation Director, Martha Mosse

Monday Muse

Interview Paul Smith’s Foundation Director, Martha Mosse

Interview

Martha Mosse

Photographer

Felix Mosse

15 July 2024

Interview

Martha Mosse

Photographer

Felix Mosse

15 July 2024

Martha Mosse is the newly appointed inaugural Director of Paul Smith’s Foundation. We caught up this week with the vibrant game-changer who is leading a global mission for the art loving British treasure and fashion icon, offering invaluable early career support to creative people through programmes that deliver advice, access, opportunities and funding. Mosse has already helped launch new initiatives, such the annual Art Prize in partnership with Winsor & Newton, and a fashion residency at Studio Smithfield in conjunction with the Mayor of London’s Office. Formerly the Head of Operations and Artist Relations at the Sarabande Foundation and also General Manager here at The Wick, Mosse also opened the inaugural TEDxCoventGardenWomen, which has racked up more than 1 million views. Mosse lives in London with her partner Ollie, an arboricultural consultant and their 2-year old son Finn.

THE WICK: Who is your personal Monday Muse, and why?

MARTHA MOSSE: It’s not very imaginative but I would say my mum, Kate Mosse – a former Monday Muse! She is an extraordinary writer, campaigner, all round ‘doer’ and truly an exceptional influence on me, my brother and by-extension, plenty of friends and family.

TW: Congratulations on your new position Martha! What is your vision as the inaugural director of Paul Smith’s Foundation?

MM: Paul has been a patron and philanthropist forever – scholarships, internships, advice and more. The work that I’m doing at the Foundation is intended to harness and structure the very real and authentic support that Paul already gives to so many people, and in this structure, we can then increase reach, have greater impact, build our network of founding patrons and then expand our programmes nationally and internationally.

TW: What do you see as the role of a fashion house art foundation within the art world ecosystem?

MM: It depends on the foundation. They each have different agendas, founding objectives and budgets. Prada and Louis Vuitton have extraordinary exhibition programmes, others focus on commissioning, and Paul’s foundation supports early career creative people through programmes that deliver advice, access, opportunities and funding.

TW: You come from an artistic creative family, how did your upbringing influence your career trajectory and in which ways will Paul Smith’s Foundation look to impact the careers of others?

MM: I am the only one of my immediate family who works in art (my mum, dad & brother are all writers of books and plays) but being raised in a family that appreciated culture in all its forms – art, literature, dance, theatre, food and music has no doubt had a huge impact on me, including that working in this industry was considered a viable career choice.

Paul’s foundation is creating opportunities for early career creative people working in visual arts, fashion and design. More specifically, we are building programmes which focus on business skills training, from legal, finance, production, marketing and more, with the aim to equip people with the knowledge they need to sustain a career for the long term. We’re already working with an incredible group of industry experts who are donating their time to support our programmes, including Charlie Casely-Hayford, Henry Holland, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, Ekow Eshun and Laura Wier to name a few!

“Paul’s foundation is creating opportunities for early career creative people working in visual arts, fashion and design.”

TW: You’ve worked across public and private sectors in the arts and are currently working on initiatives with the Mayor of London’s office. If you could see one big change in culture happen over the next decade, what would it be?

MM: Restore (and increase) funding for the arts education in the state school system so it forms a central part of early-stage learning. By devolving the arts to ‘extra-curricular’, i.e., taking it out of the curriculum, you reduce the pool of people who can afford or have the time to enrol their kids in it, making the whole system inherently elitist and then the industry self-selecting. The UK creative industries contribute over £100 billion to the economy per year, and employ people in a huge variety of jobs – so there’s a solid economic argument, too.

TW: Who would be your secret artist to watch for budding collectors?

MM: Buy what you like (and what you can afford)!

TW: The book you would leave on a gallery bench for another to discover and why?

MM: I absolutely love reading and whilst I try to read high-brow, I always revert to a good old-fashioned page turner. I’m currently reading ‘Restless Dolly Maunder’ by Kate Greenville, and next is Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan – both shortlisted (and V.V. won!) for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction.

TW: The best advice you have received and would pass on?

MM: In the words of Sir Paul, “never assume!”

TW: What’s your favourite Culturally Curious spot in London to spend time with your family on the weekend?

MM: My son is almost two and very quick on his feet, so any sort of interactive cultural experience is welcome. The recent Yoko Ono retrospective at Tate Modern was brilliant, Southbank Centre has a good programme for kids and the Young V&A never fails, who have deservedly just been awarded Art Fund Museum of the Year! Otherwise, we spend a lot of time outside – open air theatre, city farms, swimming and walking… come rain or shine