Communications strategist that builds audiences, brand and profile for cultural organisations
Rachel Mapplebeck is a highly experienced director of communications who puts audiences at the centre, and builds brand and profile for arts organisations. Throughout her career she has gained a breadth of experience and expertise across marketing, communications, digital development and content across multiple platforms, research and insight, brand and design, policy and public affairs.
At Art Fund she was part of the senior management team setting the strategic vision and business plan for the charity to fund art, grow audiences and amplify the museums and galleries sector. Her external-facing role involved working with over 800 partner museums, galleries and historic houses UK wide, which further developed her extensive network of and close working relationships with museum colleagues, media, funders, policy makers, artists and advocates. She led Art Fund Museum of the Year, carefully developing the prize into a high-profile vehicle for boosting awareness, visiting and engagement, working closely with partners the BBC, Google Arts & Culture and The Art Newspaper. She led communications campaigns to support public appeals – most recently helping the National Portrait Gallery raise £50m to save Joshua Reynolds Portrait of Mai, £3.2m for Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage, and over £1.2m in Covid emergency funding through Together for Museums.
At the Whitechapel Gallery she was driving audience growth: doubling visitor figures to 400k a year, and developing the audience development plan for its £13.5m expansion, given the highest scoring by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. She oversaw successful communications campaigns and activity for 30 exhibitions and 200 events a year including high profile shows such as Sophie Calle, Hannah Höch, Sarah Lucas, Alice O’Neel, Richard Tuttle and Gillian Wearing, as well as fundraisers, fairs, film, cultural partnerships and international projects. She also initiated and delivered First Thursdays, late night art and events in east London, which sees 150 galleries and museums open late each month.
She also recently led on public visibility for The Wild Escape, which encouraged children to be inspired by animals in collections and engage with biodiversity. With over 500 organisations taking part it was the largest ever UK museums and galleries collaboration, and she oversaw a rich programme of digital content, high-profile publicity with artists, advocates and stakeholders, partnerships including WWF and BBC Bitesize, and a social media activation with partner organisations which trended multiple times. As lead on sustainability at Art Fund she introduced a cross-departmental green taskforce, carbon literacy training and developed an organisational sustainability policy and action plan.
Rachel is on the boards of Harewood House Trust and Gasworks Gallery.