Today we are stepping out of the white cube and into the open air.
My guest is Sarah Carrington, Director of The Line, London’s public art walk. It is a free outdoor sculpture trail that follows the waterways of East London between Stratford and Greenwich. If you have ever come across a sculpture beside a canal or looked up under a bridge to find an artwork suspended above you, you will already understand something of what The Line makes possible. Those unexpected encounters, where art meets you in the middle of your day, are at the heart of this conversation.
Sarah joined The Line in 2019 and became Director in 2025. With more than two decades of experience across curating, public art and cultural strategy, her work is rooted in a simple but powerful belief: that art should not feel like something you have to be invited into, but something you can meet on your own terms, in your own neighbourhoods, as you move through the world.
In this episode, we explore what it actually takes to bring ambitious public artworks into being. We talk about how commissions evolve over years, how relationships with landowners and authorities are built and maintained, and how artists can begin to engage with organisations like The Line.
Sarah and I are also doing something special together. On Monday 13 July 2026, we are hosting a Membership event in East London. Sarah will give a candid introduction to how The Line really works, from its curatorial remit to how artists are selected and commissions are developed. We will then walk a section of the trail together, joined by curators, gallerists, press, marketing and fundraising experts from our Membership network, alongside previous podcast guests and artists connected to The Line. Coffee to start, pizza to finish.
It will be a rare opportunity to experience the work in situ and spend time in conversation with people shaping and supporting contemporary art in different ways. Spaces are limited, so do not miss out. Head to cerihand.com/membership or click the link in the show notes to join us.
For now, let me introduce you to Sarah Carrington.
What We Learned from Sarah Carrington
There are a few things from this conversation with Sarah that stay with you.
The first is the sheer difference in scale and patience required for public art. Commissions unfold across years, across boroughs, across layers of planning permission, engineering, ecology and infrastructure. It is careful, often invisible work, held together by persistence and negotiation. As Sarah puts it, you cannot take no for an answer. You keep going, you adapt, you find another way to hold the vision while making it possible in the real world.
The second is her belief that art belongs in everyday life. Not hidden behind institutional thresholds, but encountered while cycling, walking, or passing through familiar places. Works like Rana Begum’s suspended forms above the canal, or Zineb Sedira’s light reflecting on the river at night, become part of the rhythm of the city. They are not distant objects to be visited, but experiences woven into daily movement.
And the third is what happens when people are genuinely involved in the process of commissioning. When communities help shape briefs, choose artists and contribute to decisions, the relationship to the work changes. It becomes something shared, something held collectively, rather than simply installed.
Perhaps what Sarah’s work offers is a different way of thinking about art altogether. Not as something separate from life, but as something that can quietly enter it, shift it, and stay with us long after we have moved on.
