What does it take to lead an institution in a way that people don’t just visit — but feel they belong to?
For Joe Hill, the answer begins with trust.
Trust in artists to follow their instincts. Trust in audiences to engage with challenging ideas. And trust in communities to take ownership of the spaces and experiences created around them.
Joe is Director and Chief Executive of Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and previously led Towner Eastbourne through a remarkable transformation, helping establish it as one of the UK’s most dynamic cultural spaces. During his time at Towner, the organisation won Art Fund Museum of the Year and hosted the Turner Prize, proving that ambitious cultural work can thrive beyond traditional centres of the art world.
But this conversation is not really about awards or institutions.
It is about what allows creative spaces to become meaningful.
Joe talks about the difference between places where art is simply displayed and places where art becomes rooted in people, place and possibility. The most successful institutions do not just invite people to look — they create the conditions for people to feel connected, involved and part of something.
A key theme throughout our conversation is the importance of trusting artists. Joe reflects on how easily commissions can become overcomplicated when institutions try to control every detail. Sometimes, the strongest ideas arrive in their simplest form.
He shares the story of Lothar Götz’s public artwork, which began as little more than a crayon sketch. There was no elaborate explanation or unnecessary complexity — just a clear idea that had the confidence to speak for itself.
It is a powerful reminder that simplicity is not the absence of ambition. Often, clarity is what allows an idea to connect.
We also explore leadership and what it means to create an environment where creativity can genuinely happen. Joe describes leadership not as controlling outcomes, but as creating the right conditions for people to think, experiment and take risks.
Because without the possibility of failure, there is no real possibility of innovation.
Joe talks openly about the challenges of risk within the cultural sector. When risk becomes something to avoid, creativity can slowly become more predictable. The same kinds of work are commissioned, the same ideas circulate, and organisations become focused on what feels safe rather than what might open up new possibilities.
Making space for uncertainty is therefore not a weakness — it is essential.
This conversation is also about belonging. Joe shares how powerful it can be when people feel that something belongs to them. There is a difference between an artwork being protected because it is valuable and being cared for because it is loved.
When people feel ownership, they become part of the story.
Ultimately, this is a conversation about stewardship, generosity and the role creative leaders can play in shaping environments where artists and audiences can both thrive.
It asks a simple but important question: are we creating things that people simply experience, or things they genuinely feel part of?
What We Learned from Joe Hill
What stays with me from this conversation is Joe’s understanding that great institutions are not built through control. They are built through trust.
There is a temptation in creative work to make ideas more complicated than they need to be. More explanation. More process. More certainty before anything can move forward.
But Joe’s examples suggest something different.
A simple idea, held with confidence and given the right conditions, can become something much bigger. An artwork can become part of a community. An institution can become more than a building. A creative project can become something people feel connected to.
Perhaps the deeper lesson is that creativity needs permission.
Permission for artists to take risks.
Permission for leaders to embrace uncertainty.
Permission for audiences to feel that they are not simply observers, but participants.
Whether we are creating an organisation, a piece of work or a space for others, the question is not only what we are making.
It is whether we are making room for people to belong.
