Celine Elliott - Cornwall Museums Partnership
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Celine Elliott.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Recently, I’m chuffed to simply get through the week – homeschooling during lockdown and working full-time is a challenge I’d prefer not to have met. In broader terms, I feel fortunate to have an interesting, rewarding career, actively contributing to society while living in Cornwall; there has been a pervasive narrative that you have to leave in order achieve but there are increasing opportunities with creative, innovative organizations here.
What motivates you to do what you do?
I believe that museums and galleries can play an active role and fundamentally be useful to the communities around them and I am motivated to find new ways to explore this constantly.
What do you owe your mother?
A love of reading.
Which women inspire you and why?
Too many to choose from! Jacinda Ardern and Greta Thunberg spring to mind as modern-day leaders. The Bowdown podcast and Instagram account is a constant source of inspiration to me for women artists who have largely been written out of history.
What are you reading?
The Black Lives Matters movement encouraged me to consciously read more by black writers, including Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge, Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala, Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams and Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid. However, my standout recommendation from recent reading is Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo – I still miss the characters.
What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?
I think having children can present career barriers; this is an issue for society and negatively impacts everyone. I have been fortunate in my chosen path and work with an amazingly supportive team while sharing childcare with my partner but I recognise that this is not the case for everyone and needs addressing urgently.
How can the world be made a better place for women?
I am excited by the increasing understanding of the rights of everyone: an inclusive, progressive and compassionate recognition beyond binary definitions can benefit the whole of society. I am inspired through working with younger people who are largely wholly accepting of a wider range of identities irrespective of gender that has been assigned at birth. In addition, the development of feminism which recognises and centres the narratives of black women, POC and working-class women – as opposed to a version which largely ignored any groups outside a privileged, white, cis-gendered discourse – gives me hope for a more equitable future for everyone.
Describe your perfect day?
It involves swimming outdoors, no time constraints, happy children, a dog walk, a good book and an Aperol Spritz.
We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?
I’m not a big fan of statues: I liked Dolly Parton’s recent polite rebuttal of one in her honour. I think resources would be better used for the urgent care of those currently living in Cornwall, not least of all young parents, who I have had the good fortune to encounter through working in partnership with WILD Young Parents, and the incredible young people who are care experienced that I have met through work with Carefree Cornwall. Lots of this work has been made possible by working with incredible artists and creative practitioners here in Cornwall, so I think we need to expand our understanding of the powerful role the arts play in society beyond statues.
Give us a tip?
You never regret getting outside in my experience. Even better, get in the sea if you can.
About Celine
Celine Elliot works with the Cornwall Museums Partnership, leading their programme of engagement support for museums in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Her work in Cornwall has allowed Celine to focus her attention on the diverse and inspirational organisations within the museum community here.
In 2020, Celine was awarded an inaugural UK National Arts Strategies (NAS) Creative Community Fellowship.
Read more about her work for the Cornwall Museums Partnership here.