GAIL LORD
gail lord'S
LEADING CULTURE DESTINATIONS:
Gail Dexter Lord is Co-President of Lord Cultural Resources Planning and Management, which she founded in 1981 with her husband Barry Lord. With more than 30 years of experience in the arts and cultural sectors, Gail is committed to assisting communities and institutions worldwide to maximize the public benefit of their cultural resources. Gail has been instrumental in developing the professional practice of museum planning. Her latest book "Cities, Museums and Soft Power", co-authored with Ngaire Blankenberg, was launched at the British Library in October 2015. Gail was recently appointed Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Minister of Culture of France.
If there was one piece of art you could feature in, which one would it be?
Any photograph by Sugimoto, as long as I’d be invisible. Why? For the peace and tranquility - two things which are not part of my current life
Who inspires you?
My husband and colleague Barry Lord has inspired and challenged me for decades. He is always discovering new places and new ideas, the latest being “Art and Energy”. Our shared lens is cultural change, a never ending source of creativity
What are your cultural aspirations?
I want to visit Latin America and its museums. I am ashamed that I have experienced so little of my own hemisphere. I sense I will learn a lot about innovation, inter-cultural issues and cultural change on a massive scale. Growing Lord Cultural Resources to the next level is my next big goal.
What are your favourite cultural cities in the world?
Toronto, my home town, is so brilliant at funky bottom-up culture, a great example being the Gladstone Hotel, but not so good at the top down institutions. I think that’s endlessly interesting. I'd also have to say London as it's the most literate place, if not the most visual, and always an adventure in words and ideas. Finally, Istanbul, because it redefines complexity in every aspect of life: visual art, archeology, history, food, music and politics.
What are you up to at the moment?
I love transformational projects like the Lowry, which changed Salford; the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which is changing Winnipeg; and now I am working on a transformational project in Detroit, but it's still too early to say more.