Davina Mallinckrodt Appointed as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Cockpit Arts

Davina joins Cockpit following a year in which the award-winning social enterprise and leading creative business incubator has successfully supported its 150 strong maker community through the pandemic. In addition to the 40 young creative businesses receiving awards and bursary support, in 2020/21 Cockpit has provided substantially reduced rents to its makers at its two hubs, Cockpit Holborn and Cockpit Deptford and successfully pivoted to digital delivery in promoting and supporting the makers and their work. On 2 April, Cockpit received government recognition for the importance of its essential work, with an award from the Culture Recovery Fund. The Cockpit Summer Festival in June/July will herald the reopening of the studios to public visitors.

“It is with great pride that I’m handing over the Cockpit Arts baton to Davina Mallinckrodt at such a pivotal point in its life. Davina has a long professional experience of design, craft and the culture sector. She brings to Cockpit a combination of business acumen, depth of experience of charity board governance, commitment to supporting new talent, and a rich understanding of the intersection of making, design, art and craft. Cockpit’s dedicated Board of Trustees are delighted to welcome her to the Cockpit family.” Cornelius Medvei

Davina is a long-standing supporter of craft and makers through both her professional and philanthropic activities. She has built a notable collection of maker work, related to her interest in the significance of cultural intersectionality between design and craft and in supporting emerging creative talent. A professional interlocutor at the highest levels of the design world for many years, Davina works as a senior advisor and retained brand strategist and has collaborated with many of the most successful international design companies, designers and architects. She is the founder and CEO of marketing communications and public relations agency Cultural Agenda (formerly Weir Willats Associates) and holds a number of non-executive and trustee roles. She currently sits on the board of The Design Museum (where she chairs the External Affairs Committee), is a founder Trustee and Vice Chair of the London School of Architecture and is an advisory board member of The Pitt River’s Museum in Oxford and long-standing supporter of social mobility charity, InTo University.

Davina Mallinckrodt said:

“It is hard to quantify the relevance and impact of Cockpit Arts to the nurturing of craft makers and artists, and to the building of creative craft businesses in the UK. I am delighted to have been selected as the Chair of this innovative and visionary organisation. This past year has seen the cultural sector facing a crisis unlike any in a generation. Now, more than ever, there is a need to approach the future of craft with ambition, optimism and to provide much needed expertise, studio space and practical support to makers. In widening access to craft, supporting the creative community and enabling innovation Cockpit is not only developing a pool of creative talent, but also generating an ever-growing community of sustainable small businesses. These are essential as both a cultural heart and a key economic contributor to the country. Through the pandemic, there has been a resurgence of interest in craft and making – it resonates with our wish to lead more sustainable lives. In a world which pivots upon digital, the importance of working with our hands, stimulating our creative thinking and rediscovering our sense of touch has never felt more important. I relish this opportunity to be able to contribute to building on the great success that Cockpit has already forged and to working with the Board and with Annie (Warburton) and her team to enhance the impact of Cockpit, to support wider opportunities and to nurture an ever broader and inclusive community of creative talent.”

Annie Warburton, CEO at Cockpit Arts, added,

“Cockpit exists to launch and empower creative careers, to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity. This year that work has never felt more vital. At this pivotal moment, we are fortunate to be welcoming Davina Mallinckrodt to Cockpit as our new Chair of Trustees. Davina brings an enthusiasm and enviable depth of knowledge of contemporary craft and design, and an extensive expertise gained on the Boards of key cultural institutions, including the Design Museum and London of School of Architecture. In 2020, our makers proved themselves resilient, resourceful, and community minded. They’ve demonstrated all the qualities that are at the heart of craft: making something beautiful, useful - or both - with skill and imagination out of the materials at hand. As we move ahead, it is those qualities of agency, ingenuity and care that are seeing us through to brighter times. With a dynamic programme in the making, I am looking forward to working with Davina and our Board of Trustees to shape an ambitious, thriving future for Cockpit Arts.”

Cockpit is one of the UK’s leading not-for-profit arts and cultural organisations and a leading player in creating vibrant communities of craft artists and makers. More than 150 makers and artists reside in Cockpit’s studio spaces in Holborn and Deptford with 40 young creative businesses receiving awards and bursary support. Cockpit provides business mentoring, studio spaces, bursaries and other essential support and advice for makers assisting in the creation of vibrant and self-sustaining businesses. Applications to join Cockpit’s studio spaces outstrips capacity and, following the extensive support offered by the charities to its makers, studio occupancy remains at 95%. From 24 June to 4 July 2021, Cockpit will be welcoming audiences back into its studios for the first time in 18 months for the Cockpit Summer Festival where the makers and artists will showcase new work created during the pandemic and lockdowns.