Beks Leary (National Gallery) on the challenges & opportunities of working in larger vs smaller teams, different ways of thinking about audiences, and the value of building meaningful relationships with creators

Digital Works Podcast

A chat with Beks Leary, Senior Social Media and Content Lead at the National Gallery in London.

We talked about Beks's career, which has encompassed working at a diverse range of organisations including the Bush Theatre, BBC, and National Theatre before Beks's current role at the National Gallery.

Beks explained the opportunities and challenges that come with working in smaller vs larger organisations, the different ways that broadcasters, performing arts, and collections-based organisations think about audiences.

We spent most of our conversation discussing the recent 200 Creators initiative (https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/about-us/ng200-programme/200-creators) which saw the National Gallery build relationships with creators across social media platforms to reach new audiences. 200 Creators is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

I'm running a survey to explore the reasons behind why digital projects fail or fall short - you can share your experience via this short anonymous survey. The survey is accepting responses until 13th April 2025, and a report will follow later this Spring.

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1. Beks Leary (National Gallery) on the challenges & opportunities of working in larger vs smaller teams, different ways of thinking about audiences, and the value of building meaningful relationships with creators (00:00:00)

2. Introduction to Digital Works Podcast (00:11:58)

3. Meet Bex Leary: Journey to National Gallery (00:34:10)

4. Comparing Large vs. Small Organisations in Digital Work (04:50:52)

5. Exciting Future Projects Ahead (05:10:48)

6. Understanding the 200 Creators Initiative (12:32:52)

7. Audience Responses to the Initiative (22:44:09)